Lovely Savannah

Twenty years ago we watched a movie called "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", starring Kevin Spacey (since disgraced) and John Cusack (still well-regarded), directed by Clint Eastwood, set in Savannah, Georgia.  It was based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name about the true story of the shooting of a male lover by Jim Williams, a rich antique dealer and restorer of classic homes in Savannah.  Pleading self defense, Williams was tried four times for murder and was finally acquitted, then died of pneumonia and heart failure six months later.  We remembered the movie as making Savannah look incredibly exotic, and so in preparation for a tour of that city and to get us in the proper mood, we streamed the movie on our motorhome TV.

Our Savannah Heritage tour director and minibus driver was a very knowledgeable native Savannah lady who knew where the bodies were buried.  We heard about the founding of Georgia by James Oglethorpe, the preaching in Savannah by John Wesley (the founder of Methodism), the capture of the city by Sherman in the Civil War - but due to our inherent shallowness we were most fascinated by the tales about Jim Williams and his murder trials.  The Mercer-Williams house, shown below, was once owned by the prolific songwriter Johnny Mercer and later was the scene of the Jim Williams shooting.

Riding along on the tour bus through the Savannah neighborhoods, we were enchanted by the beautiful old homes, many of which had been renovated by Jim Williams.  There's something about the genteel southern aristocratic charm of the architecture that's very appealing.  Savannah also has all those city parks featuring huge live oak trees dripping with moss.  (The photo below doesn't do them justice.)  Surprisingly, Savannah is Nancy's favorite city so far on the trip.

And so before our dinner in the city we dropped in to a real estate office.  The mansions in the historic district sell for multiple millions but the newer construction in that area is somewhat affordable.  We learned that one should be careful walking the streets after dark, and that summers are hot and muggy and buggy.  But it's a real city with all that cities provide in the way of great restaurants, entertainment, and culture.

We ate at a classic downtown restaurant, the Olde Pink House (below), which had a wonderful, almost colonial atmosphere, and the food was good (though not memorable).

In fact, our best meal during this RV stop was on Hilton Head Island, at the Lucky Rooster Kitchen, which had one of the most creative menus we've ever seen.  The food, in the "low country" genre, was sensational, service was perfect, and it was one of our favorite dining experiences since we left Santa Cruz.

We sure had a great time at this stop.  We've added both Hilton Head Island and Savannah to the short list (so far) of the cities we might possibly consider as future home sites.  Both are phenomenal, but both also have a few drawbacks.