We were on a wonderful Tauck tour in early April and fortunately it stayed cool. But spring – the season of ocean mists and mellow breezes was coming to an end and the hot, sweltering summer of the South would commence with a vengeance: like mashed potatoes soaked in steamy, soupy, drippy gravy.
Both cities have charm and character and are very pleasantly captivating. Both have two story, antique houses that are usually painted blue or gray pastel colored with a chimney or two, alive and surrounded with porches and balconies and every window has a pair of shutters. Even a rocking chair can be seen on the large front porches. And what really sets these magnificent homes apart from the average U.S. home is the elegant ornamental grillwork that abounds. It is so beautiful and each example is unique in it’s detail.
Charleston’s ancient and charming cobblestone streets of some neighborhoods are worn smooth by decades of pounding by horse hooves and wagon wheels and give one a certain feeling of walking back in time. It’s as if the present day technical marvels were many years in the future and the only concern was seeing that your horse was fed, or your Hudson Bay ax sharpened so you could split the hickory for the domestic fire or the leather tanned and ready for Mr. Groome’s new boots, or the grain miller’s sail cloths arriving from Scotland so he can have new mill sails and get back to grinding the neighbor’s corn, or the bookbinder worried about receiving enough calfskin and Morocco leather from London so that he could complete his contract order for 650 copies of the 1748 revision of the State Code, or Blovet Rowsey, the silversmith’s helper just beginning his 7 year apprenticeship, wondering how he was ever going to learn to make a soup ladle with that big, deep bowl that they all have. The Savannah blacksmith on the square with his simple tools is making some nails and gate hinges and thinking of his next customer’s request – a wrought iron grill for a second story balcony. Yes, it does take one back!
The ironwork in both colonial cities is irresistibly attractive, rivaled only by the grill work in New Orleans. The decorative scroll-work, the pineapple motif, the rosettes, the banister balusters with oversized knuckles, the scrolls with twists and knots all beautifully constructed. It makes the cities unique and so graceful as you stroll by admiring the iron workmanship of the skilled sculptors.
One very noticeable entrancing scene was the appearance of so many ladies wearing very colorful, broad-brimmed straw hats – each with a flash of bright silk flowing gently from the crown. Those ample sized hats were brilliant and vivid: blues of topaz, sapphire, tourmaline and aquamarine; ruby, garnet and jasper; emerald and jade; the yellow of amber; the white of moonstone and pearl; the purple amethyst and many more. So colorful!
Savannah we liked a lot; it was easy to move about as it was laid out in a flat grid with a series of tree shaded squares hinged together every 3 to 4 blocks. Each square is blessed with walkways, flower gardens, beautiful fountains and in the center a statue representing valorous men of Georgia The squares are all named: governors, generals, senators, English gentry who contributed in some way to Georgia’s creation and even Ben Franklin and George Washington.
We walked all over central Savannah and then Susan and I decided to ride the little bus that went through that venerable city. As we hopped on, we sat near 4 Negro men who were sprawled lazily throughout the runty, undersized coach like 4 Georgia alligators in a malarial bog. Their street chatter with the Black bus driver was amusing and entertaining; she always had a quick, snappy remark for their challenging banter and clearly they all traveled this route routinely – they easily gave travel advice to us evidently recognizing us ‘whites’ as tourists. It was a fun and cheerful half-hour.
In Charleston one evening we visited a small, neighborhood Congregational church for a short performance of gospel music. Their publicity motto, ‘We cum fuh sing E’ praise! We gwine trus’ een dah Lawd!’, is a dialect of Gullah – a combination of the African and English languages - which is still spoken and sung by many Blacks in South Carolina.
There were 5 singers – one male – and they were wonderful: lots of hand clapping and foot stomping and shuffling – lots of ‘Amens’ and ‘Hallelujahs’ and even some ‘Well, well, wells’. Just like the black church singers every Sunday all over America; they were friendly, loud, rhythmic, animated and really happy to be laughing, shouting and stomping in the house of the Good Lord.
The earthy vigor of this group was a delight for an appreciative audience sitting on the hard pews of that little church. Their ebullience was contagious and we all clapped energetically as they finished their last gospel number.
We took a scenic harbor cruise in Charleston, sailing by the hardy and robust Fort Sumter, the place of the beginning of the Civil War – April 12, 1861. It was a sight that everyone on our tour was glad to see – not a fictitious illusion but real brick, stone and mortar that played such a famous part in our young nation’s history.
Another appealing place in Charleston was ‘The Citadel”, a military university established in 1842. Not too big with only 2,000 students who go after degrees while engaging in military activities. Their uniforms are ‘Air Force’ blue, but after graduating they can enter, if they wish, any service branch. We soon saw some of the Cadets walking very quickly in the street gutters – not your usual place to proceed to the next class. Well, guess what? That is called ‘hazing’! All freshmen must do this at all times – 120 paces per minute, eyes straight ahead, and ‘zero’ talking or speaking. Sophomores and above though are not required to perambulate in this manner in the gutter. Imagine – this since 1842; it was rather surprising to see.
We also visited Hilton Head Island, S.C., a fabulous resort destination with 15 golf courses and Beaufort, S.C., a quaint town, with lots of old houses like Savannah.
On Jekyll Island in Georgia we were fascinated and surprised by the celebrated pages of it’s history. A lot of famous people had palatial winter homes here between 1888 and 1942. Some of the owners were J. P. Morgan, the banker; Cyrus McCormick of wheat harvester fame; Marshall Field, Chicago based department store founder; W. Rockefeller, John D.’s brother, and the descendants of the Vanderbilt and Gould clans of early U.S. railroad disgrace. All these guys were wealthy beyond anybody’s realistic imagination. We enjoyed our 2 days on Jekyll Island immensely- a great start to our tour.
Our trip was complete with a well informed guide, a good driver and 43 travel companions who were fun, interesting, from most parts of the U.S. and very easy to travel with. We are always grateful for the insight we gain from our new travel companions.
Take care and God bless you-