Savannah, GA

Wednesday, 26 November                                                0.0 SM

A gentle drummer raps a ragged riff on the deck. No sense of rhythm, this early morning musician, or maybe it’s just a free-form sort of beat.

A steady rain rinses the boat and runs off the Bimini .

No such luck. It’s just rain. More rain. Gentle as it may be, it’s wet. And after five days, there is nothing aboard Steadfast that isn’t at least damp ranging the full spectrum up to soaked. Just depends on location.

But fortune favors in the form of the courtesy car made available by the nice folks at Isle of Hope Marina. Nothing fancy, mind you–a beat up old Civic with a “Check Engine” light illuminated–but free. Just top off the tank when you bring it back.

So it’s off for the day to see some of Savannah, as much as can be seen between showers and the windshield wipers. Quite a bit as it turns out.

There’s a “Birdsnest” breakfast at Goose Feathers: two poached eggs on a bed of grits covered in grated cheddar and doused with salsa. It’s easy to see how it’s become a “Savannah tradition.” There’s a rumbling drive down cobblestoned River Street with it’s dozens of restaurants and pubs, and where a lone sail yacht shares the city wharf with a tour boat and a cruise ship while one of NYK’s container ships steams up stream.

Around the bend and up the hill, it’s on to East Bay Street past the park (one of many downtown) and historic buildings like the Cotton Exchange and the Customs House. Car parked, it’s time for a stroll through the City Market, framed by the brick and lawns of Franklin and Ellis Squares.

The day’s drear just adds to the gloom of gothic Bonaventure Cemetery, setting for a key scene from the novel and movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”

Instead of midnight, it’s noon “in the Garden of Good and Evil.”

Savannah’s reputation is well-earned. Even in the rain, it’s easy to admire her history, traditions, architecture, atmosphere. She’s a lovely town. Were it not for the rain, Steadfast might’ve missed her this trip.

So for one more day, let the drummer drum on.

And wherever you are, best wishes for a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Steadfast out.