I visited Savannah during April. A time when the weather back home (Massachusetts) is still in the early stages of spring, and I am ready for the warmth of the sun. Thus, I knew that I wanted to take advantage of having a car and make my way to the beach during my stay. 

Tybee Island is only 30 minutes from Savannah. Quickly after crossing the bridge the culture shifts to beach vibes.  Parking was easy to find at the end of almost every street, and because parking is regulated by the island, the rate is standard: currently $8 for two hours (2024).  A boardwalk took me across the dunes to the soft sands of the beach. Since I wanted to check out the pier, I set up on mid beach.  After a refreshing dip in the ocean – not warm enough for the locals, but more than warm enough for this Northeasterner – I enjoyed a walk down the beach to the pier.  

On a Wednesday afternoon in April, the pier was pretty empty, but the large seating area outside of the snack shack and the stage for live music hinted at the crowds that would descend later in the season. I enjoyed a quick walk out to the end of the pier to watch people fish and the seagulls swoop down on the castaways.  

After my two hours at the beach, it was time to meander my way back to Savannah. Before leaving Tybee Island, I grabbed a quick taco snack and stopped at a set of artisan shacks.  The Tybee Art Gallery and the neighboring shacks offered an array of paintings, stained glass, pottery, seashell art, and clothing. The collection of about six small stores satiated my desire for some beach art browsing. 

Just over the bridge heading back to Savannah is Fort Pulaski National Monument.  This was the cleanest Civil War era fort I’ve ever visited, and when I talked to one of the stewards inside the fort, I found out that the reason why is that it was only used for one battle and only battled for just over one day. While the fort was thought to be a defensive stronghold with its 7 ½ foot solid brick walls and positioning in land from Tybee Island, the Confederates didn’t know that the Union Army was armed with new experimental rifle cannons that offered twice the range. Just 30 hours after the battle began, Colonel Olmstead surrendered Fort Pulaski to the Union Army. The remnants of the battle can be seen in the cannonball divots on the southeast walls. 

I enjoyed both walking around the inside of the fort and learning about the living and sleeping quarters of the soldiers as well as walking the nature path out to the lighthouse viewing platform. While I thought the Lighthouse Overlook trail would bring me closer to the lighthouse than it did, I enjoyed the views of the river along the way to the viewing platform. I was pleasantly surprised that there were complementary binoculars offered at the viewing platform to get a little closer view of the lighthouse; still, I would say that this walk was more about the natural scenery than the lighthouse. 

Closer to Savannah is the famed Bonaventure Cemetery. The shaded space with the large oaks and hanging moss is in stark contrast to the bright sun and clear skies of the beach.  Parking is at the back of the cemetery near the Wilmington river and next to the section of the cemetery that is filled with ornate sculptures, lush greenery, and fabled gravestones.  The cemetery is over 170 years old, so time has added its own color and richness to the headstones and landscaped spaces. As I was most interested in the artistic beauty and haunting atmosphere of the cemetery as a whole, I hadn’t done any research about what graves to visit before my trip; however, there are signposts that direct visitors to some of the more famous gravesites.  I did make my way to the grave of 6 year old Gracie, whose life-sized & lifelike sculpture captivates visitors just as she is said to have done in life. 

When I searched for places to pick up pizza on my way back to my place in Savannah, I didn’t expect to end up in a place like Starland Yard. Starland Yard is a collection of three permanent food vendors, some rotating food trucks, and a bar. The space has a funky artsy vibe with shipping containers turned into interior and exterior spaces, murals decorating the walls, and string lights set up to connect the spaces. On a Wednesday night they had trivia, so the place was packed with small crowds both enjoying a drink after work and vying to answer the trivia questions. From their website, it looks like they have live music as well.  It was the perfect place to chill for a lovely warm night.  Starland Yard has an unusual (but maybe ingenious) system for paying.  When you walk through the entrance, you’re carded — both for alcohol and for credit cards. They keep your credit card on file so that you can order from any of the vendors inside the space and not have to pay individually.  When you exit, they run your credit card, and you pay for everything at once. I like this system for a place that is set up with multiple vendors as it streamlines the ordering process. I’m interested to see if other places adopt it in the future.