694. Savannah's Historic District

Where: Savannah, Georgia
When: April 22-25, 2010
Who with: Dave

Way back in the day, when Dave and I were still newly dating, I got it into my head that I really wanted to visit the southern city of Savannah. And it's funny to realize that when Dave decided to take me there as a birthday gift, it would be the first of many trips to come that would serve as the ideal present to give me. The best kind there are, in my opinion.

So we headed down to tackle this old southern city on the coast of Georgia. We opted to book two different hotels to mix up our stay while down there. The first one was the Kehoe House, a beautiful, old mansion converted into an inn. Our room was in the basement, and while beautiful and luxurious, we learned that the house once operated as a funeral home, and the basement was where they kept the bodies. Let the ghost sightings begin!

After settling into our room, we headed out into town, walking under gnarly trees and Spanish moss towards the waterfront, where a row of bars line the riverfront. The first really exciting thing we immediately learned about Savannah is that there's an open container policy. In other words, we could grab a drink in to-go cups and walk the waterfront with our beer. Amazing!

The next morning, we got up and wandered through the city by daylight. Savannah is laid out in such a pretty way and not by chance. This is the country's first planned city, laid out in 1733. Throughout all the quaint streets are tons of little squares filled with giant trees, benches, statues and fountains, all surrounded by beautiful, old homes. 21 of the original 24 squares remain today, and help to give Savannah its unique character. 

In fact, the bench that Forrest Gump sits on telling his story in the movie was placed on the edge of one of these squares. It was only there for filming, but we took a photo of the spot anyway, and then a photo of Dave posing like Forrest. 

For lunch that day, we headed to a Savannah staple for some much needed southern food at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House. With no reservations taken, the line out of this place was massive.  

And instead of a table for two and a menu, guests are sat at large tables in this house turned restaurant and served amazing southern food family style. It was fantastic.

Needless to say, we walked out pretty stuffed. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the city on foot, enjoying the old homes and southern charm. Not only was this city planned almost 300 years ago, but during the Civil War, Lincoln asked that the city be spared when the Union started burning down southern cities as a war tactic. Therefore, it truly is a historical gem. Thank you, Mr. Lincoln. 

On our walk, we passed by one of the most haunted houses in America, the Sorrel-Weed House. Not so scary by daylight, but more stories about this place later. 

Enjoying some sunshine on the riverfront, paddleboat included. 

Later in the afternoon, we grabbed a cab and headed to Tybee Island, about a 30 minute drive east of Savannah. This is the more backwoods edition of Georgia, but the seafood on this tiny island is hard to beat. We chose to eat at a little place called the Crab Shack. Their kitsch was on point. 

Gator features prominently on the island. 

The tables have big holes cut out of the middle to allow for easy disposal of crab and crawfish shells. Heaven!

Our meal here was amazing. Just a simple seafood boil done really well. We thoroughly enjoyed.

That evening, we headed back into Savannah for a ghost tour. Now I should preface that Dave specifically said it would be "fun" to have a few drinks beforehand, so I happily obliged. However, maybe I had one too many because I was basically toasted by the time we took the tour. 

The tour started off with a walk past the various mansions in Savannah, telling of the deaths and subsequent eery occurrences that have taken place over the years.  This city is so old, it's no wonder there's a lot of potential for ghostly encounters. We went through cemeteries containing the graves of old tenants that died of everything from war to plague to scandal. And then, the stage was set for the big finale: the Sorrel-Weed House. 

The Sorrel-Weed house belonged to Francis Sorrel and was built in 1840. While living there, Francis had an affair with one of his slaves, Molly, who lived in the quarters next to the house. One night, his wife caught him with Molly, and subsequently threw herself off the second floor balcony. A few days later, Molly was found hanging from the rafters of her room. Since then, several odd occurrences have taken place here, giving the house the status as one of the most haunted in America. 

Upon entering the house, we were provided with our own electro voice detectors (true ghost hunting tools) and were encouraged to explore the rooms on our own. We were also encouraged to take pictures, as spiritual orbs can sometimes be captured in a photo. 

After the house, we were taken next door to the barn that served as Molly's quarters. The rafters from which Molly hung herself were quite apparent and it was eery being in there. 

What happened next, I can't quite explain. Maybe I was wasted, maybe I was hypnotized, maybe I just went all OCD with my EVP detector, but the next thing I knew, I was alone. Barn empty, door locked, no tour group, no Dave. I don't know how I didn't notice. My first thought was "well, now the spirits will show themselves." But then I decided it would not be fun to be locked in all night. So I headed to the door and knocked to be let out. The tour guide unlocked the door and looked at me bewildered, and next to him, there was a very angry Dave, arguing that I was still in there. It was so weird, and Dave wasn't happy with me. But I had no way to explain what happened.

Upon reviewing photos the only one of note is this one, with a clump of distinct orbs up in the rafters where Molly hung herself. Normally, I'd say it was just dust, but after my experience, who knows?

The next day was met with rain, but we didn't let it dampen our trip. We actually were moving on to our second hotel of the trip, on the edge of Savannah's most famous park, Forsyth Park. The hotel was appropriately named the Mansion on Forsyth Park. It was totally different than the Kehoe House, an elegant boutique hotel created inside a mansion built in 1888.

Despite the rain, we wandered the houses and buildings around the park, including the Savannah Law School. 

Inside Forsyth Park and next to its famous fountain.  

There was this really cool art festival going on in the park, where artists were using brightly colored chalk to paint murals along the sidewalks. I had a blast looking at their work, even in the rain.

After the park, we did a little more exploration near the city center and waterfront. 

Lots of history to be had here, including the Old Cotton Exchange. As cotton was the main export of Savannah back in the day, this building reflected all the wealth and prosperity that created the city. 

That evening, we enjoyed our most elegant meal of Savannah at Elizabeth on 37th. While the restaurant has a fancy vibe and sits in a 100-year-old mansion, the menu is classy southern comfort food, and interesting combo. 

On our last morning, the weather cleared, and we walked a bit more through this beautiful city that makes strolling its primetime activity. 

Savannah was simply beautiful and all that I'd hoped it would be. It was the perfect combo of history, southern charm, and ghost stories. We had an absolute blast.