Savannah: A not-so-hidden treasure

My friend from Japan, Noriko, visited our family last month. It was a real treat, in that we haven't seen her in 16 years. We met her as a college student, who stayed in our home as part of a cultural exchange program. We've stayed in touch over the years, which strikes me as a not terribly common thing, especially when the participants live in different countries on opposite sides of the world. 

Noriko wanted to visit Savannah while she was here, so we treated ourselves to a road trip. I must say, I haven't been to Savannah just 'for fun' in quite awhile. Last time I was there, it was to attend the annual weiner dog race, which turned out to be something less than fun. 

We began our sightseeing jaunt with lunch in the City Market. If you're not familiar with it, the City Market is cool little enclave of shops, restaurants and galleries, located between River Street and Broughton Street. It's not quite as crowded as the waterfront and definitely worth a visit. 

While she was in Savannah, Noriko wanted to find and photograph the park bench from "Forrest Gump." After asking around (yeah, just paint 'tourist' on my forehead) we determined the bench was located in the Savannah Visitors Center, which was some distance away. We took two pedicabs, which turned out to be a nice way to get from point "A" to point "B." It's a pretty good deal, too, because the 'drivers' work for whatever you're willing to give them. 

We went into the Visitors Center, which is located on MLK Boulevard in the old train station. We learned that the bench was in the museum, which was (conveniently) located in the old train shed. After paying our admission, we proceeded into the museum which was filled with exhibits illustrating various aspects of Savannah history. 

Honestly, given the depth of Savannah's long history, this museum doesn't quite do it justice. I am, however, a tad bit biased having worked for one of the country's best museums.

One thing that intrigued me was the exhibit that showed a dentist's office from 50 or 60 years ago. It brought back memories of visiting my aunt's dentist near Claysburg, PA as a small child. Same ominious-looking chair, implements of dental torture and the neat porcelain sink where you got to spit (That was the best part of going to the dentist for me). 

As an aside, I'm not sure I want to know what it means when you visit various scenes from your life in a museum. Hmmmmm.

We found "the bench." It was roped off, of course. God knows we wouldn't want anyone to actually place their butts on the same piece of furniture as Tom Hanks. 

We maneuvered around to try and photograph Noriko with the bench, in such a way as to make it appear that she was sitting on it. Ultimately a rather lame and fruitless effort. So we headed to Chippewa Square, where the scenes were filmed. There, we found a similar bench and took a picture of it. 

We walked around on Broughton Street and visited this very cool store that has imported furniture and stuff from Asia. Can't remember the name of it, but it's in the old Woolworth's Building (I think). One of the women there had a HUGE male St. Bernard -- more childhood memories. 

We visited the shops along River Street and then headed to Forsyth Park to see the fountain. It was the first time I had been back to the fountain since we visited Savannah during our honeymoon 25 years ago. And I've been here in Georgia for ten. Go figure. Anyway, it was beautiful and I managed to get some pretty neat shots including some where the water spray makes kind of a rainbow effect.

It was a great way to spend a spring day, here on the Georgia coast.