Tea Time Getaway - Day 8 Part II, Day 9

After Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room we got back on the Old Town Trolley and got off at stop #8, the Davenport House Museum located on the corner of State & Habersham Streets, and the NW corner of Columbia Square.  We had seen lovely things in the gift shop window when we passed it earlier in the morning.
  

Teresa and Rebecca toured the house, but Linda, Lori and I just browsed the gift shop.  The Davenport House is where Savannah's preservation story began in 1955.  The 1820 Federal-style home was slated for demolition to make room for a parking structure.  A group of seven civic-minded ladies formed the Historic Savannah Foundation and purchased the home and saved it from destruction.  Notice the double exterior stairways!  ;-)  [You'll only understand that if you read yesterday's post.]

[Photo Courtesy of Historic Savannah Foundation]

There were lots of nice things in the gift shop, but the only thing that called my name was a blue and white finger vase.  I didn't have anything like it, and blue and white porcelain is always hard for me to resist.  I'm enjoying it on my entryway table.

Several things called Linda's name, so we got back on the trolley and headed back to the hotel to drop off our purchases.  Stop #11 was conveniently right by our hotel. 

River Street was right across the street from our hotel so we decided to walk over.  Linda had already found a shop Fine Things Under $20 the day before, so that was our first stop.  I succumbed to buying two things I couldn't pass up for $19.99 each.  The fascinator will be perfect for a tea outing!

Since I didn't take notes on the trolley tours, I also purchased Old Town Trolley's guide book in Simply Savannah. There's a lot of places we didn't see in our brief three day stay, so this book will be useful on a return visit.

After our River Street expedition there was still time for a short walk through Reynolds Square to Leopold's for one last pistachio ice cream cone.  I returned to my hotel room to get my suitcase ready for loading the next morning at 8:00 a.m., while some of our group went up to the hotel's rooftop swimming pool to order pizza to enjoy while looking over Savannah's beautiful nighttime skyline and the Savannah River.  

I wanted a photo of Savannah's City Hall before we left, but we were past it before my camera focused, so Ann, one of our group members, sent me one she took on her Savannah River cruise the day before.  City Hall was built in 1901, and has a beautiful 24-karat gold-plated copper dome.

As poet Geoffrey Chaucer penned so many years ago, "All good things must come to an end," and so it was with our Southern Tea Time Getaway.   Day #9 found us crossing the Talmadge Bridge, leaving the City of Savannah behind us, but taking our wonderful memories with us as we began our trek back home.  We had clear skies and no traffic.

Our destination was Knoxville, Tennessee where we'd spend the night.  As we entered into North Carolina it was time for a restroom break  at the Welcome Center.

And another group picture!  ;-)

Tomorrow's post will be the last day of our Southern Tea Time Getaway.