M/V MAERIN

Savannah is one of our favorite stops. This trip marks our sixth visit, all of which have been on our southbound legs. One of those visits was not aboard Maerin but on Celebrate  when we moved Celebrate from the Chesapeake to Brunswick, GA. We arrived on Wednesday the 18th, after a pleasant if short cruise from Daufuskie Island. During our run, Barb was in contact with my sister and half-jokingly suggested she and hubby Dave join us for a few days in Savannah since they were already at the Outer Banks, just a few short (okay, 7-1/2) hours away. We received a return phone call the following morning, surprised to learn that we’d have 3 guests for dinner, Lisa, Dave and Griz, their Chesapeake Bay retriever!

It was delightful to have guests aboard and share our time in Savannah. Grizzy wasn’t too sure about the whole boat thing, but he was happy to be with his people, and Molly was happy for a dog pal. We had a great time doing a Trolley tour and seeing the sights. Despite being a bit “touristy”, the tours offer a great way to gain an overview of the city and some history, providing a way to cover a lot of territory in a reasonable amount of time. We had the option of hopping off and on along the route, enabling us to stop at the spots that interested us as well as taking time for lunch. We returned to some of the places the following day.

The municipal docks where we stayed are right on the river walk, it can be a bit “rolly” from tug and ship traffic, but it’s a great spot. There is a significant amount of ship traffic on the river, and watching them make their way to and from the port is very interesting, particularly since they pass only a few hundred feet from the pier, up close and personal!

An advantage to having guests drive in is wheels! We took advantage of the transportation on Saturday with a side trip to Pin Point, a community next to Moon River and the site of the now defunct A. S. Varn & Son Seafood Co. and the Gullah-Geechee community it supported. Moon River was made famous by the Johnny Mercer song of the same name, although we were told that the song title actually pre-dated the river name; it was officially re-named to honor the local son who made it famous through the song. The community is one of few remaining that was owned by freed slaves and their descendants. Pin Point retains much of its original ownership, and is the birthplace of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Closed in 1985, the plant sat empty until the property was purchased around 2010 and restoration began on the buildings. In 2011 the Pin Point Heritage Museum opened, and is a testament to the hard working community that the plant supported, and the families who lived in the community. The Museum is very interesting, and does a superb job of creating a window into the community heritage, as well as the relationship between the plant and community. Well worth the visit.

We planned our departure from Savannah for Sunday morning, we were all up before sunrise and our guests were on their way by 0545, we slipped lines 0600 to take advantage of the currents, bound for Brunswick on an outside run. We had a wonderful visit, enjoying some family time.