Back to Savannah

There were still things we wanted to see in Savannah so the next day we went back.  First stop was the Visitor's Center which, most importantly, is where the History Museum is located.

This time we felt right at home since we'd been here before so we marched right in like we owned the place.

Inside this former railroad station was an abundance of artifacts.  First up, one of the trains that used to stop here.

And then we came upon the exhibit we had heard about - the Forrest Gump bench!

Remember, the bench that Tom Hanks sat on was removed because people were creating a traffic jam taking selfies?  The bench was moved here for display.

Robert Zemickis (Director) and Tom Hanks

From there we saw Dr. Belford's dental office.  I remember using the "spit bowl" as a kid.  But now I've learned that it's called a Cuspidor.

And then it was all Juliet Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts.

Much of this exhibit brought back memories of my time as a Brownie and Junior Girl Scout.  This is what my Brownie uniform looked like with the cute little beanie hat.

And a great display showing hats throughout the years.  The green beanie style hat (1948-1963) is the type of hat I wore.

No, I didn't wear this uniform from 1914.  Maybe my grandmother did?

There was lots to see and after we made it through, we headed out for our next stop.

What brought us here you ask?  Someone not listed on this sign.

Button Gwinnett (1735-1777) was an English-born American Founding Father who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. We're going to try to pay our respects to as many signers as we can while we travel.

The original burial site of Major General Nathanial Greene who was relocated to Johnson Square in 1902.

As a new member in the Daughters of the American Revolution, I was pleased to see this.

And now, of course, it was on to lunch.  Since it was difficult to find a place to park, we took a walk.  And by the time we arrived at the restaurant, we were drenched.  Wouldn't you know it, the only available table was outside.  Thank goodness there were umbrellas!

As we sat there I noticed a pilgrimage across the street heading toward the Juliet Gordon Low birthplace.

The exterior of the house was beautiful.

Before it was the Gordon house, it was owned by James Moore Wayne (1790-1867), an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 32 years.

Back to the car as we had one more stop.  Off to pay our respects to Thomas Heyward Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, at the Heyward Family Cemetery in Jasper County, South Carolina.  

Wait - what?  This is the Heyward Family Cemetery???  It made me sad to see this historical cemetery in someone's back yard.  

And with that, we called it a day.  What a history lesson we had!

Savannah

The next day we ventured out to Savannah, which was about a 20 minute drive from the RV park.

When we arrived, we were a little confused as to where to go and where to park.  But we found our way to the Visitor's Center and went inside.  The lady was very helpful and explained how the historic district was set up so we started walking.  It was hot - very hot - and humid - very humid.  These Washingtonians weren't used to that!

We made our way to Chippewa Square which is the location where the "bench scene" from Forrest Gump was filmed.

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A local stopped and asked us if he could help and directed us to where the bench was located.

And then he gave us some interesting tidbits, even though Wendy (my DAR sister) had already told me some of this.

The bench was moved when it was found to create traffic problems.  As people drove on the one way street, when they got to the bench they would stop their car, hop out, take a selfie, and then back in the car to be on their way.  Of course, the cars behind them were happy to wait because when their turn came, they would do the same.  A traffic nightmare!

The traffic around the square is one way but for filming, they turned the traffic around so that it went the other way.

The "spanish moss" (which is not spanish nor moss) is fine when it is up in the trees.  But when it falls to the ground, stay away as it becomes covered with chiggers (aka red bugs).

Remember in the beginning of Forrest Gump when the feather floats and falls at Forrest's feet?  And then he puts it into his suitcase before beginning to tell the story of his life?  The feather was dropped from the church across the street.

Actually, he told us, about 3,000 feathers were dropped from the church and not one of them landed at Forrest's feet.  However, as I was researching the feather scene I learned that, in fact, no feathers were dropped from the church and the entire scene was filmed using CGI, which was fairly new technology in the early 1990's.  Just goes to show how rumors are spread.

As we walked through the square we came across a monument to British General James Ogelthorpe, the founder of the colony of Georgia in 1733.

When you see him from the back, I was standing at the site of Forrest's bench when I took the picture.

See it here?

photo by www.savannahtheater.com

The wrought iron fence around the monument is either a new addition or was magically removed for the film.

We walked through Johnson Square and saw a monument to Nathaniel Greene from Rhode Island.  He was a Major General of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War.  He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependable officer and is known for his successful command of the Southern Theater of the Revolutionary War.  

We walked on through Franklin Square and there was a monument memorializing the Haitian soldiers who fought in the Siege of Savannah in 1779.  

Along the way I saw some of "my people".

James Ogelthorpe's contribution to the Jewish settlers is the first known Jewish burial plot in Savannah.  This monument is memorializing that contribution.

Speaking of "my people", look what I saw as we walked through town.

Of course, I had to channel my father and walked inside.  The lady asked if she could help me and I asked "how do you pronounce the name of your store?"  Thankfully, she said "Leave-y" which is, as we all know, the correct way to pronounce it (not Leh-vy).  I explained that Levy was my birth name and that my grandfather and his three brothers ran Levy Brothers in Fresno in the mid 20th century.  She related to me that the jewelry store is family owned and currently run by the 4th generation of the family, Lowell Kronowitz.  The store was originally owned by Aaron Levy who was from Poland and it is currently in the 116th continuous year of operation.

By now we'd worked up quite an appetite so we ventured towards the Savannah River, which creates the border between Georgia and South Carolina, to find a restaurant (air conditioning required).  Hmmmm, how to get down there?

Sorry, no how no way was I going down these stairs, historic or not historic let's find a different way.

We finally found an alternate route and ended up at this lovely restaurant which was originally a cotton warehouse.

Not only had we worked up an appetite but we were hot and sweaty so we decided to have some refreshing cold adult beverages.

Ron had Chatham Artillery punch (and kept the glass)....

I had a Georgia Peach Margarita.

Time to head back to the car so we found our way back to the street we came in on as we'd seen a few interesting shops.

We'd seen Byrd's in Gatlinburg and since it is Ron's mother's maiden name, it caught our eye again.  No, we didn't stop except to take a picture.

Here's the place that caught our eye as we came into town.

Yes, we walked inside.  And even bought a few things.

If you know me well you know I love Diet Coke - I wish I could have bought this sign.

And with that, we stumbled back to the car.  Did I mention it was hot - very hot - and humid - very humid?