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| The sign at the Moon River Bridge |
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| Looking down Moon River |
According to our guide, Susan, Mercer also wrote the lyrics for The Munsters theme song. When he finished, he told a friend that they were the worst lyrics he had ever written. The friend said, "Then don't put your name on them." Some friend. (I can't validate this story but I still like it.)
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| The Mercer family tomb and Johnny Mercer bench in Bonaventure Cemetery |
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| Family stone. |
Moon River was named after the song. Bummer.
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There is something called a Low Country Boil which seems to be an institution here in the Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia. It's a mess of boiled shrimp, boiled sausage, boiled potatoes, boiled corn and, like a nugget at the bottom of a muddy stream, one crab cracked in half. And, according to Yelp and Urban Spoon, Bobo Seafood Market way the hell out on Montgomery Ave. in Savannah is the place to get it I mean, even if you throw out the "this is the best I have ever had" and the "it made me vomit" BoBo still got 4 1/2 out of 5. ( What kind of dickwad writes, "It smells terrible. I'm not going in" and gives the place a 1?)
So after a lovely afternoon walking the squares of Savannah we headed out Montgomery Ave., a long way out. Now, I think I would know what to expect if it was Bubba's. And, in Savannah when you go from north to south you go from white to black. So I figured BoBo was going to be black. The last thing I expected to find when I parked Charlotte next to a Benz in front of a slightly down at the heals pastel stucco building was a group of S.E. Asian guys working conscientiously under a Buddhist shrine on the wall. Nor did we expect to see some of the local color in day glow orange polyester picking up apre-shift dozen steamed crabs while we waited for our two Low Country Boils at $7.99 each.
By weight it was a LOT of food. I am sorry to report that the shrimp were mushy, the corn was mushy, the sausage was leathery, the potatoes were meh. The crab, a small female, was okay. I won't review BoBo. If you can't say something nice....and all that.
Note from Fran: We should have listened to the "dickwad." He was 100% correct. Not sure how the Health Department let's the place keep operating.
So after a lovely afternoon walking the squares of Savannah we headed out Montgomery Ave., a long way out. Now, I think I would know what to expect if it was Bubba's. And, in Savannah when you go from north to south you go from white to black. So I figured BoBo was going to be black. The last thing I expected to find when I parked Charlotte next to a Benz in front of a slightly down at the heals pastel stucco building was a group of S.E. Asian guys working conscientiously under a Buddhist shrine on the wall. Nor did we expect to see some of the local color in day glow orange polyester picking up apre-shift dozen steamed crabs while we waited for our two Low Country Boils at $7.99 each.
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| A mess of shrimp, sausage, potato corn and crab |
Note from Fran: We should have listened to the "dickwad." He was 100% correct. Not sure how the Health Department let's the place keep operating.
There are a lot of ways to see Savannah, a lot:
But for me, the only way is walking. And next year it will be with Savannah Dan.
BTW, If you want to be a licensed tour guide in Historic Savannah, here is what you need to know to pass the test. Then a criminal background check, 100 bucks, an ID photo and you're in. Of course, the best guides, like Susan, our Bonaventure Cemetery guide, use the manual as a skeleton and spend a lot of time in the Georgia Historical Society and the Historic Savannah Foundation fleshing out the skeleton.
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| Riverboat replicas on the Savannah River |
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| Bike tours |
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| Segway tours |
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| Carriage tours |
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| Trolley tours |
But for me, the only way is walking. And next year it will be with Savannah Dan.
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| Savannah Dan |
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| Southern Live Oak and Spanish Moss at Middleton Place. The Ashley River in the background |
Nothing speaks to me of the Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia like Southern Live Oaks, Spanish Moss and Lindsey Graham. Now the Southern Live Oak is an oak and it is live in the sense that it is evergreen. Spanish Moss is neither Spanish nor moss. And Lindsey Graham -- who knows.
SLOs are very long lived. The Angel Oak on St. .John's Island near Charleston is over 500 years old. Perhaps the SLO is most prized for the shade it provides. While the tree tops out at 60-65 feet, its branches can span outward 85 feet or more. And the branches can be trained. Hence those beautiful, shaded allees.
Shade is kind of important in a place like Savannah. From May through September the temperatures range from 85 to 100 degrees about 30% of the time. And the humidity averages 70% annually. You need a permit to cut down a Live Oak even on your own property.) While the Spanish Moss limits the foliage on the lower boughs, the treetop foliage is very dense. Each of the 22 squares of Savannah is heavily shaded. Good thing, too, even in November.
Spanish moss in not Spanish or moss. It is an epiphyte, a plant that takes it's nourishment directly from the air. Folklore has it that an early, heavily bearded Spaniard chased an Indian maiden, of whom he was enamored, up a tree. Only his beard remained there and, he didn't get the maiden. Alternatively, the Indian chief, father of the girl, imprisoned the Spaniard in a Southern Live Oak until he recanted of his love. He refused to do so. The end was the same; he perished leaving only his beard and draping SLOs forever.
Early settlers of Savannah used the moss for their bedding. And Henry Ford used it for the seats of his first Model T's. Unfortunately, the moss, especially, if it is collected from the ground, is home to red chiggers and jumping spiders. Hence: sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite. Long before the settlers, the Indians used moss for baby diapers, pain relief poultices and medicinal teas. Surprise, scientists are finding the moss to have anti-bacterial uses, to lower blood sugar in mice, and, perhaps, to be an estrogen replacement. This is one very useful epiphyte. Have I mentioned Yellow Fever?
Savannah was devastated at least half a dozen times by Yellow Fever. The first time was within the very first year that the settlers arrived. (The first Jews were allowed to stay in Savannah because they arrived during an epidemic and had a doctor among them. More later.) Back in the day the people thought miasmas, bad air, caused the disease. And they thought that the moss helped clean the air. They even shot cannon balls down the streets to try to disturb and dislodge the miasmas. On the off chance that a cannon balls hit a mosquito I suppose it could be called a prophylactic measure.
I love the Oak and the moss. The campsite on Skidaway Island reminded me of Yoda's home planet, Dagoba.
Finally, there is Lindsey Graham. What can you say?
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| The Angel Oak outside of Charleston The Southern Live Oak has been prized since earliest colonial time. The wood is heavy and strong but hard to work. The frames of the USS Constitution, Old Ironsides, are hewn of SLO. The US Navy reportedly still owns stands of Southern Live Oaks. Nice to know they are ready for a post-apocolyptic rearmament program. |
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| Entry to Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, GA |
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| Boone Hall Plantation Entrance Allee, Charleston, SC |
Spanish moss in not Spanish or moss. It is an epiphyte, a plant that takes it's nourishment directly from the air. Folklore has it that an early, heavily bearded Spaniard chased an Indian maiden, of whom he was enamored, up a tree. Only his beard remained there and, he didn't get the maiden. Alternatively, the Indian chief, father of the girl, imprisoned the Spaniard in a Southern Live Oak until he recanted of his love. He refused to do so. The end was the same; he perished leaving only his beard and draping SLOs forever.
Early settlers of Savannah used the moss for their bedding. And Henry Ford used it for the seats of his first Model T's. Unfortunately, the moss, especially, if it is collected from the ground, is home to red chiggers and jumping spiders. Hence: sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite. Long before the settlers, the Indians used moss for baby diapers, pain relief poultices and medicinal teas. Surprise, scientists are finding the moss to have anti-bacterial uses, to lower blood sugar in mice, and, perhaps, to be an estrogen replacement. This is one very useful epiphyte. Have I mentioned Yellow Fever?
Savannah was devastated at least half a dozen times by Yellow Fever. The first time was within the very first year that the settlers arrived. (The first Jews were allowed to stay in Savannah because they arrived during an epidemic and had a doctor among them. More later.) Back in the day the people thought miasmas, bad air, caused the disease. And they thought that the moss helped clean the air. They even shot cannon balls down the streets to try to disturb and dislodge the miasmas. On the off chance that a cannon balls hit a mosquito I suppose it could be called a prophylactic measure.
I love the Oak and the moss. The campsite on Skidaway Island reminded me of Yoda's home planet, Dagoba.
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| Yoda on Dagoba as imagined by Irvin Kershner |
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| Skidaway Island |
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| Skidaway Island |
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| Dagoba |
Of course, if the light is right, a cypress swamp is the perfect home for The Creature From The Black Lagoon. I was 8 years old and I had gone to the Saturday movies by myself. This was my first scary movie. I spent most of the time huddled behind the seat back in front of me. I still don't know how it turned out.
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| Cypress Swamp at Middleton Hall |
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| Cypress roots regenerating at Middleton Plantation |
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Bet he had a heart of gold
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Finally, there is Lindsey Graham. What can you say?
Ceptin' "What's a nice little fella like you doin' comin' from a place like that? I just can't see him in a pickup with a Stars and Bars license plate, a gun rack and a dead deer in the back. Ole Lindsey might just be in trouble back home after his vote to re-open the guvment. We saw the first raggedy-ass "Lose Lindsey" sign within days of the vote. And one homeowner on Ashley River Road outside Charleston had a big sign in his front yard:
Come out of the closet Lindsey and admit you're a Democrat.
On the hierarchy of lowlife, I guess Democrat is about as low as you can go in The South these days. I'll take that as historic progress.
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