September 2 - Savannah (YRE)

 Savannah:  charm, history and food. Make that Charm, with a capital “C.” 

A Savannah Backyard

Savannah Ironwork

Our 10K walk today started at the Savannah History Museum and Visitors Center. The entire walk was in the historic downtown area.   

Just about every block had something of interest.  There are architectural treasures everywhere you look. Our route instructions were supplemented by a 4-page single-spaced narrative describing 23 significant points of interest (cross-refernced to the map, no less). 

Forsyth Park

The historic district includes 22 lovely squares, including four which were laid out in 1733 by James Oglethorpe.  We walked through 19 of them.  

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Temple Mickve Israel

There were many beautiful churches, particularly the Victorian Gothic-style Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  (Catholics were not allowed to settle in Savannah until after the Revolutionary War due to a fear that they would have a greater loyalty to the Spanish in Florida than to England.)  We also saw Temple Mickve Israel, founded in 1733, the third oldest Jewish congregation in America, and the only neo-Gothic style synagogue in America.

High Noon at the Mercer House

We saw various structures from the film, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, including the now iconic Mercer House, with its striking ironwork, and the Hamilton-Turner House. 

Andrew Low House

As a Life Member of Girl Scouts USA, my visit to Savannah would not have been complete without seeing where it all began.  The walk route did not disappoint.   

Entrance to the Carriage House

First, we saw the Andrew Low House.  Juliette Gordon Low was living in this house when she founded the Girl Scouts of America.   The Carriage House in the back was the first official headquarters of Girl Scouts.   

Not far away, we saw Juliette Gordon Low’s birthplace, the Wayne-Gordon House.  Girl Scouts USA saved this house from demolition in 1953 by purchasing it.  They have restored the house and furnished it with authentic family pieces.  It is now open to the public as a museum. Her family was clearly very well-to-do.

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

Our walk also included the lively Riverfront area, the City Market, and the Telfair Art Museum. Including our stop for lunch, it took us 5 hours, and we felt like we barely scratched the surface.  If you spread this walk over two days, you might have time to tour some of the museums you will pass and more fully appreciate the architecture and the squares.  And you would have more time to explore the numerous dining options offered by this food lover’s paradise. 

Rating:

Walk Route: A+

Walk Documentation: A+