Smiling in Savannah
Picturesque, charming and friendly at the very least. Every image here is within one square mile. Slow down and enjoy.
Savannah, Georgia is one of the oldest communities in America. Established in 1733 along the Savannah River, it’s a quiet, charming picturesque community.
My wife and I stumbled into a get-in-the-car-and-drive vacation. Where could we go to escape the heat? Savannah and Charleston are consistently 10F cooler than Houston and neither of us had been there before. So why not?! Plus, I’ve been told by a few friends that I would be very happy there (foreshadowing, eh?)…
In the heat of summer’s end 2023, we drove to New Orleans, then Pensacola, Tallahassee and then Savannah, staying in New Orleans and Tallahassee for quick overnighters, making it up as we went along. Making it up worked beautifully; it reached 108F in Houston and a week or two after we returned, a small hurricane rolled through Charleston.
Savannah was designed in squares and parks; 22 of the original 24 parks remain. All ooze charm. The movie “Forrest Gump” was framed by Savannah’s visual wonder - magnificent oaks that sweep majestically toward sky and earth.
Life is a movie set if you’re anywhere near this original cluster of parks. Or if you prefer to quote Forrest, “Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re going to get.” Except in Savannah, you do know what you’re going to get. Charm, history preserved, a budget-aggressive emphasis on the arts, an affordable cost-of-living (compared to national averages, the state of Georgia and especially Atlanta), fantastic restaurants, quick access to the South, the Atlantic and to the East Coast, and downright nice people. (Forrest offered chocolates upon first meeting people.)
Perhaps the height of charm is Forsyth Park, which features a fountain built in 1858. It is a mere 0.6 miles from the Lutheran Church of the Ascension.
Some of the streets are routinely considered among the most beautiful in America. You’ll get no argument here.
Below are two photos taken with a Soviet-era medium format Kiev 60. It was the second time I was using the camera and I had not entirely unrolled the film, hence the partial image. Right after that, this guy stopped me and made a comment about the camera. He was a photographer (and other things) and it turned out has a famous family name but I’ve not asked for his permission so will keep things on the down low or later edit accordingly. The point is the camera is a beast and, secondly, we walked half a dozen blocks and shared stories for about 20 minutes, i.e., folks in Savannah are genuine and unpretentious.
The splendor of Savannah is too much for a limited day-and-a-half spontaneous experience. And it makes one want to dig deeper, behind the veil and ask, “What is your life like?”
Ever see the movie or read the book, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?” I have not but here’s a quick snap of the infamous Mercer home, taken from a bus.
Food… Grab something at the Olympia Cafe, along the riverfront. Best stuffed grape leaves and Greek Salad ever. Probably the best lunch during the seven-day trip was found at The Five Spot in Savannah. The best shrimp and grits… and delicious pork and chicken tacos. The experience of watching folks in the restaurant cemented my view that Savannah is the genuine article.
Every image within this post is within one square mile. I’ll leave you with this idyllic frame below and then move on to Wormsloe, a historic site just outside Savannah.
One square mile. Easily understood. You walk a mile, turn left, walk a mile and turn left, walk a mile and turn left, and then walk another mile right back to where you began.
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Images taken with a #Fujifilm GFX100S and Kiev 60.
All images © Scott Edwards, 2023.
Savannah is one of my favorite cities in America. It captured my attention and imagination when I was a young girl, and I read several historical novels based on families living in Savannah from the Revolution through the Civil War. Your photos of Savannah are fabulous.