Where else do you like to go outside of Savannah? Another
great day trip from Savannah is to Beaufort,
South Carolina, where
they filmed
The Big Chill. I went to the house where the
movie was filmed, because I love that movie, and the house sits
right on a big bluff. That's a beautiful little town, probably only
35 minutes up the road. We had lunch overlooking the water. Then we
went on to do what was really important -
golf - which was another
10-minute drive onto Hilton Head Island. They have a huge PGA event
there, the Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines Resort - an
unbelievable course set up on the inland coast. If you're a golfer,
Hilton Head Island is one of the top golf destinations in the
country. I don't know how many courses there are, but they are all
pretty staggering. Mostly par-fours. If you don't have a decent
56-degree wedge in your bag, do not stop at this course. It's not
tremendously long, but it demands real skill. Which is why I hate
it.
Anything else? They have fantastic deep-sea fishing off the
coast. In less than 15 minutes, you can be in some very active
water.
Did you do it? Oh yeah. And I caught a 385-pound tuna.
Did you really? No, but it would be a great story.
Why Savannah Looks Like Savannah
The architecture there is really unique. You can see why it
captured the imagination of people when they did
Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil. The city has burned down a bunch of
times. But back in the 1950s, I guess, they were starting to do
what they're doing in beautiful little cities and towns across the
country, which is to go in and blow up their old buildings and put
up parking lots and condominiums. And there were these seven women
who formed this group called the Historic Savannah Foundation, and
they started raising money. They raised, like, $22,000. When they
were about to tear down the 1820 Isaiah Davenport House, which is a
pretty famous place, the group jumped in and bought the property.
Subsequently, the Davenport House was saved from the wrecking ball.
They had such success with that, they didn't stop. To this day,
whenever an old structure comes up for sale, rather than let it get
into the hands of somebody who might rob the city of its history
and architectural legacy, this group will step in and buy it and
find a way to preserve it. That's why Savannah still looks like
Savannah.
He Said…