Savannah Georgia

I spent the weekend of 19-23 July in the wonderful town of Savannah, Georgia. It was a rather unique gettaway as fellow veterans of HHC, 3ID arrived for our first annual reunion. This of course our first reunion since the 80's. During the time we served, the 3ID was headquartered in Wurzburg, GE. This time, we decided to meet in Savannah, GA, the new home of the 3d Infantry Division.

Our adventure took us to some rather fun and exciting adventures to include: deep sea fishing, golfing, eating, Karaoke-ing, and a ghosts of Savannah tour.

I flew to Savannah, GA using my Delta Sky Miles. It cost me 25,000 points and 10 dollars. What a deal. I was able to check my golf clubs for free proving an even better arrangement.

My flight to Atlanta proved uneventful and I relaxed anticipating the great weekend to come. Upon landing, I turned on my cell phone and met a rather urgent message about my flight to Savannah; CANCELLED.

Ugh! What to do next...I ran to the Delta help counter like the 3ID hero PFC Audie Murphy to man a blazing tank. Except my threat wasn't advancing German troops, but dwindling chances to make it in time for the next day's deep sea fishing adventure.

So, the flight gets cancelled because of mechanical problems. I can accept that. However, now I am on standby for the next three flights. Since they cancelled my full flight, so are about a 100 plus other irate passengers. The good news (they tell me) is that I'm confirmed on the 8 am flt to Savannah. I'm definitely going to miss the next day's 6am launch time.  Now what?

Post my woes on Facebook. No sooner than I did, I got a message to call my long lost Army buddy. So, I call him and he says he's nearby and will drive me to the reunion. What timing. So, away we went.

I make it to Savannah by 2330 hours (11:30 pm) and with plenty of time for reveille. So, here is how I spent my weekend:

Miss Judy Charters (http://www.missjudycharters.com/) proved an excellent shark fishing adventure. We set sail in our 21 foot boat at 0630 and moved out into the brackish Savanna waters. The boat is not covered, so if you go, wear sun screen and appropriate clothing. We dropped anchor and the captain provided fishing gear to catch our bait fish for the big sharks. I caught about 6 sharks and other 14 inch bait fish to hook the big ones with. Inspite of several good hits, including one that broke the rod, and the other one that took about 200 yards of 80 pound fishing line, we weren't able to land these huge creatures. However, I was happy with the bait fish catches as they were larger than any fish I've ever caught before.

Hunter Army Air Field's Hunter Golf Club Hunter Golf Club provided an excellent and extremely challenging golfing adventure. This is 18 holes of well kept greens with optical illusions and many par 4 and 5 holes. Since this is on an military reservation, you'll need to show a driver's license at the gate.

Golf cart and 18 holes cost $36 and club rentals are $12. I bought a bag of about 20 balls for $5.00, so it was a great deal. Check out the picture of the $18.00 golf towel.

The house from "Garden of Good and Evil"

I met Donna at Starbucks.  It was just one of those times I needed a good cup of coffee and rest after a day of golfing, river walking and sight seeing. Donna was just getting her group together for the Sixth Sense Savannah Ghost Tour http://www.sixthsensesavannah.com/. She told me that she was a ghost tour guide and gave me all the information I needed to go online and sign me and two buddies up for a Sunday night tour. A few days later we signed up and were instructed to meet at Clarys restaraunt parking lot at 1900 hours.  Donna recognized welcomed us. She told goose bump formiong and hair raising tales of murder, intrigue, and ghost hauntings during the two hour engagement. If you go, wear comfortable clothing and bring bug spray and an umbrella. You never know how the weather will turn.  Here's some tour info from the web page:

The Mercer House If we said Amtyville, we wouldn’t have to say much more! But after this story, you’ll want to add “Mercer” right in there with one of America’s most psychically overshadowing homes. It has a rap sheet as long as it is old!

Hampton-Lillibridge House
Once home to the famed “cemetery bed”, this house has seen unsolved murder, yellow fever deaths, illicit surgeries and a wide range of energy phenomenon. Looks like “The Haunted Mansion” in but this Bed & Breakfast is the real McCoy.

Colonial Park Cemetery (c.1750)
Cemeteries are famously dead but this one is rife with orbs and other anomalies. The oldest intact city cemetery was closed due to mass burial complications but has also been plagues by voodoo, root, hangings, duels and more.

The Royal Tenenbaum’s House
More than fiction and see the home where some of the characters lived. More importantly, hear about a galavanting child spirit and a Black Magic Talking Board that said too much.

Dr. Corsen’s House
The Ali-Baba’s cave of haunted houses. Few to none can claim over 50 years of observing spirits but this one is 2nd to none. Ranging from a famed & feared root doctor rearing children to an “illegal” church exorcism that expunged the ghost to the next life. Not to be missed!

The Savannah Theater
America’s oldest in operation and easily one of the most haunted. Frequented by John Wilkes Booth's brother, Fanny Kemble and Oscar Wilde. We have frequent access to its interior and this place feels more like a sanctuary to the dead than the arts. A common place for our guests to have sightings.

I've got to warn you, these stories are scary and Donna acknowledged that we may see an aparition of some sort. She encouraged us to take many pictures just in case. I didn't see anything during the tour, but the stories kept me awake for a while in my suddenly scary and dark hotel room.

The reunion was a smash hit, and I would definitely go again. Savannah was a wonderful town with lots of history. Definitely a must see. I am writing this from the Delta Sky Club on a nice computer and a lot of complimentary drinks and snacks. You can get your daily membership from the Delta Airlines Website for $39.00 or pay $50.00 at the welcome center. I recommend it if you have a 3 hour layover like me. Some more good news...Delta just compensated my cancelled flight with 5000 bonus points. Thanks Delta Air Lines.

Hampton Inn & Suites National Harbor / Alexandria Area

“Mr. Bennett, you are my special guest tonight.”

I smiled when I heard those words upon check in, because I knew what was coming next.

“As my special guest, we’ve upgraded your room.”

And upgrade they did. My room was a suite and with a beautiful view of the palatial Gaylord hotel just across the street.

My suite was spacious with a nice size flat screen TV, coffee maker and microwave. The lobby store provided great snacks for the late night munchies. The bathroom is large enough to move and groom, while the bed, chairs, coffee table and desk were comfortably spaced.

I had booked two of my three business trip nights at the Hampton Inn & Suites National Harbor / Alexandria Area. This wonderful hotel is built just a few blocks from the Potomac River just across the harbor from Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. It also has easy access to Fort Belvoir just 25 minutes from our hotel. Washington, D.C. is only 20 minutes away.

National Harbor is just a few short miles from Reagan National Airport (DCA) and well worth the drive. If you can travel before and after peak traffic hours, the drive to anywhere is pretty easy. However, for vacation purposes, you might not need to leave the area. If you do, you can drive, take a water taxi to Old Town or Georgetown and take further public transportation from there.

The National harbor boasts a lively mix of shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. I ate a great Salmon meal with a Mexican twist at Rosa Mexicana restaurant. Afterward, I walked along the marina.

For this trip, I booked the National Harbor for two days and stayed at another location for the third night (will write about that later). Let's just say that this was the best hotel of the week for the value and experience. I sighed up for double and triple points and received 15,300 points for the week.