Savannah day trip

We decided to take a day trip to Savannah, GA.  It is less than 2 hours away along the main road.

 

  However, on the way to Savannah we decided to take the long route and go through Beaufort, SC and also to St. Helena Island.  If we were to go back again, I would take a tour of the islands for sure.  I saw exactly what I thought the south would look like, lots of land for each home, small towns, and land as flat and far as the eye could see.  There were also streets lined with big trees and Spanish Moss hanging from every limb.

 

  We finally got to Savannah and had about an hour and a half to explore the city before our tour started.

  Much like Charleston, there were lots of old brick building everywhere.  However, much to our surprise, there were pockets of charm in Savannah rather than it being everywhere you looked like in Charleston.  We would later learn on our tour that the red bricks in Savannah was made by the slaves and that Savannah red recipe would also die with the slaves.

 

 

 

  I was just trying to imagine what it was like 150 years ago as we walked the historic streets.  The sights, sounds, smells...  We were so lucky to have gotten to visit and take a tour, learn about the past and really how it has influenced today.  I sought out a tour to learn about Gullah-Geechee culture and it's influence in the city of Savannah.  It's a long story on how I became interested in the Gullah-Geechee people, but let me just say it was one of the factors in Charleston being a place we wanted to visit, as well as us driving to St. Helena Island earlier in the day.

 

  Basically, the Gullah-Geechee people are direct descendants of the slaves brought over from West Africa.  When they came over, they also brought all of their longstanding African traditions and you can see the influence throughout Savannah and even in Charleston.  The fascinating thing is that once the slaves were freed, many of them remained on the barrier islands along the coast which allowed them to continue their maintain their traditions and lineage.  They retained their culture and language and I have been so interested to learn about them for some time.

 

  First stop on our tour, First African Baptist Church.  The congregation dates back to 1777, but the building itself was not completed until 1859.  The red doors on the church or of any building meant that it was owned by Africans.  This church was built by the slaves after they had worked their 14-16+ hour days.  They would donate their extra time and money to build this church as they had a firm faith that if they built a house for God in this life, he would be building a house for them in the next.  Some of them gave their precious money that they saved to buy their freedom to help in the building of the church.  I am in awe of their devotion.

  We were surprised that some slave owners would allow their slaves to go to church on sundays.  And some did, only to find out that the doctrine that was being taught was that they were inferior people, they were born to be slaves, and they were to obey their masters. In other cases, the slave owners would not allow their slaves to go to church for fear of a revolt.  Especially if the true Christianity was being preached--freedom.  Freedom from sin, freedom from oppression, freedom from guilt, freedom from the burdens of this world.

 

  Africans also painted their homes this blue, with the thinking that evil spirits will leave anything that is remotely heavenly alone.

  We also learned that those who brought over the West Africans specifically sought out those who were skilled and knowledgable.  They wanted the rice growers who knew all about growing rice, the carpenters, and brickmakers who knew what they were doing.  These Africans were well-educated and knew how to read and write.  These pews, original to the church, have writings in Arabic according to our tour guide, or Cursive Hebrew according to the church website.

 

Our tour also brought us back to the riverfront.

 

These were holding cells.  They held cotton ready for export, livestock, and slaves.

 

 

Along the riverfront a new monument in memory of the slaves.

  We learned so much more on that short tour.  One of the most disheartening things, was that at one time in areas all across Savannah were thriving black communities.  Businesses, homes, and the like, all taken down and in their place they built housing projects.  Housing projects that look like the same slave quarters they lived on at the plantation.  Here we are today, with the same institutional racism going on and it just makes my heart sick.

 

On a different note, we enjoyed present-day Savannah just fine.  We found The Paris Market and I was in love.

 

Mike took advantage of Savannah's public drinking laws.

 

And he was lovin it! 

Eventually, we had to say bye to this fun city.

  As we drove away I tried to take some pictures of just how flat the land is.  I complain about the Silicon Valley.  And now I fully deserve to be called a spoiled brat.  :)

 

So long, Savannah!