Savannah Waterfront

 From Pensacola, we proceeded on to Savannah, GA. This is the conference that has been held in St. Simons Island for years, but it is now in Savannah, where there is a lot more to see!
We stayed over on Hutchinson Island, across the bridge from River Street. If you cross the next bridge, you go into South Carolina and arrive in the Hilton Head area.
I have always preferred Charleston over Savannah, but I fell in love with Savannah on this trip and I left a lot of things to do when I go back!

 Just a walk along River Street is interesting with all the shops, statues, entertainers. There is a water taxi that goes back and forth from City Hall, the Westin (Convention Center) and the Marriott, near the waving girl statue. We did not have a balcony but we were facing the river rather than the golf course on the north side of the hotel. I did borrow some one's balcony for the shot above....I am never embarrassed to stick my neck out there to get a good shot! If you are shooting through glass, you might want to use manual focus rather than automatic so that you can focus on the right area.

 On Saturday, my parents, sister and niece drove up from Jacksonville to join me trekking around downtown.

 These shots were early morning before the sun came up. I love that soft pink in the sky!

 The water taxis, which were free, were named after "belles' of Savannah. The founder of Girl Scouts was born in Savannah, so this boat was named after her. I rode the boats so much that the man on the boat teased me that he was going to have to start charging me! I was usually running to catch it....with two cameras in tow!

 Above, the sun is just about to peek up over the horizon.

 The domed building is City Hall, a beautiful building. I always look for ways to frame objects of interest as above, framing city hall from the boat.

 The Westin is to the right above (and a straight on shot down below) and the bridge is shown below. It was lovely at night, all lit up!

 The Savannah port is one of the largest in the US, I think in fourth place. There is a statue welcoming the boats into harbor. You often look out the window and see the huge container ships passing by and hear their horn. Reminded me of being in Maine and hearing the fog horn.
I asked my friend on the boat about Michael, who is married to Paula Deen and was often seen piloting a tug boat in the harbor. He said he hasn't seen him out there in the last year, so I guess he has retired.

 River Street and the landing is down on the level of the river so to get up in town, you have to go up steps. There is an elevator at the Visitor Center near City Hall. There is a large Visitor Center over on Martin Luther King Blvd on the western side of the historic district and the free bus goes there. There are also many tour buses you can take. I learned from the newspaper as I was leaving town that a couple of native Savannah guys have begun giving walking tours. They sounded like something I would love! I would also like to go back when the azaleas are blooming (usually a week before St. Patricks Day) and the Tall Ships are coming the first weekend in May. This turns into a party city St. Patricks Day, with it having one of the largest celebrations in the US. The fountains and river are dyed green and there is a lot of other stuff flowing freely, if you know what I mean. Not my kind of scene but it would be fun to see once.

The old cobblestone can be very difficult on which to walk and the steps hard to maneuver, but it is all worth it. Much more to see in Savannah!