Savannah Days 3 & 4

Sorry I didn't post anything Friday night but we didn't get back to the hotel until very late Friday night and we had to get up early. So I am combining Friday and yesterday's event in one post.

We got up Friday morning and headed to the Historic District to meet our tour guide for the Savannah Civil War Walk or as the Savannahians kept referring to it The War of Northern Aggression. Our tour guide was awesome he went to the University of Scottland and has his degree as a Historian but he focus on American History. He was born and raised in Savannah so he grew up learning the history of his town. We walked all over the city stopping in areas that had great importance to the War. He also talked to us allot about the days and years leading up to the war and how slavery was not the reason that Georgia and the rest of the South started the war. In fact the war was started over money. The south was producing cotton and some other exports for the entire world and the government or the North as they say was taxing them at a rate of over 50%. Now this is not to say that slavery wasn't also another reason for them but it didn't really play into things until later in the war. Even though it was hot and we were walking I greatly enjoyed the tour and I learned allot from it.

Our tour finished just down the block from St. John the Baptist Cathedral which was on my list of places to visit so we went back to it.












The outside of the Cathedral was stunning but it has nothing on the inside. It was unbelievably beautiful in there.







After that we walked what felt like a million blocks to the Moon River Brewing Company for lunch. When I was doing some research Thursday evening I found out that while Ghost Hunters was in Savannah back in 2005 they not only investigated the Sorrel-Weed home but also Moon River. Once I checked out there menu I knew we would have to go there. The food was excellent, the drinks were better and the building was really cool. We didn't have any ghost experiences but it was still nice.

We had some time to kill before our next stop so we just walked around for a while and then sat in a square while we waited for our tour of the Mercery- Williams house to start.



I only have a picture of the front of the house because they do not allow pictures inside. You might recognize this house because it was the house from the book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The land was purchased by the great great grandfather of Jonny Mercer the musician and construction was started on the house but it stopped during the Civil War and was sold after due to low funds. Wilder purchased the home and finished the construction. There was one other family that owned the home and then the Shriner's purchased it. After the Shriner's left the house was vacant and needed allot of work. Jim Williams purchased the home and spent two years restoring it and lived there until he died. The main floor of the house is so beautiful and it's filled with art and antiques. I was disappointed that we were not allowed to see the upstairs though.

When we got out od the Mercer House storm clouds were heading in and you could here the thunder so we headed back to the car and went to the hotel for a break. Dave and I were both exhausted so we just laid around and watched TV for a few hours. Then we left, grabbed a bite to eat, and went back to the RiverWalk for the last of our souvenir's and to catch our trolley for the Ghost & Gravestones tour.

On this tour you have a tour guide who is dressed up, ours was dressed as a flapper and she had the stereotypically sotuther voice that I just loves. It was real to because she was the employee that introduced us to our Civil War guide. this tour drove us around town and our guide shared all the ghost stories and experiences of the area. We also got to make two stops. The first stop was the Sorrel-Weed house.



As I stated earlier the Sorrel-Weed house was featured on Sci-Fi's Ghost Hunters and they found it to be haunted. We were taken into the house through the slave entrance and then into the front Parlor. Our guide began telling us how guest would have been treated in the house. At one point she was saying how you would be seated on the sofa and the mistress of the house would come down the stairs to greet you. At that point two people started up the stairs and scared the guide. At first I thought it was part of the tour but after the guide went and checked she told us how the house is still a private home and those were the owners on the way in. Next we were ushered into another Parlor like room and it was odd. As soon as we walked in the room I got this heavy feeling in my chest and just felt uncomfortable. Dave and I were standing on a corner next to a window that faced the carriage house and a porch. While standing there Dave kept hearing what sounding like shuffling of feet behind him but nothing was there. He took a couple of pictures but nothing showed up. Now some of you may think we are crazy or stupid but we both believe in ghost and while I don't know if there was one there or not something strange was happening.

The next stop on our tour was to one of the cemeteries. When Sherman took the city of Savannah he put his Calvary in the cemetery and these men robbed graves, changed headstones, even took some out all together. She also told us about another story there and why they think this is haunted. Even if you don't believe in ghost I think you would have a blast on this tour because it was just fun.

This bring us to yesterday. We got up early, ate some breakfast, and checked out of the hotel but we didn't head home. Instead we headed south to Tybee Island. On the island is Georgia's oldest Lighthouse.



Dave and I climbed the 178 steps to get to the catwalk and the view was well worth the walk up. It was a beautiful day so the views were just amazing.









Once back down we did go through the other building that have been restored which were the living quarters for the light keepers family's. Once done there it was time to head home. We left Tybee around 10:30 but did not arrive home until a little after 11 last night. The drive down was almost exactly 10 hours but on the way home we got stuck on I77 in the mountains in Virginia forever. The worst part was there was no real reason for this it was just backed up and it extended our trio by two hours.

While it was nice to sleep in my own bed last night I am still a little sad that our vacation is over. Savannah was a beautiful city and we had such a great time. I would love to take the kids or at least Emma back one day because I know she would love it. I would also recommend it to anyone else. There is so much to do there that no matter what you like to do on your vacations you could find it here.