Thursday, March 26, 2009

Knitter's Journey to Savannah




I picked up my needles and flew South last week to the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia. I went with my husband, as usual, but unusual for us, we travelled with friends to enjoy a group vacation experience. Savannah is a lovely historic town, and the Spring weather and flowers make it the perfect place to visit at this time of year. There is much to see and do. My favorite part of the trip was simply the beauty of the flowers and historic homes.

I loved going for long walks to explore each day. We took a stroll through an enchanting colonial cemetery and went on a night-time enchanted ghost tour.




We went on a dolphin tour and were not disappointed. A small pod of dolphins played a game to race along with our pontoon boat for part of the tour.



I was surprised to find out how much I like southern cooking. We ate local regional cuisine most of the time. It was delicious, but not so good for the supposed diet . . . burp!



Of course, I had to seek out yarn. I found it at a small shop in Savannah called Wild Fibre that was close to where we stayed, and at a fantastic shop in nearby (well, okay, a 110 mile drive, but worth it) Charleston, SC. Knit was filled to the brim with fiber of all kinds and colors. I was surprised to find so much wool south of the Mason-Dixon line.





Our visit coincided with the Savannah Music Festival, and we got to enjoy all sorts of quality entertainment, including Blues, Jazz, Zydeco, and World music.




We even had a chance to be part of the entertainment by participating in a Shape Note Singing Songfest (above). On Thursday, our first full day, we enjoyed "The Blues was Born Here" with Phil Wiggins and Corey Harris, followed by a blues band that was put together by the Music Makers Relief Foundation and included Beverly Watkins. Please check out the Music Maker's Relief site, they are a wonderful organization that tries to help older musicians record and perform to earn a little income in their later years. On Friday, we heard the mellow jazz of Dianne Reaves, and on Saturday we enjoyed a Zydeco dance party and the music of local jazz singer Kim Pelote and her trio. My favorite music was that of Marshall and Anger with Vasen. This unlikely combo of a bluegrass duo with a Swedish folk trio created some incredibly jazzy, upbeat, footstomping, contemporary world music.

It was a fantastic week. If you hurry, you can enjoy it too. The festival lasts through the second week of April.

2 comments:

Rosa said...

Wow! Looks like you had a great time. The flowers look lovely! If only it was that pretty up here... Hopefully soon!

Kathy Kathy Kathy said...

I wonder what it's like to have a Spring. I think I could like it.