St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! (yep, I know it’s a bit late.)

We didn't really plan on doing anything to celebrate the holiday, but sometimes life hands you opportunities…  

As we left St. Augustine intending to go to Savannah (with our usual lack of prebooked reservations), little did we know that we were heading straight for a huge party and a noticeable lack of accommodations. Whoops! St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah is actually a several day long party, culminating in a 3 hour parade – the second largest in the United States, and celebrating its 190^th anniversary. The city adds nearly a million people to its populace during this time. 

We did find camping space(s) after visiting the Georgia Visitor Info Center (thank you to them for having a convenient list of RV Parks off the I95!), and then set off for Savannah. 

We discovered that another family we had met in Florida would be in Savannah too, and we made plans to watch the parade with them. Parade day was quite soggy & cool, but the company of friends prevented the weather from dampening our spirits. Bob buying 5 boxes of Girl Guide cookies helped too (Well played Girl Guides!) 

The parade was fun, but it wasn't quite what I expected.  It was long (nearly three hours), but it wasn't as grand as I thought it might be. There were plenty of marching bands, past parade marshals, a notable armed forces presence (with lipstick kisses on their cheeks), and floats, but it felt more like a small town parade than a fancy affair.

After the parade was finished our family went off for lunch and then took time to walk around some of historic Savannah (the first planned city in the US). Due to the revelry, it was (likely) more crowded than usual, and the open squares closest to the parade route were full of people rather than serene greenness. Police were everywhere (at least one car per street – usually more) monitoring the crowds of revelers, and clean-up crews were all over the place, picking up after the party was done. 

The squares were lovely (especially once the people cleared out), with tall trees and often with statues & plaques, and with the cobble stone streets, and old buildings it was easy to imagine we had been transported to Europe. 

My favorite building was the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, with its towering façade. 

By this point it was later afternoon and it was time to return to the truck & get groceries and make our way back to Fort McAllister SHP, where we were camped. We had a yummy scallop supper to celebrate the day, but no green beer (Sorry sis!).