4/7/2014

weekly update 4/7/2014

Lisa & Dave joined me at the Crystal Beer Parlor this week for Trivia Night on Monday. We did horribly. All three of us felt really stupid. But at least I was able to enjoy another Genesee Beer. I don't know if I'll be doing this much in the future.

Tuesday, I drove to Charleston. I'd purchased tickets to the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament there a long time ago, so I got up early and headed off. I was there in time to watch the last 3 games of the first match on Center court, and then stayed to watch Venus Williams win her match. I left after that to find my hotel while it was still light out, thinking I'd have better chance of finding it if it wasn't dark. I'm terrible at trying to find my way, particularly when I'm alone and I don't have a GPS, which I can't understand anyway. It wasn't too hard to find the Days Inn, but as soon as I'd checked in, I regretted thinking that this hotel would be ok - it wasn't. Too late, I was stuck. I went back to the Tennis Center for the night matches and watched Serena Williams get beat. If anyone had told me that morning that I would watch Venus win and Serena lose, I wouldn't have believed them. But that is what happened. I got a pretty bad sunburn watching the afternoon matches, and it bothered me enough (or maybe it was the horrible hotel) that I didn't sleep well. I decided not to go back and try to purchase another ticket for the Wednesday sessions, but just got in my car, put the top down on the 'vert, and drove back to Savannah.

 

I made a slight detour to visit the ruins of the Old Sheldon Church. I had passed the signs on the highway every time I've driven to Charleston. Some friends who had visited told me that it was not much, just ruins, and others had said it was impressive. I found it to be somewhere n between those two assessments. It was just old ruins of church that had been destroyed during the Revolutionary War, but it was also interesting as the headstones in the church yard were from 1771 to 1996. There weren't more than 30 headstones, so it wasn’t a big plot, but I was amazed at the range of dates. 

 

I was back in Savannah in time to go to the first of the series of lectures I'd signed up for at the Senior Learning Center. I haven't done much with this group for a while, but they were offering a course on World War I “personalities”. I signed up. The first biography was Archduchess Sophie, who along with her husband was assassinated to start the World War. I thought it was very interesting.

Thursday, I attended a lecture on Marilyn Monroe at the Jepson Art Center with Donna. Since this is an art gallery, the focus was on “art”, and the photographs of Marilyn and later iconic art, such as Andy Warhol's prints. Because we all know the sad story of her short life, it was interesting to learn how she affected art. As we were enjoying the reception, a wonderful 1960 Cadillac convertible pulled up outside the art gallery with a real live Marilyn waving from the back seat. That was so cool! She came into the reception and sang some songs to entertain us all. 

Friday I had a strange tour at DH. On the last tour of the day, a group of 6 told me that they would have to leave because they needed to be at another historic house museum for their last tour at 4:30. They were upset because “no one told them” that the tours didn't go on late into the night, but ended at 4 or 4:30. So, I hurried thru and told only the what I felt were the highlights of the house so that they could see everything and still be out in 20 minutes. My normal tours take about 40 minutes, so I had the feeling that I was cheating the others on the tour that didn't get my full spiel. After the 6 tourists left, I apologized to the remaining members of my tour group, and then went back and told some of the stories that I usually include in my talk. I'm so rote with my tour, that if I get off track or get things out-of-order, I don't know what I've already said and what I'm repeating. I think I did ok, however, and I hope I did well by the ones who needed an abbreviated tour as well as those who were there for a “normal” tour.

After that, I went to 17 Hundred 90 for a drink. This is getting to be a habit, but not one I don't like. Donna met me there, and as were having our drinks, Lisa called. A childhood friend was in Savannah visiting her, and she wanted to know if we would mind them joining us. Of course not! So the four of us had a nice visit.

When I got up on Saturday, the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm. Since the tours at DH had been so full on Friday, I assumed BC might be crowded as well. The azaleas are at their peak, and the cemetery is gorgeous. It wasn't my day to be there, but I went anyway to see if I could help with the crowds. I was there for over 4 hours, and it was very busy, just as I'd expected. But it was not a bad way to spend a lovely afternoon. Sunday it rained all day. I didn't expect the crowds to be visiting to see the lovely blooms, so I didn't go.