I learned a whole lot in one day

Hoo boy- this is going to be an anticlimactic finale to this series of blogs ever. This was my last day in Savannah- I'm going to start this post out by admitting that I have forgotten what some of these pictures are! What?! The biggest lie I tell myself is that I don't need to write things down.  Also, my camera is crap. 

Everyone else in my work group flew out early that morning. Before I even woke up they were all on their flights. My flight wasn't until the late afternoon so I had a whole day to bum around the city by myself. I decided to take a trolley tour of the city.  It was the same company as the haunted city tour the night before- but I will tell you, the daytime tour is much, much better. I wish I'd had a full day to take advantage of it. They have 15 different stops around the historic district and you can get off at any of the stops you want and then pick up another trolley every 15 minutes. The whole tour round trip with no stops is an hour and half.

It was a dismal, rainy day but I was determined to get in as much history and culture as I possibly could.  I caught the first available trolley and had the whole thing to myself. It was kind of awesome because I had the driver's attention. He told me everything he could about the city and if I had any questions he answered them. It was my own private tour for the first 4 or 5 stops. 

I didn't get to keep him the whole time though. That's ok thought because every driver/tour guide that I had was very knowledgeable.

I know this picture is bad- and seems super random, but it's of a hearse. There is another ghost tour in town and they take you around in this tricked out hearse- you can't really see in the picture- but you are sitting above it- kind of like a double-decker hearse.   I've heard great things about their tours- so maybe next time I'll take that one.

This is the Independent Presbyterian Church. Yes, It's pretty- but it's also the church used in the opening scene of Forrest Gump. You know, where the feather is flying through the air. Did you know that a lot of scenes were filmed there? Yeah. That's another one I need to go back and watch to see if I recognize any of it. We passed the area where Forrest's bench was located and fun fact: they had to keep changing out the bench because they would leave the chocolates sitting there and they melted all over and ruined the bench and it would have to be replaced. Funny stuff.

I honest to gravy cannot remember what this building was. I know in my travels I passed the "Jingle Bells church," where One Horse Open Sleigh was written, later changed to Jingle Bells. Written in Georgia by a guy who was homesick for the winters of Boston.

I also passed the Second African Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr practiced and perfected his I Have a Dream speech before delivering it in Washington DC. I won't lie- I got a little choked up at that point.

There were so many places we went past and that I learned about. Even though these pictures are garbage- I consciously decided NOT to take a lot of pictures from the trolley simply because I wanted to live in the moment.

 This was St John's Episcopal Church. I can't remember why it touched me enough to pull out the camera- but it's a pretty church regardless.

The first stop where I exited the trolley was the Cathedral of St John the Baptist.

Such a beautiful building. I tell you, my camera is garbage- to do this cathedral justice, you should look at pictures taken by professionals.

The stained glass was out of this world! There was a lot of construction going on inside so I didn't get the pictures I wanted- but from the looks of things they wouldn't have turned out anyway. haha!

Looking up at the ceiling was a treat. Just beautiful from every angle!

After spending a short time in the cathedral, I ran back out to the trolley stop and hopped on the next trolley. I wanted so badly to tour the First African Baptist Church and they only do three tours a day. Because of the time restraints I was only going to be around for one tour- so I willed the trolley to get to my stop on time. I ran for it and barely made in!

We sat in the main worship room and the wonderful guide gave us the history of the church. She told us of the Reverends who have led the congregation. There have only been like, 17 in the churches long history. That means they stick around for a really long time!

It was built by slaves- for slaves. In the windows are the images of the first 6 reverends. Though the church has been around since 1777, the building wasn't completed until 1859. 

She was telling us the history of the Steinway Piano they own. She asked if anyone played. I raised my hand in a... sorta kinda maybe way. She asked if I took lessons- I told her I took lessons till I was 13. I can play a little. Which is true. Like Elizabeth Bennet, I play a little, and very ill indeed.

She moved on- unimpressed by my humility. She explained that it is one of the oldest Steinways in the south- 103 years old. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. After a while I raised my hand again and asked... "can I play it?" She said yes!!

It is a magnificent instrument- it's been played by some pretty amazing musicians- John Legend for one (!). I opened it up and very haltingly played the only song I know. But I know it well. I heard laughter from the group- but after I finished playing an condensed version of the song I learned that they were not laughing AT me- they were laughing at my definition of "sorta kinda maybe."

I have hung out with some pretty impressive pianist in my time. Trust and believe me when I say- I only play a little.  She took video of me as an afterthought. I didn't know she was taking video- I thought she was just taking a picture so in the video I was just plinking randomly- trying to play a poor man's version of chopsticks- so the video is not representative of what I actually played. haha. But I counted myself pretty fortunate. It would have been AWESOME to lift that piano lid and play it like it was meant to be played.

The rest of the tour took us to the basement level. All along the floor there were holes like this. When they built it they said it was ventilation. You know- to keep air flowing and keep the building cool. True? yes- BUT it was also to let air flow back down because under this floor is a four foot crawl space that was used to hide runaway slaves as part of the underground railroad.

You hear the stories- You read the books and see the movies. But this made it so much more real.  I also learned how they used quilts as signals to let folks know when it was safe to come and go. I wish I'd gotten a picture of the quilt she showed us- and what all the different blocks meant, but I was unsure of what I could actually take pictures of and rather than offend, I opted to just enjoy it.

It was a great experience and very educational. I highly recommend that you visit the First African Baptist Church while visiting. And I wouldn't mind being there for a Sunday service.

The last thing I got to do on my tour- time was quickly counting down to airport time- was the Prohibition Museum. It sounds weird- but it was actually really awesome!

They start you out in the days of wives and mothers campaigning to have the demon drink outlawed- bring fathers and sons home and put and end to drunken violence.   I don't think that's too much to ask. It continues down the timeline of all the political campaigns and votes.

My new historical hero is this woman.

Carry A Nation. A leader in the temperance movement who motivated in a very... unorthodox way.

She lost her first husband to alcoholism and thereafter became very vocal against any alcohol. She would take a hatchet and attack places that served booze- particularly taverns. She was often arrested but was able to use the money she made from speaking on the Vaudeville circuit to post bail.

She was a woman large in stature and personality. I like her. A lot of kids these days do "wax museum" days at school where they dress like a historical figure and give a report as if they were that person. I would pick her. If YOUR kids do this- PICK HER! I can guarantee no one else will be doing it. Not all the girls need to be Marie Curie or Amelia Earhart.

The exhibit continues on through the installation of prohibition and takes you through all the creative ways that people got around it- moonshine and bootlegging.

There is a whole section on Al Capone and other bootlegging gangsters of the day. The violence that the underground sales incited. And my personal favorite, the genuine $1000 bill.

Prohibition and the lifestyle led by those who worked their way around it shaped a lot of the culture. Flappers came in vogue- the Charleston was the dance craze of the time and speakeasies were a favorite haunt.

Is that a Mickey Mouse I see there?

Personally, I'm on the side of the temperance movement- but clearly I am outvoted on that.

On that note- it was now time to say goodbye to this awesome, historic city.

I had to make oooooone last stop before I went to pack my bags. There is a place called Vinnie Van GoGo's. The pizza smelled amazing every time I passed by- and it was on all the lists of places I HAD to see- so I stopped by to see what all the fuss was about.

Oh my gosh. I'm not sure if I was just that hungry- or if it was just that good. It still only scored an A- though- simply for not coming from New Jersey. Haha. I'm partial to Jersey pie. 

I got my bags packed and for the first time in my non-tech savvy life, I ordered a Lyft. Of course I got the red-neckest of red necks who just wanted to talk about the current president and how (gag) great he is. I kept looking at my phone- pretending not to hear him. I don't want to talk politics with people I know- I'm absolutely NOT talking about politics with a perfect stranger whose views are so completely different from mine- because if you can't say something nice... don't say nothin' at all. (Disney education in action, folks)

Another Savannah staple is the ice cream shop, Leopold's. I guess it's been there for 3 or 400 years (exaggerate much?) and is on all the go-to lists of places to visit. Sadly- I did not get a chance to go into the real Leopold's. I saw it on several occasions, but I never made it inside. BUT luckily they had a Leopold's stand right by my gate at the airport. How very thoughtful!

The flight was a little bumpier than usual so that was fun. But it left like, 30 minutes late- which made me (and a bunch of other passengers) very nervous because of connecting flights. We were sweating bullets. They even announced, "If this is your final destination, will you please stay seated so that those who need to run for connections can get through?" I was one of those who had to run. Luckily I wasn't too far down the terminal and I made it just in time for my flight home. WHEW!

It was a very fun trip. I'm always up for a work adventure and it was most definitely an adventure. Thank you for letting me share it with you. :)