Exploring with Intuition: Singing in Savannah

We made a discovery in Savannah last weekend. There is place for small RV's right in the downtown historic district. The parking lot at the visitor's center has spaces specifically marked for RV's. The couple we talked with said it was $24 for 48 hours and the lot has a 24 hour security guard. It is adjacent to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), History Museum, and Railroad Museum. Transportation is abundant if you want to leave your camper and venture out. You can walk, rent a bike, take a trolley tour, or ride the free visitor's bus and water taxis. The trolley tours originate from the parking lot next door, so are very convenient.

We were there for the Carolina's District Barbershop Harmony Fall Festival and it was great fun. About half of the guys from my chorus could make it and we had three great coaching sessions before singing in a concert Saturday night. Beth said it was the best we had ever sounded, so the coaching was definitely worthwhile! The highlight was being coached by David Wright, a legendary arranger and judge in the society. This is a photo of him with our motley crew.

We sang a few songs in the hotel lobby where the eight story atrium really helped the chords ring. The photo below is of our quartet serenading the sister of our bass (in the red shirt) Joe.

Our hotel was right on the riverfront and our room looked east towards one of the container terminals. It was fun to put our feet up and watch the ships coming right at our room.

Savannah is one of our favorite towns in the south with lots of historic squares and avenues lined with live oaks and spanish moss. Our group took a trolley tour on Saturday morning and enjoyed the narration. The chilly air kept the plastic windows down, so we didn’t get many good photos on the tour.

Driving down Friday there was a wreck on I-95 that made our arrival an hour later than planned. We grabbed a quick bite at Chick-fil-a so we would be on time for the quartet contest. With all the great restaurants in Savannah, I felt bad taking Beth to a fast food chain. We made up for it on Saturday and Sunday finding some places with tasty food and even tastier desserts. Goose Feathers Cafe even had whoopee pies!

One of the squares in town had a statue of John Wesley depicted as he would have been dressed while serving as a minister the Church of England in Savannah. I think of John Wesley in England, not the streets of Savannah.

Speaking of the streets of Savannah, do you know where the cobblestones came from? Many of them were ballast used in sailing ships, repurposed as paving for the city streets. Signs along the waterfront gave us a mini-education as we wandered around the city.

It is an easy city to get around. They have free busses in the historic area and free water taxis that stopped right in front of our hotel. Horse drawn carriages provide a more romantic experience.

The Savannah Belle Ferry fleet was in keeping with the historic look of old Savannah.

Though the ferries weren’t really steam powered, the city was ready to fight waterfront fires with a bright red fire boat. The only flames we noticed were in the olympic caldron used when the sailing events were held in Savannah during the 1996 Atlanta olympic games.

Sunday morning we visited their history museum before heading home. Housed in an old railroad station, it had only one locomotive, but it was one that we have a model of for our backyard railroad. I took lots of pictures in case we ever get ambitious and want to add more realistic details to our model. There is an actual railroad museum, so we may come back.

When we return, it will be with the camping van so we can stay right in the heart of the city without breaking the bank.