Green Water & Moon River...

(Shaded Sidewalk of Gaston Street by Forsyth Park;
Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

On Friday, March 9th, the local news aired the "official greening of the Forsyth Park fountain".  St. Patrick's Day is a huge deal here in Savannah.  There is supposedly a large Irish population here.  Business names (many of them pubs) can be seen in parts of downtown that sport Irish names.  I would say that the majority of Savannah citizens speak with a southern accent, with a fair share of drawls in there, so it might be hard to identify just who is "Irish", and who isn't.  I guess I'll just have to take the Savann-ians word for it...

(Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

I have heard about the "greening" of the fountains over the years, but had not actually seen one with it's St. Pat's dye job.  I had talked about checking out the main fountain at Forsyth Park, and since the weather has been nice (in the 70's) we decided to venture forth.

Checking it out on a weekday was the best way to go.  Parking can be near impossible on the weekends as the majority of spaces are metered and along the streets.  The fountain is situated at the north end of the park, and we were able to find a spot less than two blocks away.  Not bad at all.

Savannah is beautiful on the whole, but the historical district that makes up most of downtown is just gorgeous.  Old row houses, moss draped trees, neatly trimmed bushes, ivy, and azaleas line the streets (several laid with cobblestones).  Driving through the web of small streets to get to the park was a tad tedious, but well worth the trip.

(Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

A wide stone walk encircles the park, a canopy of large trees shading the walkers and joggers.  The park itself is very well kept.  The above picture doesn't do the green of the grass justice.  A really pretty park.  We could see the fountain through the bushes and trees, so we headed in that direction. There were other people strolling around, but not enough to ruin the sense of calm that filled the park.

(Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

Forsyth Park was the first large park in Savannah.  It's design was influenced by the 19th century urban renewal of Paris.  The fountain was created in 1858, and made of cast iron.  It's a pretty fountain, but I hate to say it...I was envisioning something a bit more spectacular.  The pool seems a bit large for the design.  The ducks and mermen that encircle it are spread rather sparsely.

Just inside the black wrought iron fence is a section of paving bricks that ring the fountain.  The bricks are engraved with the names of those who contributed to the restoration of the fountain in 1988.  Other restoration work has been done over the years due to weather damage and vandalism.  These days, it looks like it is kept up rather well.  The fountain may have paled in comparison to my expectations, but the setting is pretty.

(Forsyth Park fountain, Savannah;
Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

As for the 'greening', yep!  That water was green alright.  The official "greening" took place around noon that previous Friday.  Apparently, it has become a big attraction in starting off the week of St. Patty's Day festivities.  The local news said that a couple hundred spectators turned out to witness the dumping of the dye.

(Fountain duck,
Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

The tradition was started in the late 80's, or early 90's.  The exact date changes depending on who you ask.

Actually, the tradition was started to stop illegal "greening".  It seems dumping green 'stuff' in the fountain waters throughout the city had been a late-night prank around here for years.  The 'pranksters' have used a number of substances, including green paint.  Paint, of course, would destroy pump systems, which would then cost the city a lot of money.  The cities goal was to take over the 'greening', make it more of a seasonal event, and take the steam out of the pranksters.  It appears to have worked, and now citizens look forward to "greening" day each year.

(Fountain Merman,
Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

As I stood there snapping some pictures, it occurred to me that maybe the fountain wasn't as impressive as I had hoped because it was in a pool that was too big for it to handle.  If the mermen and ducks were closer in to the main fountain structure, and the pool were smaller, maybe it would look more majestic?  I suggested this to Glenn.  He seemed to remember seeing the fountain when he was little, and it having more pieces.  Oh well.  I just snapped some more photos and tried to enjoy what was there.

The park itself was another story.  It felt so good to be outside "among them" (as my father would say).  It was t-shirt weather, there was a calm breeze, and the azaleas were in bloom.  What's not to like about that?

(Azaleas;
Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

We walked around for a few minutes, and decided to head over towards River Street for some Suds and a nosh.  Another place I have wanted to visit sprang to mind, so we decided to head there.  Next destination:  Moon River Brewing Company.

(Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

(Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

The Moon River Brewery has been on my list of must-see locations since moving to Savannah.  It is a micro-brewery, which I dig.  I enjoyed visiting the various micro-breweries in northern California when I lived in San Francisco.  This one has an intriguing difference though...it is said to be very haunted.  Over the years, I have seen it mentioned on various travel shows and ghost hunting shows.  The most recent mention was on a show I refer to as DUUUDE!!!, but most people know as "Ghost Adventures".  The "Dudes" talked to employees and patrons.  There has been some ghostly activity in the bar and restaurant areas, but the 'hottest' location appears to be in the upper levels of the building where the general public doesn't go.

(Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

We sat in the bar, and after perusing their selection of brews, we settled on the Apparition Ale.  Since I had been drawn to the location by stories of ghosts, we felt it the most appropriate.  Also, the description said that it was most like a pale English ale, and that the ingredients were imported from there. It was okay.  A bit sweet for my taste, but then my favorite ale is Guinness...

(Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)

The table we were seated at was next to windows looking in on the fermentation tanks.  Too bad nothing was going on in there.  If they are going to have the tanks out there like that, it would be nice if they would do something akin to Shakey's Pizza throwing dough behind their big glass window.  I suppose that beer doesn't involve continual steps like the making of pepperoni pizzas...

The bar was decked out with shamrocks of varying sizes, ready for the crazy shenanigans of St. Patrick's night.  I have not been to River Street for the big day since my college days back in the '80's.  I don't plan on changing that fact any time soon.  River Street on that particular night is the definition of "all hell breaking loose".

After enjoying some chicken fingers and fresh cut fries with the ale, we decided to walk down to River Street since it was right there.  An old friend of Glenn's works as a bartender at one of the pubs, so we went by there to say 'hello'.  We had missed her.  Then it started to rain.  Seemed like the time to get the car and head home.  The end to a nice day.

(Savannah's River Street;
Photo: Lisa Erin Brown)