Teal Sunshine: Highlights of Savannah

I've been roaming Savannah the last two days, and know I won't be able to go into detail about everything I did - there was too much good stuff, and I'm already thinking a lot of my posts have been a bit on the long side (and I thank my nice friends/family who keep reading them anyways).

Yesterday I spent much of the day perusing the downtown "design district." I saw a lot of amazing home stores that had really unique items - such as chandeliers made from oyster shells at The Paris Market and Brocante. I loved going into ShopSCAD, which is The Savannah College of Art and Design's shop filled with items from paintings to jewelry from alumni, professors and current students. Another Savannah must-see was The Savannah Bee Company. I have never tried or even heard of so many types of honey. You can sit at their bar and taste test at least 10 different types, or have one of their many drink concoctions mixed with their different flavored honeys - yum! My favorite store, though, definitely ended up being One Fish Two Fish, and I bought something there for my new bedroom in DC, but I'm going to wait to post pictures of my purchase until I'm settled in my new home...

A funny thing I discovered about Savannah is that it was the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, who was the founder of The Girl Scouts. She has two homes in Savannah that have been turned into museums, or should I say Mecca, for the Girl Scouts? I couldn't keep track of how many different troups I saw (and was left wondering if I still have my awesome brown/orange flowered vest from my brownie years).

Today I toured several art galleries, as well as went to The Jepson Center for the Arts, where I was captivated by an exhibit of Japanese photographers' work called Counter Photography. Of course I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but each artist was using photography to either create something that didn't exist, or manipulate something that did, challenging the convention that a photograph is documentation of reality - it was really interesting.

And, I have to mention my lunch today. I went to the famous (well in Savannah, at least) Mrs. Wilkes. Here's the lowdown: it's only open from 11am to 2pm, and people start lining up at 10:30. It is a cash only place, and you get seated and served family style. You don't order anything - the dishes are already on the table when you're seated. I think I waited almost an hour to get in today, but sat down to a table with 23 dishes on it - all southern food: fried chicken, collard greens, mac 'n cheese, black-eyed peas... And, at the end of the meal, everyone has to bus their plates into the kitchen. It was amazing, and well worth the wait. I also lucked out and was seated with a bunch of moms and their young children, who didn't eat very much (which meant I was free to try anything and everything, as I've heard some people complain the "popular" dishes sometimes don't make it around the table). Definitely a unique experience!