This morning, the sisters Szyndel and I decided to try and explore some more of Savannah before we hit the road north to Charleston. It was raining so hard, but our first mission was to get to CVS Pharmacy to get Kasia some Cortizone because she got poison ivy all over her legs. We think Little Gracie gave it to her at Bonaventure Cemetery. No, but seriously, there’s nowhere else she could have gotten it from.

Today's travel lesson: If you plan on going traipsing around in the swamps of Georgia, make sure you stay away from all foliage. Kasia is a good sport! Hey, at least it's not typhoid!
After our mission, the rain stopped for a bit so we parked and walked to Calhoun Square, and found The Book Store. “The Book” is of course Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which basically put Savannah on the map. Kasia got a copy of Midnight to read on the plane back to Poland, and I got a copy of Hiding My Candy by The Lady Chablis, who was the drag queen featured in Midnight. I’m only on page 3 and it’s HILARIOUS! The first chapter is called “The Negro Scarlett O’Hara” and it has a picture of Chablis dressed in Scarlett’s bar-b-que dress, HAHAHA! I’m loving it. What a character (who happens to be totally real)!
Anyway, Savannah is so gorgeous. And old. And fabulous. And very GWTW and “southern”. It pretty much blows Atlanta out of the water as far as beauty. Sorry, Atlanta, you’re too modern for me. I tend to like cities that have a lot of history that is still apparent in the buildings. Savannah’s historic district has such a quaint charm and gorgeous buildings and houses. The ghost tour we went on by trolley last night took us to the Sorrel-Weed House and a really neat cemetery in the middle of town.

The third story balcony of the Sorrel-Weed House
The Sorrel-Weed House is supposedly haunted by two spirits: Mrs. Sorrel and their slave housekeeper, Molly. Mrs. Sorrel commeted suicide by throwing herself off the third floor balcony (pictured above) when she discovered her husband sleeping with Molly the housekeeper. Molly was hanged two weeks later. It was featured on the Sci-Fi show Ghost Hunters and they certified it “haunted”. It was a bit creepy but also pretty awesome, and the period furniture in the upstairs was gorgeous!
The cemetery we saw had these weird mausoleums that are dome shaped and lie close to the ground. The tour guide said that Savannah and Charleston are unique in that their crypts lie underground instead of above ground like most cemeteries. When Sherman came and invaded the city during the Civil War, his soldiers were there during a cold winter, and dug up the underground graves and then crawled in to keep themselves warm.

Underground mosoleum
We totally forgot today was Veteran’s Day here in the US, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a parade going through town. All the old vets waved at us and someone gave us little American flags. But then the nice parade became a huge hassle when we tried to make our way out of town because all the streets were blocked off! Waaah! I’d love to go back to Savannah when it’s sunny outside, I bet it’s amazing!

House on Calhoun Square, Savannah
Then we drove 2.5 hours to Charleston. It was pouring when we got here and the hotel is a bit of a dump. Okay, it’s not that bad, but it’s not as awesome as the past 2 hotels (even though I think it was a bit more expensive). Kasia was worried about her legs, so we asked the lady at the desk if there was a hospital or walk-in clinic close by. She gave us directions to a place about 15 miles away–during rush hour traffic and it took us about an hour to get there :S It was really annoying. We got lost on the way back. Another travel tip: when you’re in a city that you’ve never visited before, and you’re driving a car, remember to bring a map, otherwise you might end up on the wrong side of the river. Literally.
So, since the weather has been so awful, we didn’t get to see much of Charleston today. We did, however, drive through a flooded street, sit in traffic, and eat Taco Bell for dinner. But we have a sight-seeing tour booked for tomorrow morning and we plan on stopping by Drayton Hall on the way back to Marietta. It’s going to be a looong drive.
I’m looking forward to the event on Friday, though, and we hope to meet some interesting people!




















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