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Low Country, High Winds: Savannah in Hurricane Charley

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An August 2004 trip to Savannah by callen60

Quote: We explored one of the nation's most historic and romantic cities as the storm approached. Ultimately, it left the city and our spirits undamaged.

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Low Country, High Winds: Savannah in Hurricane Charley

Overview

Quote:

In 1733, James Oglethorpe and his colonists landed in Georgia, making good on the charter granted them by King George II. Oglethorpe, apparently a planner to the core, had already drawn up a design for the city. Similar in character to the "Greene Country Towne" of William Penn's Philadelphia, Oglethorpe's city was a rectangular grid laid around open squares--24 to be exact.

Today, the city still includes 20 of those squares as open spaces. And you can drop any idea of Savannah sharing much more than grid work with Quaker Philadelphia. The ease, the charm, and the nearly decadent atmosphere all make this a crucial place to visit to understand the South.

The main attraction of Savannah is the area laid out by Oglethorpe, the nation's largest historic district. Old Savannah is clustered south of the river of the same name and chockablock with beautiful homes distributed around Savannah's famous city squares. A walk in any direction will reward you with something: a beautiful garden, a lovely home, a corner cafe.

There's a charm and calm about this area that's special. Everyone we met, from our hosts to our servers to the owner of the wine shop to the mother-and-daughter store owners, was pleasant, friendly, and gracious. Coming here without a plan almost seems the best way to experience this city--well, have a plan for your accommodations, but then get out see where serendipity takes you. We stumbled across stores, restaurants, squares, churches, and people that made our visit memorable.

Quick Tips:

Be sure to stay in the central district. Savannah's a big city and spreads well beyond the area most visitors are interested in. If your lodging is south of Forsyth Park, you've gone too far. Consider staying at a B&B--the city is full of them, and so much of Savannah's charm is tied up in its beautiful homes. Staying in one is a nice way to enhance your visit (even if, like me, you're not generally a big B&B fan).

It's pleasant just to visit the city squares and see what that brings you. That will take you all over the area and bring you to things you might have missed otherwise.

This is also a nice place to be "toured"--to let someone take you around and tell you all the little secrets (of which there are thousands) associated with this corner, that building, etc. Walking tours would be nice; we ended up on a trolley due to the weather and really enjoyed it. Chances are that your guide will be sharing the city he or she loves out of pure joy (it seems to be a common calling among locals).

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is easy here. It's about a mile from one end of the historic district to the other. Several of the restaurants are in the river district (near the river, of course), and as our B&B was on the far southern end of the historic district, we drove (that, plus the oncoming hurricane). Parking seemed possible here, unlike Charleston. Read Less

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Zeigler House Inn

Hotel | "The Zeigler House Inn"

Quote:

I am not a big fan of bed-and-breakfasts. I've found the quality of the room, the food, and the hosts to be too variable. However, when planning a trip to Savannah, it seemed such an integral part of the Savannah experience--and the comments about this place were so positive--that I put aside my concerns and reserved a room here for two nights at $175 each.I'm glad I did. This house is a wonderful place. Our hosts are now evidently the former owners, but given their care and attention to detail to everything involved, I can't imagine they would entrust this place to anyone who didn't share their high standards. The renovations were completed in 2002, and the five-room inn opened the next y...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on January 26, 2025

Zeigler House Inn
121 West Jones Street.
Savannah, Georgia 31401
912-233-6307

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Jazz'd Tapas Bar

Restaurant

Quote:

We thought this might be the only night we'd have on the town in Savannah, so we paid close attention to our host's recommendations for restaurants. Underneath the Gap at the corner of Broughton and Barnard, this place is unique. They describe the decor as "industrial chic," which seems fair. Sleek and stylish, everything fits. As the name implies, there's live music 5 nights a week, but the restaurant is open every night for dinner starting at 4pm.Either the music or the food--or both--are a great reason to come. The bar is worth seeing on its own, and the whole setting combines the feel of getting a great table at a club with great food. There was a terrific combo with a really talented ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on January 28, 2025

Jazz'd Tapas Bar
52 Barnard Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
(912) 236-7777

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Tybee Island Beaches

Attraction | "Tybee Island"

Quote:

Described as "Savannah's Beach," Tybee Island is about 30 minutes east of the city. As you head out US 80, you can imagine that it probably gets pretty congested in summertime. That wasn't a problem for us, as the Saturday morning following Hurricane Charley's passage appeared to have gotten rid of most of the traffic. But with the skies bright blue and sunny, we thought the weather and the possibility of some high surf made the trip seem like fun.A little island community, it reminded me somewhat of Cape Cod, combining the permanence of a little seaside town with the transitory feel of vacation life. We spend most of our time at the city beach near the northeast corner, outside ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on January 28, 2025

Tybee Island Beaches

Tybee Island, Georgia

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Gray Line Savannah Tours

Attraction

Quote:

In a city like Savannah, walking is clearly the best way to get around. But in the rain? Arriving early afternoon, with the skies dark, the weather apparently about to really deteriorate, and thinking that the next day might be a wash out, for $22 each we decided to leave the driving to someone else. That was actually a nice choice. We boarded at the visitor center on the edge (in more ways than one) of the historic district. The 2-hour tour of the city took us by all the squares, many of the historic churches and homes, and places we wouldn't have thought to see. You have on-and-off privileges if you want, but given the unusual nature of the day, the driver/guide just waited a little whil...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on January 30, 2025

Gray Line Savannah Tours
215 West Boundry St.
Savannah, Georgia 31401
(912) 232-0685

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Owens-Thomas House

Attraction

Quote:

It's hard to believe now, but in 1954, historic Savannah seemed about to disappear. In particular, the Davenport House was slated for destruction--to put up a parking lot--when seven of the city's leading women raised the necessary $22,500 to save it. Their work led to the founding of the Historic Savannah Foundation the next year and eventually to Savannah's emergence as one of the nation's top tourist destinations. (Of course, that was helped along more recently by "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.")The Owens-Thomas House is one of the best houses to visit. Having OD'ed a little on homes in Charleston the week before, we decided to pick and choose a little--and settled ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 31, 2025

Owens-Thomas House
124 Abercorn St.
Savannah, Georgia 31401
(912) 233-9743

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Telfair Museums

Attraction | "Telfair Museum of Art"

Quote:

When you're the last in a long line of a distinguished southern family, what do you do with the family home? If you're Mary Telfair, you use it to found the south's oldest art museum. Built in 1819 for Alexander Telfair (Mary's brother), William Jay designed this house at nearly the same time as the Owens-Thomas House. They're both now owned by the Telfair Museum of Art, which opened in this building in 1886.The permanent collection in the museum concentrates, logically enough, on American art from the 18th century onwards. The best pieces are American Impressionist paintings. However, there are also works by Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet. Of course, The Bird Girl, the stat...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 8, 2025

Telfair Museums
121 Barnard Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
(912) 790-8871

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Hurricane's Eve in Savannah

Story/Tip

Quote:

We arrived in Charleston knowing Hurricane Charley was down in Florida. Since it was a 20th-anniversary trip, we didn't want to cancel--and we thought the odds were that it wouldn't make it our way... but it almost did.By the time we reached Savannah 4 days later, it appeared certain that Charley would make it there about the same time we did. We arrived in town about 8 hours ahead of the hurricane. The hosts at our B&B greeted us with, "We tried to call and tell you not to come! But now that you're here..." and then graciously hosted us in their lovely home anyways. Figuring we might not get a chance to see the city the next day, we uncharacteristically took a Gray Line...Read More

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About the Writer

callen60
Ozarks, Missouri

"I am a National Park junkie."
38 journals
1140 photos
261 reviews

More Journals by callen60

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