Savannah is gorgeous!

We were really excited to visit Savannah as it was only 45 minutes away from Hilton Head. This would turn out to be my favorite city we visited for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Whoo!! More of the South! Hilton Head was very pretty and full of trees but definitely very very laid back. I didn't really know what I expected of Savannah - wide dresses and plantations. Creaking white colonial homes and moustachioed men in tall hats? I was SO surprised at what I saw!! It was like a little European town!

On the drive there, Andi our delightful hostess and driver on this whole trip explained and demonstrated the different drawls that we might hear between South Carolina, Georgia, etc. I was in stitches, she did them SO WELL! I was really hoping to hear the drawl among the locals and some colloquialisms from this part of the world, but this was not to be! =)

There were tons of shops, boutiques, cafes and people milling about. Cool jazz bars, oyster/seafood places, even tapas bars! There's a sense of culture and tastes there which I'm starting to understand most cities have with the exception of freaking LA. We're absolutely overrun with chain stores and multi-site developments where all the houses look identical. Yuck! Oh but our weather is so nice..

State street had little parks every few feet and a lot of bars. This is what I imagine New Orleans to look like, perhaps just on a smaller scale and a bit quieter. It was really gorgeous and we walked around the riverfront, even considered a river boat cruise but the timing was a bit off and I was super tired still adjusting to the time change. In hindsight it probably would have been pretty neat to fly along a river and see dolphins as well as the soft trees blowing by you as you race around marshes and in narrow rivers! But this was not to be. Probably better considering there are bugs, I would have probably eaten a couple on an adventure like that!

I get the sense from our short trip here that it would be a super fun place to hang out at night. People are super friendly and all the bars play live music. Along the riverfront a lot of people were walking their little doggies and I saw two gorgeous little King Charles - one black and one brown! I absolutely fell in love with them and petting and babytalked to them! I want doggies! The owners loved the attention and they let Andi take a pic of me and when I left the dogs started sad-barking at me!! Awww!! I take you home, ok?? =D

So what did we do here.. we walked a LOT. We window shopped a little. I got a tattoo of a dragon! Ok fine it was just an airbrush one but I had to strip down to one shoulder because of the placement and I was very excited! I got the same dragon stencil in Seattle about 5 years ago at Bumbershoot on my left hip and I loved it!! =) I don't think I'd ever get a real tattoo, but airbrush and henna - bring it on!

We also happened to be in Savannah the same day as the Gay Pride Festival! Lots of rainbow balloons, people dressed in costumes and really biting jokes on Tshirts and tank tops =) Marc got checked out SO MUCH wherever we went it was pretty funny =) They were giving out condoms, playing that "I kissed a girl" song, and administering free Hep A and Hep B vaccinations. Quite a few Unitarian fellowships were also trying to recruit. And the great thing is that it was fairly well attended and nobody was protesting! Yay for Savannah, I came in wondering if we would have to stop a lynching and found out it's a pretty progressive and lovely little city! I had such a good time here and everyone I encountered was really nice.

This visit definitely whetted my appetite to see more of Georgia. I'm not sure why I liked it so much, there's a certain vibe there that is European, laid back and just kind of simple. I'm really sad to not be able to join Sheila and Ragnar in the ATL, as I bet that would SUCH FUN! Sheila and Ragnar are two of the funnest people to party with in my opinion. They dance, they have great energy and they don't drink too much! And what I would give to go to the birthplace of great musicians, former and future. One day I'll just have to do a night-tour of ATL, New Orleans and Nashville, listening to jazz, clubbing the nights away and sleeping during the daytime. I think my soul could use a little artistic inspiration and this part of the world seems to be precisely the right fit music-wise.