Georgia

October 2023

Our visit to Georgia was part of a 5-week, 3,695-mile trip throughout the southeast, including one-night stays in Virginia and Maryland, and more extensive stays in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. This blog post describes our time in Georgia. Our trip to Georgia was preceded by a week-long stay in Asheville, NC. Before leaving Asheville, we realized we needed a new 12V air inflator, so we stopped at Harbor Freight to purchase an air inflator, then headed to Georgia.

We had two destinations in Georgia: Lake Oconee to visit with family, and Savannah. Lake Oconee is a huge and beautiful lake surrounded by homes, some of which were enormous. Taking a delightful boat ride was a wonderful way to enjoy the beautiful sunny 70-degree weather and see the homes from the water. We also visited Greensboro, a small quaint town near where we were staying. After walking in and out of some of the boutiques in town, we stopped to enjoy lunch at Los Torros Mexican Grill. Spending time at Lake Oconee reminded us how van life facilitates visiting with family and friends who we have not seen in a while, while also exploring places that we otherwise might not see.

We left Lake Oconee and headed to Florida. Heading back north from Florida, we visited Savannah. We stayed at the Skidaway Island State Park, which is beautiful. The sites are big and wooded and there are trails throughout the park as well. We walked the part of the Big Ferry Trail Loop to the observation tower. On the way we saw a deer and heard some great horned owls calling. We also saw fiddler crabs in the salt marshes around the tower. And at dinner one evening, two deer walked through our campsite.

Because the campground was a good 15 miles from Savannah on busy roads, we took an Uber in and out of Savannah. The round-trip Ubers cost about $80, which made us reconsider where we want to stay in the future, or if we just need to get better about unhooking the van and driving from the campground to save money.

Savannah was planned around 22 squares, each with their own histories and personalities based on who lived in each square. Our goal was to see all 22 squares, so we walked nearly 10 miles over the course of the day, going from square to square. We also walked to the river area, which, other than being overtaken by tourist shops, is a very interesting part of town with cobbled streets and small alleyways. At the end of our walking tour, we stopped for some beer and tried boiled peanuts, which we found to be both over salted and overcooked.

Our impression of Savannah is the city is both beautiful and walkable but has nearly completely whitewashed the history of slavery. There were almost no mentions of slaves or black people, other than a statue commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the First African Baptist Church (which was closed), and a marker for the Owen-Thomas House & Slave Quarters. But other than having “slave” in the title, that marker focused on the “architectural genius” of the building. We were very surprised and disappointed by the lack of information about the slave trade, and the role that slaves and blacks have played in building and shaping the city. While nearly every square has some plaque commemorating the wealthy and important white people relevant to the area, there was no mention of the slave-labor that built the city or the slaves who helped wealthy white people gain and maintain their importance.