2/11/2020

Weekly Update 2/11/2020

A few days late, but here it is: The Sarah and Jack visit

They arrived Saturday about noon. I picked them up at the airport and we drove downtown. I parked at my usual area, south of Forsyth and we walked through the park and up to a restaurant on Broughton for Indian food. We went out to Tybee next, because Jack had said he wanted to see the ocean. We went to the lighthouse, but it was closed for repairs and they weren’t able to climb to the top. I’m also not able to climb to the top, but it has nothing to do with the renovations. We walked out on the pier, but it was not a warm day, and we didn’t stay too long. We stopped at Publix for a few food items, then went back to the condo to eat a bit and play a few games of Scattergories. They had been up since 4 am, so we made an early evening of it.

Because it’s Georgia Days, Sunday was Super Museum Sunday. It’s also the weekend of the Colonial Muster at Wormsloe. I always like to go there, so that’s where we started Sunday morning. We saw some canon and musket firings, the tabby ruins, the exhibits in the Colonial Life area – candle making, tanning, blacksmith, cooking, etc. We chatted for a while with a Yamacaw Indian, but I was disappointed not to see James Oglethorpe there. Sarah and Jack gamely participated briefly in a game of cricket. Sarah thought Wormsloe was pretty nice, and believes that it’s like that every weekend. No – only on one weekend in February, and the rest of the year there’s not a lot to see. We went downtown and I parallel parked (amazing!) right around the corner from Clary’s restaurant. We only had eggs and pancakes, but it was good enough for us. Because that’s close to Massie School, and because Massie is one of my favorites, we went there next. The lines weren’t too long, but when we walked past some of the other museums, like Owens-Thomas, or the Telfair, lines were very long because the admission fees were waived. The horse drawn carriage ride I’d reserved was scheduled for 3:30, and I’d hoped we could get into the Prohibition Museum, but there wasn’t time. After the ride, we went to the Little Duck Diner, and I convinced Sarah to have the tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich. I had also made plans to meet some friends at Rocks on the Roof for drinks in the early evening. I was proud to show off Sarah and Jack, and equally proud of my friends!

The flight back to Rochester wasn’t until 7 pm, so we had a whole day in Savannah again on Monday. I drove them through BC, and introduced them to Little Gracie. Then we went to the Juliet Gordon Low birthplace museum. I didn’t want to do that on Sunday because I wanted Sarah to have a better tour than the abbreviated ones they give when they don’t charge to get in. Sarah is Lifetime Girl Scout, and was really interested in this. Then we walked to DH. It’s interesting the way I planned that since you need to walk past Leopold’s to get to DH! I needed to take them to our famous ice cream parlor, and it did not disappoint – not me, anyway. We had a nice tour at DH, and I rather liked hearing someone else’s talk, not just my own, which can be pretty boring. Both the guides at The birthplace and DH were personable and humorous; I’m dry and it’s all one fact after another with no personality at all. We walked along River Street a bit and took the water taxi to get a view of Savannah from the other side of the water. Then we went to Tequila town for lunch. I think they both liked the table side guacamole, which is fresh and tasty, and we always get that. We still had quite a bit of time before having to get to the airport, so we went to the Prohibition Museum which we’d been unable to see the day before. It’s a different kind of museum - not a house, not something colonial - but it is history. Then I dropped them at the airport and they were gone.

They were here for just a short time. But I was THRILLED that they came to visit. They are a wonderful couple – kind and loving. I enjoyed getting to know Jack, and also getting to know Sarah a little better. It was Sarah’s first time in Savannah. It’s hard for me to believe that she has never once been to visit me since I moved, but I’m so delighted that she came now! I don’t know if it will happen again, but I have these wonderful memories of this trip.

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Before they arrived, I did a couple of things, mostly lectures. At DH on Monday evening, I heard a very interesting Broadway performer, Justin Havard, talk about the songs and especially Broadway musicals of the era when Preservation was just getting underway here in Savannah. Very good. On Wednesday, I was at TLC for a noontime talk by my friend, Charles Snyder, on poet, author, politician, and dramatist Edward Bulwer-Lytton. In Victorian times, he was as popular as Charles Dickens, but that popularity did not last. It was very interesting. And on Thursday, Kay and I went to hear a speaker at the Jepson as she talked about a new gallery opening featuring artists from Savannah in the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. Some names I was familiar with, others, not so much.