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2007
Update I arrived in Savannah in March and will be here until June, working for a while to keep up with these ridiculously rising gas prices! |
May,
2007
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Savannah had been a quick overnight stop in 2002 on the way from Charleston to Florida. But I was intriqued enough by that glimpse to put it on my list of "come back to's" when I had more time. I wanted to see the historic squares decked out in azaleas. I did that first before the blooms were gone, but my favorite turned out to be Wormsloe Historic Site because of that row of majestic live oak trees. |
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I knew
that soon after my arrival here I'd have to get back to work. I
was not too happy about that prospect, but it actually all turned
out pretty good. It was funny, too, because when I was exploring
the downtown historic district, and I was walking down this particularly
lovely avenue (Oglethorpe) loaded with azalea bushes, I had the
thought, "If I have to work while I'm here, this is where I
want it to be." I wanted to be able to walk around and explore
the squares during lunch hour and after work. I was standing right
at the entrance of the old Colonial Cemetery at that point after
being intriqued with some of the stories of the old souls buried
there.
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Magnolia
blossoms and mass graves. These crypts hold dozens of family members
and became necessary during the 1820's yellow fever epidemic. One
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (Button Gwinnet)
rests here, along with some who died defending their honor in the
ways of the day by dueling with pistols.
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Is there
anything spookier than an ancient headstone under a tree oozing
with Spanish moss? I'm not particularly scared of ghosts, but this
is still no place I'd want to be at night. Apparently General Sherman's
troops had neither fear nor respect because they pushed out remains
from some of the crypts in order to have a warm place to sleep and
moved the headstones to set up camp in the cemetery during their
occupation.
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The only
thing I was afraid of at this point was not having enough time to
properly explore the city again when I went back to work. But I
got out the phone book and earmarked attorneys that had websites
and email. I decided to tackle the task the easy way this time and
send inquiries by email instead of going around and leaving resumes
in person. As soon as I sent out about a dozen, I got a serious
attack of the "let's look at this in the most negative way
possibles." No way would I get a job that easily - I'm
gonna have to trek around town with resume in tow, make countless
follow-up calls, most of which won't get returned, then ultimately
I'll have to go through an agency and make half the money I need.
But I decided not to worry anymore about it at the moment because
I had another two weeks to explore Skidaway
Island and Fort
McAllister State Park before I had to jump back into the workday
grind.
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Imagine my surprise in the next 15 minutes when I got a return email from an attorney with only the terse message "Call me." I did and I went in for the interview. By that time, I had decided to think positive and I told him that in my perfect world I wouldn't start for another two weeks, then I'd work some weeks part time until mid June when I was leaving Savannah. He then asked how much I wanted per hour. I told him $20 even though I'd been told the most I could expect to make in this area was $15 - and he then agreed to every single term I asked for in "my perfect world!" And that's not even the best part - guess where his office is located? Right across the street from the spot I stood on the week before and said "This is where I want to work!" Talk about the power of positive thinking! |
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Here's
the entrance to the law office of Duffy & Feemster on Oglethorpe
Avenue. It's one of four Greek Revival townhouses that makes up
"Mary Marshall Row." These treasures were almost demolished
in 1960 for their valuable Savannah grey bricks and marble steps.
Conrad Aiken, a Pulitzer Prize winning poet, lived in one of these
houses when he was 11 years old. One night he overhead his parents
arguing followed by gunshots. The poor kid found the bodies of his
parents, his father having committed suicide after killing his mother.
He said he felt haunted by his parents ever since then. Since part
of my reason for being here was to write an article on "Spooky
Savannah" this was icing on the cake kinda info. I never saw
or felt anything weird during all the time I worked here, though.
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Columbia Square The squares were my favorite things about working downtown. The city was laid out with an eye for beauty, not speed of getting around. There's a neat site that has some 360 degree virtual tours of some of the squares here if you want to see more. |
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So I've totally enjoyed my time in Savannah, but I swear I hear the sweet sound of the open road calling again. I guess that answers the question about if I've lost that loving feeling about RVing. Lately I've driven roads I've been on before, but I've seen them in a different way - I've been on roads never before traveled and marveled again at the views afforded from my big windshield. I've met new people that already feel like old friends and keep in touch with my old buddies as well. I've been working with some amazing people at the state parks in both Oklahoma and Arkansas - people who are committed to preserving and sharing these natural treasures and made it possible for me to share them with you. I still enjoy just sitting in my comfy home when I don't feel like getting out, and then I love going out and walking around the campground with Gypsy. She's always the star of the park with people who can't believe a cat walking on a leash! I still enjoy taking the pictures and sharing the things I've learned with other RVers through Malia's Miles - I love getting email from people who tell me they were moved by what I've written, or just derived some benefit from the information I've shared. Sometimes I do wonder how much longer I'll be able to do this - with the price of gas - with getting older - with bank account dwindling...all I know for sure is this is still what I love to do more than anything else and that I intend to continue doing it as long as I possibly can. My next venture is to drive the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. I'll be leaving Savannah on June 14th and my mom will be flying in to join me for the northward portion of that trip. Once again, she's like a little kid all excited at the thought of being on the road again. I'll stay up in Richmond, VA to work and replenish funds for a few months, then head back down the Parkway in time for peak leaf peeping season. Oh, and I had another short article published in the spring issue of Traveling Times, a magazine for Winnebago owners. I also have two assignments for MotorHome Magazine - more about that later. So that's it for now - you know as much as I do because I have no definite plans after the Parkway except to just...  |
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| Copyright 2001-2007 by Malia
Lane
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