currently at:Georgetown, SC
current date:21 May 2005

In the five years since we came through Thunderbolt the first time, nearly every marina and boat yard has changed ownership and phone number, so it took a little more work than we expected to track down the few places that offer dry storage and discover that keeping Windom in Thunderbolt would cost about twice as much as what we'd been paying in central Florida (or what we'd pay in the Chesapeake). Oh, well. But Britt phoned nearly every marina from Georgia to North Carolina and found a possible place near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, so we decided to check that out next.

In the meantime, we took advantage of Thunderbolt's proximity to Savannah to do a little touristing. In the 19th century, Thunderbolt was a fishing village out in the country; as Savannah grew it became essentially a suburb of the larger city. The CAT bus dropped us downtown, almost right in front of the Ships of the Sea Museum, so naturally that was our first stop. This place had the most amazingly detailed ship models, from Revolutionary War-era fighting sail to hybrid steam/sail ships to a 1950s nuclear-powered ship. And interestingly enough, at least one of each of these types was named "Savannah"! The museum is housed in the restored 1819 home of the man who owned the hybrid steam/sail Savannah, which was the "first steamship to cross the Atlantic" - although considering that most of the voyage was actually made under sail power, with the steam engine used only for inshore navigation, this is a rather dodgy first. It's funny to think that modern cruising sailors (in our vessels which are, strictly speaking, sail/diesel), emphasize the sail rather than the power when we talk of our voyages, yet the sail/steam Savannah trumpeted the reverse!

It was raining when we left the museum, but we'd brought our rainjackets and so didn't mind tromping across town toward the waterfront. After lunch we wandered through a few galleries and then walked along the Savannah River, watching the tugboats and big ships. The industrial waterfront where cotton was shipped from Georgia and South Carolina plantations to the mills of New England had gone through the typical urban pattern of glory days followed by decline and decay followed by conversion into tourist draw. Restored 18th and 19th century buildings now house restaurants, hotels, and t-shirt shops. Even in the rain there were lots of people bustling about on foot and riding the various tourist trams. Savannah is on a high bluff overlooking the river, so the waterfront area is multi-level. The row of brick buildings fronting the river have rear exits on their second or third floors, leading out to little bridges which connect to a lovely park: expanses of incredibly green grass, huge trees dripping Spanish moss, and historical monuments and markers every few yards. We circled back on that upper level, stopping to read every single historical marker - some of them commemorated rather trivial things, but it was an interesting perspective on the city.

After a quick visit to City Hall we walked along Bull Street, which is interrupted every few blocks by a square. In the center of each square is a monument of some sort, surrounded by benches and lush greenery that contrasts beautifully with the elegant churches and mansions on the surrounding streets. Apparently Savannah has so much history that it has to make each tribute serve double or triple duty: for example, one square's historical marker touted it as the burial place of the local Creek tribal chief, but the monument honored the man who built the Savannah railroad, and the square itself was named for yet a third man.

Our last stop before taking the bus back was the city's history museum, which was a pleasant recap in slightly more organized fashion of all the bits we'd gleaned from the various park markers. All in all, it was an enjoyable day in a lovely city.