Rest Day (In)activity

Last night, Route Rap was early and I went straight out to dinner with Connie and Johnnie whilst others lingered and had a drink before venturing out. That we went to the Blue Moon Brewing Company didn’t make a great deal of difference to the drink side of things, and for once, I was able to have a drink the night before a Rest Day. The brews were all potent – a ‘dark porter’ came in at 11% ABV so I avoided that, but the ‘Pale Ale’ that I chose as one of their award winners came in at a taste-bud-tingling 7% and that slid down nicely, but not too quickly!
The chosen food was good and complemented the drinks well, and after dinner, we were leaving the restaurant as the rest of the group came to dinner.

Savannah is quite a tourist spot with the old dock and wharf area rejuvenated and full of bars, clubs, shops and attractions for visitors. Whatever there was to do there, however, didn’t appeal to any of us in our state of tiredness and we were back in the hotel by 9pm. Routine is hard to break.
Today, I tried to break it, but still woke before 7am and was unable to roll over and go back to sleep, but I dozed for a while before going to breakfast. Nearly all the rest of the group were there, discussing plans for the day. Quite a large number went on the bus tour round the city and they left the hotel at 8.30am! I hung about for a bit and did a bit of nothing much, before going to the Tourist Centre and getting a copy of a self-guided walking tour from the shop there. The forecast time for the walk was 1½ to 2 hours, but this is beautiful city that is well worth lingering over. My walk lasted just over 3 hours and I didn’t cover all the distance, but it was enjoyable none the less.

There is a lot of history hereabouts surrounding the Civil War, Slavery and the Cotton Industry and the business done in the Cotton Exchange building at one time was responsible for determining the world price of that commodity. There are over 20 different squares set out on the grid pattern that is the city centre of Savannah, each one with a centrepiece telling something different about the past.

Down by the riverside were two bronze statues, one to commemorate the part that Savannah played in staging the sailing events in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and another in honour of Florence Martus who was known as Savannah’s ‘Waving Girl’ as she welcomed every ship into the harbour for over 50 years. All in all, it was a fascinating and relaxing walk round a pleasant city. We have been so lucky with our Rest Days on this tour. They have all been just what was needed and in good hotels near to where we needed to be.
I got back to the hotel just after one o’clock to find those from the bus tour preparing themselves for a boat trip on the river. Whilst it would no doubt have been enjoyable, my priority was a bit of R and R so I watched TV through closed eyes for about an hour. I don’t think I missed much!
There’ll be no Route Rap tonight as the orders were all given out last night. It’s pretty much fight your way through the early morning Savannah traffic then get on Route 17 to Brunswick. Temperatures will be hot but the hurricanes, Hanna and Ike are not going to affect us at all, it doesn’t appear, so we are all set for sunny skies all the way southwards to Florida, the Sunshine State.

So, all I'll do now is bore you with a few more of my holiday snaps taken at various locations around the city.