Wednesday September 23, 2009 Savannah, GA

I spent the better part of the day driving from Memphis across Alabama and Georgia, at one point not certain whether I-20 would be open because of the extensive flooding in Atlanta, but by the time I got to Birmingham, I learned that the interstate had reopened. All the same, Six Flags amusement park was more like a muddy lake, and the river in downtown Macon looked as if it was ready to overflow its banks at any minute right into the downtown streets. The drive from Macon to Savannah was much further than I had expected, and it was nearly 9 PM when I arrived. I headed straight to Tony Roma's on Bay Street for a steak dinner, and then checked into my room at the Avia Hotel, which proved to be an elegant boutique hotel across the street from one of Savannah's many downtown squares. A block or two away was an outdoor market where there was live music, so I walked over there, but as I approached Martin Luther King Boulevard, I started running into lots of bums looking for a handout. On MLK there was a place called Lulu's Chocolate Bar, and, as the name suggested, this was a fabulous dessert cafe where I enjoyed a slice of peanut butter chocolate pie and a cup of coffee before I walked back toward the hotel. Back away from the riverfront was a club I had read about called Jazz'd Tapas Bar, which was also a warm and inviting atmosphere. Unfortunately, they were featuring more of a lounge singer/pianist than authentic jazz, but it was still a late night place to hang out. After the music ended there, I explored some of the old squares with my camera, taking some photos, and then ended up by the riverfront, looking across at the massive Wyndham hotel on the northshore. River Street was lined with establishments, but it was late in the evening and they were all beginning to close, so I walked back to the hotel.