O Gosh, Those Pralines!

Savannah, a place where time stopped 160 years ago. As I walk the river front my senses become overwhelmed by the aroma coming from the many eateries and outdoor cafes. The front shops overflow with their wares beckoning you inside, if anything, just to check out what they have to offer to take with you to remind you of your visit to Savannah. Other than the modern shops it still seems I’m sent back in time far from the sprawling suburbs of the modern metropolis. There is one shop that I must not forget to visit and that’s the Savannah Candy Kitchen on Front Street. Without a doubt this place wins the prize when it comes to making their own brand of pralines. There is no other praline in the world that compares to the Candy Kitchen praline.    http://www.savannahcandy.com/category/Pecan-Pralines-Candy

Just outside the Candy Kitchen there is a minstrel with his guitar strumming a ballad from the 60s.   I sat and listened while enjoying my morsels of pralines. The whole place brings back memories of the old French Quarter of New Orleans or the Old Market area in Omaha Nebraska back in the early 80s.

To the south near the end of Front Street stands a statue by sculptor Felix de Weldon, the same master sculptor of our famous Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, VA. The statue celebrates the love a girl had for her long lost love; a lady called Florence Martus who was known as the Waving Girl. She lived with her folks at Fort Pulaski just down the road towards Tybee Island. She later moved to a cottage along the river near the entrance of the harbor with her brother George because he was the keeper of the lighthouse at Cockspur; the lighthouse is still standing not far from Fort Pulaski. As the story goes when she was 18 and still quite innocent, a Navy Lieutenant visited Elba Island and began romancing her. He was from Cape Cod and had come down from his ship’s berth in Savannah to join one of the tours she gave at Fort Pulaski. He truly fell in love with her but was unable to keep his promise of marriage. Upon his leaving, as a token of his love, he gave her his white Navy neckerchief, which she tearfully waved as his ship passed Elba Island on its way to ports unknown. Ever since that last farewell she continued to raise his neckerchief to all the ships entering the harbor hoping her long lost love would be there. She continued waving ships into and out of the harbor until 1931.

Now that’s love lost dedication. I’m sure it is just a tale but I kind-a like it.

         

I always enjoy Savannah with its parks, quaint shops, and its history. I think I’ll go back there at least a few more times, if anything, to just taste those pralines.   

All the pictures on this blog are copyrighted and taken by myself.