Do you know what boondocking is?
Neither did we, until we started this roadtrip around the US. It’s a fancy name for sleeping somewhere non-obvious (i.e. not a campground) in your camper vehicle. The RV (recreational vehicle), the ubiquitous caravan which is oh-so-American, is a major form of holiday accommodation here, but they don’t always have a place to park for the night. This is especially true in cities, where there just isn’t space for campgrounds.
That’s why it felt like such a win to find a 24 hour parking spot in the heart of Savannah – our next stop. It was the perfect place to boondock – walking distance to the tourist attractions, along a residential street, and most importantly free!
Savannah, Georgia, is where the movie Forrest Gump is set. That was literally the only thing we knew (at all) about this city. Now, we know so much more, and it’s one of our favourite places in the US!
First off I should probably mention that we stuck to the historic quarter of the city – probably not where the average local lives, but most certainly the centre of fun times in Savannah. It’s very obviously an old colonial city, with history seeping out of every pore; none of this metallic newness of so many American cities. The architecture was beautiful.
Before our sightseeing got truly underway, we got hungry, so while browsing in a shop, we quizzed the assistant about the best places to experience Savannan cuisine. She enthusiastically pointed us towards Mrs Wilkes’ Kitchen down the road. She wasn’t wrong: this was hands down one of our best food experiences in the US.
This isn’t your ordinary restaurant, it’s more like your (favourite) neighbour’s dining room. You share a table with whoever else in the lengthy queue completes a group of 10. This table is laden, as you enter the room, with a plethora of Southern dishes, from fried chicken to collard greens to baked beans to beef stew, ready for you to pile on to your plate. A foodie’s dream come true!
Weighed down by food, we continued our stroll through the tree-lined squares of the city. First up, Chippewa Square, where Mr Gump sat awaiting his bus for so long. Spoiler alert: his bench never really existed.
The touristy restaurants, bars and attractions congregate along the banks of the Savannah River. We stopped by a dog bakery, a surprisingly high quality souvenir market, a sweets factory and a museum dedicated to the Prohibition. We’d definitely recommend this fascinating museum, which explained the whole story from initial anti-alcohol sentiments, to life during Prohibition itself, to its abolition in 1933. After all that, you sneak into the museum’s very own Speakeasy for a cheeky cocktail…
Another tip from a local was a new, edgy underground bar called Alley Cat. Again, we were definitely not disappointed! Unassuming from the outside, this bar was chic and sophisticated with serious attention to detail. The menu came in the form of a specially created newspaper. The cocktails were adventurous and probably lethal when consumed in numerous quantities. 10/10 would recommend.
Post-prandial pizza rounded off our whirlwind day in Savannah. This city, a luxurious combination of both Southern charm and Londonesque entertainment, is not to be underestimated.
The Big Adventure 
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