DAY #166
Today I drove into Savannah to see the historic part of the city. The drive took about two hours and gave me the opportunity to see a little more of the Georgia countryside. The roads were good and the traffic surprisingly light and while not looking much different than that around Millen, it still was a pleasant and satisfying drive. One thing that’s becoming apparent is the growing dislike of being in urban areas, it seems the more time I spend away from it, the less tolerance I have when in it.
I arrived at the start point for the 90 minute mini bus tour with plenty of time to spare which was a good thing because it was a little confusing finding just exactly where to board the bus, and where I could park. As I started to feel a growing anxiety, I reminded myself to just relax and it will work out and you know what, that’s exactly what happened,
After getting on the bus (along with three other couples) we began our tour. It only took me a few minutes to realize that there is just so much to see, and the tour at best would give only a glimpse of the historic part of the city.
Sit back and enjoy the ride as we see some of the sights of historic Savannah, Georgia.
To properly see old Savannah, you need to give yourself one and better yet, two full days of walking around, that’s the ideal way to do it.
The last part of the tour brings you down by the river where cotton was loaded onto ships. It was an interesting area not done justice by the few photos that follows. I really regret not getting more photos of this area.
It was such a super nice late morning outside (the tour started at 10:00) and from what I was able to see, this is one very cool place to spend time. I’ll be back and next time do the town right.
From Savannah, I crossed the bridge and headed for the Hilton Head, South Carolina area. Since this would be the last time on the journey to spend some time near/on the ocean, I booked a dolphin cruise that would take me out into the Atlantic for a ninety minute trip.
Specifically, I needed to go to Sea Pines Resort on the island to get to the dolphin cruise which was out of a place called Harbor Town. The ride from Savannah was along two lane rural highway and took a little over an hour to get to the destination. It was a nice drive even with heavy traffic. Crossing over from the mainland to Hilton Head Island required paying a toll ($1.25) and as I crossed, the makeup of the area went from rural/moderate to poor, to developing/affluent in a snap. I will say that the development was done in a tasteful manner. most retail and commercial was tucked back away from the road and screened by trees.
Entering Sea Pines Resort cost $8.00 to enter and really surprised me, I wasn’t expecting to have to pay and especially that much (ouch). But pay I did, and proceed I did to Harbor Town. Once there, I found the place packed with no place to park. I wasn’t too happy about the situation but I was able to take it stride and remain calm (score one for me) as I continued to and finally found a spot to park. After paying $8.00 to get in and then being so close to the cruise, I wasn’t going to just give up and head back (although I briefly thought about it). I had to take a bit of a hike to get to the pier but in the end it turned out to be worth it, besides I certainly couldn’t complain about getting some exercise.
At 2:45 pm people began to board the boat and get ready to head out to open water. The ship was relatively large and carried at least 100 people. The weather that had started out so beautifully in the morning, was carrying over into the afternoon.
We left exactly at 3:00 pm and as we pulled away from the dock you could see the rental jet skiers and parasailers in the distance, this was an aquatic playground that’s for sure.
The Island and the resort while being a really nice place, was for the most part out of my league. As I was waiting for the cruise to board I asked a women working one of the kiosks how working class people could afford to live in the area. She told me that was one of the biggest problems businesses had, they couldn’t hire enough people because of the lack of affordable housing. People were now coming from the mainland but even there, housing was becoming more and more expensive as the area continues to develop. This was definitely the place to be if you can afford it.
It didn’t take long before dolphins were sighted. Nothing gets you excited like a sighting of dolphins, they are so cool.
We continued out towards the Atlantic where I was able to take one long last look at the water, I’m really going to miss not being able to go to the oceans edge.
As we made our way back it was pointed out that this island named Daufuskie is where the movie Conrack took place. There are only about 300 permanent residents, and the only way to get on of off is by boat or plane. What a dichotomy, either your very rich (and white) or very poor (and black).
The Journey. 