Thursday

The Savannah Kings


May 1, 2014

Spent April 28th and 29th on the Herb River, two lovely days indeed, watching birds, dolphins and a few boats come and go. Moderate winds, no rain. Very pleasant and protected anchorage. On Friday, May 1, morning we hauled into Thunderbolt Marina just a few miles away. The town of Thunderbolt is right next to Savannah, which has to be one of America’s most beautiful cities.
We rented a car to provision and visit with Scott. Drove through the city in amazement. The streets are lined with big, old live oak trees adorned with Spanish moss. Forsyth Park, in the center of town, is lovely and the site of many festivals and leisure activities. Lots of “round-a-bouts” with statues honoring various people. River Street, a cobblestone and brick thoroughfare, runs the length of the water front which is lined with shops and restaurants. The Savannah River is busy with pleasure craft, tankers, container ships, tugs and tour boats.
 
Scenes from Savannah
 
 
 
Live Oak Lines Streets and Walkways
 

 
Emily's Mother's House
 
 
Florence Martus
Savannah's Waving Girl
 
Emily’s mother was born in Savannah and lived here for a time eighty years ago. We tracked down one of the very houses in which she lived. (The other one, adjacent to Forsyth Park, was torn down to accommodate a parking lot.) But at the 45th street home we had a delightful visit with the current residents. They were very happy we stopped by.

After an exhausting visit to Kroger and Target, we gussied up to meet my good friend and VMI brother rat, Scott Kinsey at the Flying Fish, on Wilmington Island. Scott has been a professional musician all these years since our days at the Institute.  A very fine bass guitar and fiddle player. Now retired, he does what all old retired musicians do – plays in different bands throughout the area just for the fun of it. Tonight, it’s the Savannah Kings and I got to sit in on a couple of tunes. Much fun. Great band.

However, the restaurant, an outside venue, was engulfed in a cloud of “no-see-ums” as we would call them, but here they are the “sand fleas”. They are relentless, inflicting a bite that itches intensely for five minutes. The air is filled with them. All the restaurants have bug spray on the tables beside the catsup. Standard procedure. Everyone (except for me – the unsuspecting tourist) wears long pants.

The local semi-pro baseball team are the Sand Fleas. They are a winning team and we are told that it’s because opposing teams show up without bug spray and are so plagued by the sand fleas – the real sand fleas – that they are preoccupied with hopping around the field scratching themselves.

We had a fabulous time visiting with Scott. Returned to Thunderbolt Marine by 11:00PM for a good night’s rest.
Sweet dreams.

More Savannah Pics
 
 
 
Savannah Waterfront
 
 
St. John's the Baptist Catholic Church
 
 
 
 

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