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My Guide to Savannah, Georgia Part II

Posted in books, Georgia, movies, pop culture, reviews, roadtrip, Savannah on April 17, 2008 by Paxton

Okay, today is Part II of my guide to Savannah, GA. If you missed Part I then go ahead and click here to get caught up (even if you already read it, go back and relive it, trust me, it’s just as awesome during the second read through).

All done? Good, then continue reading to hear more about my schoolgirl-like crush on Savannah, GA.

Forsyth Park So, after reading Part I, I bet you are thinking to yourself, “Fine, Pax, we get it, you and Steph eat a lot. Wonderful. What else is cool about Savannah?” I would answer that this is a great question (although your tone was rather rude). Honestly, there’s a good mix for everyone. If you enjoy shopping, they have some of the newer stores the young kids are loving today like Gap, but the City Market has the coolest nick-nack and souvenir shops. On our first trip to Savannah we went into this souvenir shop that was having a book signing by an author that lives in the Savannah area named Murray Silver. He was promoting his book Behind the Moss Curtain which included short stories centered in and around Savannah. Steph and I got to talking to him (it wasn’t busy at all in the store) and he mentioned that he had written the book Great Balls of Fire on which the Dennis Quaid movie was based. My ears perked up and I said, “What, What?” I loved that movie. I asked him about writing the book and what it was like. He talked to me about meeting Jerry Lee Lewis and the difference between the book he wrote and the movie. It seems the studios changed the tone of the book completely when they made the movie. The movie was much more over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek whereas the book was a little bit more harsh with Jerry and the tone was a lot darker. He said he may still have a few copies of the book at his home and if he found one I could have it, if I returned the next day. I thanked him and said I’ll be back the next day to see him. Like I said, I returned the next day and *BAM* he slapped the below paperbound tome of awesomeness in front of me (click on the pic for a bigger view):

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My Guide to Savannah, Georgia Part I

Posted in books, food, Georgia, movies, reviews, roadtrip, Savannah, TV shows on April 11, 2008 by Paxton

This is the article I was trying to finish last week and couldn’t do it. There was just too much to talk about. Well, I think I got it all in. It got a little long, so I’m cutting the article in two. Part I is today.

Hope you enjoy!

Bird Girl The weekend before last, the wife and I made our third visit to Savannah, GA. It was for her birthday. It is one of our favorite places to go because there is so much history in this little city and there’s so much to do. Lots of great restaurants, cool site-seeing tours and many places of interest can keep one busy for hours. History buffs can appreciate all of the early American history and buildings and Hollywood buffs can appreciate all of the Hollywood movies and tv shows that have been filmed here. When we lived in Birmingham, AL, we were a whopping 6 hours away, but now that we live in Jacksonville, FL we are only 2.5 hours away. And we love it.

One of the things my wife and I love about the city is the atmosphere. It’s quintessential Old South. Spanish moss in the trees, old Victorian style mansions, small streets, old architecture and many historical places of interest all lend a wonderful all-around aesthetic that causes one to get lost in history. It really is great to just walk around the neighborhoods and look at the old style homes and buildings. Steph and I could do just that, walk around for hours looking at old buildings. It really is amazing.

When we first get to Savannah, we love to walk Riverstreet. It runs right along the river (obviously) and has many shops and restaurants in which we love to go and browse. Our favorite place to stop on Riverstreet? That would be Wet Willie’s. It’s a daiquiri bar that serves up like 10 tasty alcoholic daiquiris that Steph and I love. They have one daiquiri called Call-A-Cab that is really good and the strongest one they serve, as well as a banana one called Monkey Shine. When Steph is in “vacation mode”, however, she reaches for the White Russian daiquiri. With ice cream, coffee flavoring and grain alcohol it tastes like an Irish coffee latte (gross, in my opinion, but who am I to judge?). Me? I summon to my outstretched hand, Shock Treatment. It’s very similar to one of my favorite mixed drinks of all time, the Blue Hawaiian. It’s 150 proof grain alcohol, Blue Curacao and lemonade (FYI…a Blue Hawaiian adds coconut and is “on the rocks”). It’s tart enough to contort your grill into a cartoon-like pucker and strong enough alcohol-wise to put you on the floor if you aren’t careful. My kind of drink. Funny, this is usually Steph and my first stop when we get to Savannah. Even before eating (which is surprising). After Willie’s, we wind up stumbling out into the light of day like newborn babes as we make our way to our other destinations.