It is interesting to note that the Landmark Historic District in Savannah has a very lenient public drinking policy which allows open alcoholic beverages every day of the year. This is noteworthy because Savannah is home to the American Prohibition Museum. Let me rephrase that – the ONLY Prohibition Museum in America. Rather ironic wouldn't you say?
Next stop was supposed to be St. Augustine, Florida. I was previously there in the 90's and I just couldn't get up the gumption to go there again. So, it was on to Savannah. Nothing says genteel like Savannah with it's old world charm. Southern Living named Savannah the second best city in the south after Charleston. I would beg to differ - Savannah is like a grand old lady whereas Charleston, which has it's own charm, is more like a painted up debutante.
Being in Florida, how can you not go to Orlando? Ha, not for the 'Mouse' but for the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. The Morse Museum is “noted for its art nouveau collection, houses the most comprehensive collection of the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany found anywhere” plus a major collection of American art pottery.
There is more to Florida than the big theme parks or bike week or the overcrowded Spring Break beaches. Old Florida still exists – the Florida before all that craziness started. The Florida of the early twentieth century with its mom and pop fruit stands, real life mermaids, manatees and crystal clear springs is mostly in the northern part of the state. It has almost been forgotten, but I think there seems to be a resurgence in interest recently.
After the sobering intensity of Montgomery, there was a need to defrag. I lucked out big time and found some waterfront sites in a Corp of Engineers Park back in Georgia called East Bank. Two nights and a day of sitting in lawn chairs go a long way in restoring the soul.
The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration in Montgomery provides a comprehensive history of the United States with a focus on the legacy of slavery. It is situated on a site just blocks away from one of the most prominent slave auction spaces in America. It was quite the immersive experience. There are wall size videos and interactive exhibits all in a series of room tracing the history of bondage in the United States. Over 12 million captured men, women and children made the Middle Passage to the New World with about 10.7 million making it alive. The numbers are mind boggling.
Rosa Parks – we have all heard her name. I have always thought of her as just the woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus and sparked a civil rights movement. I was set straight when I visited the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery Alabama. She was an early activist and in 1955, when she refused to give up her bus seat to some white passengers and was arrested, she became an icon. It lead to a year long bus strike which brought the Montgomery bus system to its knees.
