Bicycling around Historic Savannah

We needed to fill a week of time before we could arrive in Charleston, so we called all of the campgrounds we were familiar with around Savannah . . . only to find that they were all completely booked through April!  We found one in Rincon, GA, just west of I-95, and fortunately we were able to book the week we needed.  Whew!

So, we made our exit from Florida,

and ventured into Georgia.

 

 

 

After all the reports of horrendous traffic on I-95, we opted to stay on the backroads – taking US-301 to US-84, until we reached I-95 just south of Richmond Hill.  We only had to drive about 30 miles on 95, and fortunately the traffic wasn’t too bad.

We arrived at Whispering Pines and got set up on site 50.

The sites are a little close together, but plenty long, and we have a nice pine tree for shade.  The campground is also in a great location for exploring Savannah.

On Friday, we took a drive into town, stopping at a couple of Quilt Shops on the way (Tom was thrilled!).

 

Since we still had the bikes on the back of the Jeep, we decided to use them to explore the city.

They turned out to be a good way to get around and cover lots of ground – as long as we didn’t end up going the wrong way on a one-way street – that was a little nerve-wracking!

 

 

 

 

It was getting close to lunchtime, so we rode down towards River Street, although we did not attempt to ride down the cobblestone drive like this woman did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the view from the Riverwalk,

and finally settled on Spanky’s for lunch – being Friday, our choices were limited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we ventured over to the City Market,

where we walked through several shops and admired several monuments to historical figures.

 

 

 

We were going to get an ice cream cone at Leopold’s . . .

but it appeared that everybody had the same idea!  Ben & Jerry’s was just down the road, so we went there instead – no line!

Back on the bikes, we rode up and down several streets, admiring the beautiful old architecture of the historical buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were riding, we came across an old cemetery, and stopped to take a walk around.

It was a beautiful cemetery – with trees that are as old as the graves!

There were graves above ground,

as well as below ground – with the stones so weathered, that you could barely see the words.

Along one boundary, the brick wall was lined with headstones,

we weren’t sure of the reason they were attached to the wall like that, but assuming the graves were relocated, too.

Looking in each direction from the cemetery, we could see a church steeple,

 

including the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

The Jeep was parked close to the Cathedral, so on our way back we stopped in to take a look.

 

St. Patrick was there to greet us as we arrived.

 

 

 

Inside, the cathedral is amazingly beautiful!

 

The detail is incredible – from the murals, the stained glass, and the sculptures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breath-takingly beautiful!

It was a beautiful day in Savannah, and it was really nice to have the bikes, which allowed us to venture further from the “tourist district” and discover new areas we had not seen before!