Air South....

BOOKED TO SAVANNAH

For years, visitors have raved about the 'look' of historic Savannah. The southern city's gracious squares and architectural wonders have a look and feel unmatched anywhere else in the U.S. But, more recently, people are booking a visit to Savannah because of its 'book.' The blockbuster Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt, has been nothing but good for this city of gardens.

Unlike any book about any other city, 'The Book' (as it's called locally) has drawn even more visitors to this traditionally popular Georgia coastal destination. Published in eight languages and in twelve countries, it will soon be made into a motion picture, with Clint Eastwood as director. There are at least five local tour companies with 'book tours.'

The book is basically about a 1981 murder and subsequent trials, but it's really about the colorful character and characters of Savannah. Berendt fell in love with Savannah and its people on a weekend visit and ended up moving there to write the book. Today's visitors can see transvestite nightclub performer The Lady Chablis, "Lady of 6,000 Songs," the "Bird Girl" statue, and many other people and places made famous in the book.

But visitors have long been drawn to Savannah. Back in 1733, James Edward Oglethorpe and 114 colonists, having crossed the Atlantic from Gravesend, England, arrived at Yamacraw Bluff on the Savannah River to found America's thirteenth colony Georgia. Their purpose was to increase imperial trade and to establish a protective buffer between Spanish Florida and northern English colonies. Ogglethorpe designed the basic layout for Savannah, with a system of 24 squares (22 still exist) for public use, making it "America's first planned city."

From the start, Savannah was an important seaport, sending the products of its agricultural and trade with Native Americans to England. Wet rice culture was prevalent early, but cotton soon became king. For nearly a century, trading in the Cotton Exchange on Savannah's waterfront set world cotton prices.

Although Savannah was not captured until late in the Civil War, it suffered from the Union Navy's coastal blockade. Rather than risk total destruction, Savannahians surrendered their city to General William Tecumseh Sherman on December 22, 1864. From his headquarters at the city's Green-Meldrim House, Sherman sent a message to President Lincoln saying, "I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift, the City of Savannah with 140 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and also about 25,000 bales of cotton." Modern-day holiday (or any day) visitors receive even better gifts.

In the years after the Civil War, Savannah's economy faltered and many of the historic buildings fell into disrepair. However, the National Park Service's restoration of nearby Fort Pulaski in the early-1900s and the subsequent work of the Historic Savannah Foundation led to historic district revitalization. In 1966, the area from East Broad to West Broad (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard) from the River to Gaston Street was designated as the Landmark Historic District. It's one of the largest in the nation.

Leave your dress shoes and high heels at home or in your hotel, because Savannah is a walking city. More than 1,200 varied restored structures rated historically and architecturally significant lie within a small 2.2-square-mile area. Your feet are your ticket to sightseeing, shopping, and history, whether you're strolling the Historic District, the cobblestone Riverfront area, or City Market. Of course, a sightseeing city like Savannah also offers tours by bike, carriage, trolley, bus, or boat.

Savannah boasts seven house museums, a maritime museum, two living history attractions, three area forts, the Intracoastal Waterway, nearby beaches, marshes, barrier islands, and more than 80 annual events, ranging from house and garden tours to food festivals. Obviously, you can't see Savannah in a day.

There are, however, a few 'must-do' items for Savannah visitors. Along with the excellent Visitors Center (see below), background films and exhibits at the Savannah History Museum and the Massie Heritage Interpretation Center provide a strong introduction to what you'll see in the city. The "Bird," a bronze statue made famous on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, is on display at the History Museum, in a setting reminiscent of the book cover. You'll also see the bench used in "Forest Gump."

After these two short stops, a guided tour by trolley, bus, or carriage will give a good overview of the city. For a unique view from the water, enjoy a harbor cruise. Once you've seen Savannah in general, break out your walking shoes for an escorted or unescorted tour on foot of the Historic District. Then head over to River Street, a nine-block plaza facing Savannah River, where you will enjoy shops, galleries, restaurants, pubs. More shopping can be found at City Market and City Market Arts Center, the home of more than 30 working artists. Along historic Bull Street, there are even more shops, galleries, museums, and beautiful squares.

Other museums, historic houses, and attractions of interest include the Old Cotton Exchange, the Andrew Low House, Davenport House, Green-Meldrim House, Ownes-Thomas House, Scarborough House, Ships of the Sea Museum, Savannah Science Museum, the Savannah Civil Rights Museum, King-Tisdell Cottage, Beach Institute, and the Trustees Garden. Further afield, the Civil War forts, the little beachfront colony of Tybee Island, and several other barrier islands and low country scenery provide a diversion (if you can break away from historic Savannah).

Green year-round and ablaze with color every spring, Savannah's gem-like squares provide landmarks for visitors and are virtual gardens to be explored by all. This garden-like city has many public gardens, but you can also take a peek through private garden gates to see why the annual spring Garden Tours are so popular.

But you should head to Savannah sooner than next spring. The Christmas holiday season, basically lasting all of December, is a great time to be in Savannah. With Christmas traditions dating back to 1733, Savannah knows how to celebrate the holidays.

Traditions kept alive through the years have made the holidays special in Savannah today, with a Christmas trees and holly wreaths throughout town, Victorian Christmas decorations in City Market, a Christmas parade and festival on River Street, a Christmas tour of homes, an inn tour, trolley tours, caroling, ice skating, a festival of trees and lights, dramatizations of Christmas during the Civil War, incredulous Christmas feasting, and even a reenactment of the Yule Log ceremony.

Historic Savannah is easy to book, but make your reservations early for the holidays or other traditional travel periods. You can step back in time to one of 23 historic inns and guest accommodations, ranging from garden apartments to carriage houses to small European-style hotels. Some exude the individual owner's charm and others take on a formal elegance, but all provide a stylish base for exploring Savannah.

On the dining front, the restaurant scene is equally varied. It's easy to find treasures of the sea, like shrimp, oysters, and crab, but you shouldn't leave Savannah without trying regional specialties, like hush puppies, gumbo, grits, red rice, southern fried chicken, or barbecue. If you're in Savannah on New Year's Day, the coming year hinges on eating the mandatory Hopping John dish, combining the ubiquitous rice and cowpeas of the area, with pickled pork, pig tails or hog jowls, and lots of vinegar or hot pepper to zip up the traditional dish. Add collard or turnips and hot-buttered cornbread and you'll just consider yourself lucky to be in Savannah more often in the coming year.

Visitors should be sure to contact and stop by the Savannah Visitors Center at 301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, located at the end of I-16. This building was formerly the Central of Georgia Railroad Station, Georgia's first railroad and the first chartered railroad in the U.S. Built in 1860, it was the finest and most complete station in the country and is now a registered National Historic Landmark.

Enjoyment and knowledge of Georgia's Colonial Capital increases by using information from trained personnel, various brochures, and publications at the Visitors Center. Open 8:30am-5pm weekdays and 9am-5pm on weekends and closed only on Christmas Day, the Visitor Center also offers a 15-minute slide presentation (admission charged) as an orientation to the area and the activities available. For information on booking Savannah call (800) 44-CHARM (2427) or (912) 964-5148.

SIDEBAR

HILTON HEAD ISLAND:

A SOUTH CAROLINA EXCURSION FROM SAVANNAH

Though there's much to see in Savannah, one enjoyable excursion is just 30 miles north to South Carolina's Hilton Head Island. Located on the southernmost tip of South Carolina, this unique tourist destination is the second largest barrier island on the east coast, second only to Long Island.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Intracoastal Waterway and other waterways on the west, Hilton Head Island is a planned development that has successfully merged residents, visitors, and nature. In between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal you'll find 42-square-miles of vast sea marshes, networks of lagoons and creeks separated by forests of moss-draped oaks, magnolias, pines, palmettos, and 12 miles of sandy, hard-packed beaches.

Along with the fabulous beaches, Hilton Head Island is known for its variety of accommodations, great golf, top tennis facilities, watersports, natural wonders, superior shopping, and delectable dining. It's a combination that couldn't have been planned better.

The island offers more than 3,000 hotel and motel rooms, 6,000 villas, and a full range of private homes for rent. From luxurious beachfront resorts to charming condominiums to quaint cottages, Hilton Head has a perfect place to stay. But you won't be guided there by a huge neon sign or billboard, as there are none of these (or any highrises) to mar the natural beauty of the island.

Once you've chosen your room at the inn, there are 22 championship golf courses from which to choose (nine more are just off the island) and more than 300 tennis courts at 19 different clubs. Other active pursuits include hiking, sailing, biking, fishing, windsurfing, and good old-fashioned beachcombing and shelling. While you're outside, other natural pursuits might include seeing an alligator bronzing itself in the sun, catching a glimpse of a rare loggerhead turtle crawling ashore, witnessing a snowy egret or osprey swooping overhead, or going for a walk in the woodlands, where bobcats still roam.

Of course, Hilton Head's twin indoor 'sports' of shopping and eating are also popular. To shop until you drop, you'll find 36 specialty shopping areas and more than 300 wholesale retail stores, with chic boutiques and exclusive outlet shops seemingly around every corner. More than 150 restaurants dot the island, ranging from low country favorites like Frogmore Stew (a blend of shrimp, hot sausage, potatoes, and corn) and She-Crab Soup to world-class cuisine found at several highly-ranked establishments.

For further information, contact the Hilton Head Island Visitor & Convention Bureau at P.O. Box 5647, Hilton Head Island, SC 29938, or call (803) 785-3673.