Your roving correspondent and The Beautiful Wife (TBW) are motoring towards warmer weather. As we drove south on Rt 95, we decided to have a walk around in Savannah, GA. The world famous urban plan used in Savannah makes for delightful strolls.

Native American Tomochichi and British General Oglethorpe founded and laid out the city in the 1730s. The over 20 squares make the plan so innovative. Each square (sized about 1/2 block by 1/2 block) functions as a park/gathering area with lots of grass and trees. Homes, churches and businesses surround each square, creating a series of unique neighborhoods in a grid.

The varied architecture is beautiful and the Spanish moss draped trees adds to the charm (as does TBW). This photo of the first square we entered gives a feel.

While these brick details provide a sense of the rich architectural variety.

As does this functional yet funky entrance.

We sat outside and ate, while listening to a folk singer strumming his guitar. Of course, any self-respecting tourist destination has lots of food, music and shopping.

Our favorite activity, though, was touring the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home Museum. Our tour guide’s enthusiasm made the tour. Flannery O’Connor wrote some of the best short stories ever and lived an odd life, even by writer’s standards. She seemed to experience little in relationships or travel, yet wrote with ferocious insight. Perhaps this childhood photo of the Flannery scowl provides a clue.

All told, a wonderful city and an informative and fun tour. It’s good to get away from the daily grind sometimes and think about much different things.