Savannah and Charleston

Both of these cities are great places to visit. It was our first time in Savannah so we took a trolley tour. We learned quite a bit about the history and were able to see many of the historic homes and squares.

 After the tour we roamed around on our own. Savannah has a large port and many historic buildings along the river.

We had lunch on a second floor balcony overlooking the river and were amazed at the size of the ships going by.

Charleston is a bit different than Savannah. It was largely untouched during the Civil War so many of the buildings still stand. One of the unique things about the historic homes is their side porches. Porches are positioned on the side of the home rather than in front. A unique feature of the side porch is that many of them have an exterior door. Side porches have widely-spaced columns along the length ensure open expanses to capture breezes.

When the outer "hospitality" door was left open, it was a signal to neighbors and friends that the owners were home and ready to receive guests. Placing the porch on the side also gave owners more privacy and a deeper layout on typical long, narrow lots.