Surprise: St. Patrick’s Style

There’s nothing more Georgia than Waffle House… breakfast, lunch, or dinner / 24 hours a day… you know you’re in the Southern US.

Today’s very short ride looked mostly like this into Savannah, GA. The two shorter rides to avoid yesterday’s dangerous weather paid off. Clear with lows in the low 50’s (felt like 48 degrees with wind-chill to start.)

Only 20-something short miles later I hit Savannah proper.

Is that a preview of my Georgia exit and entry into South Carolina in the distance? Yikes!

I quickly found todays end point, but again I was way too early to check-in. Folks in Savannah, GA, take their St. Patrick’s Day festivities seriously. It’s the 201st St. Patrick’s Day parade in Savannah, and the second largest in the country. Thousands come from around the country and the world for Savannah’s party.

Note the green liquid in the half-gallon jugs… open alcohol containers allowed here (think like Mardi Gras in ‘Nawlins) there will be some soused folks, but everyone was pretty well behaved.

I didn’t plan to imbibe but I definitely intended to eat what my peeps cook. I found Rancho Alegre, a Cuban restaurant, just a few blocks away from my hotel.

And tomorrow I’m playing seriously at “tourist.” Believe it or not I’m taking a bike tour of Savannah tomorrow. Yes, I’ll bring my own bike and will tour with others renting theirs. Today was not the best day for touristing about as many roads in the center of the historic town were closed due to the parade route. (Hey, I get a discount for bringing my bike. Although I think I’m the only one taking the tour with a full tour set-up. I’ll leave immediately for South Carolina once the tour ends mid-day.)

To kill time until the Cuban restaurant opened, while staying well away from the parade madness, I took a cursory look around the historic district festooned with live oaks draped in spanish moss.

The azaleas are flaming…

… and the Forsyth Fountain water was dyed green in honor of St. Patrick’s.

Finally inside Rancho Alegre for lunch…

… ropa vieja, maduros, and black beans and rice—and I did imbibe—the local Southbound Brewery Cosmic IPA.

Guayaba and cheese empanadas for desert …

… and half for later.

After securing the bike and gear in the room…

… I’m off to see how the locals celebrate. This was a melange of musical styles—or should I say din—between three open air bars hosting three different musical acts simultaneously… huh? … what? … didn’t hear you!

Near City Market and Ellis Square modern music in a historic setting…

… and I just had to catch some of the parade…

… always a pleasure to see the National Bath and Kitchen Association’s float putting in a random parade appearance. Go NKBA!

… Shriners…

… at every parade everywhere.

The parade winding its way around City Hall.

A nice break away from the bike ride.

Parade-goers enjoying a cover of the Proclaimers “500 Miles…”

… the guy up front really enjoying it.

The smallest church in America one day, the smallest pub in Georgia the other!

So when in Rome…

… I broke down and imbibed… Oy!

Day 18
Start: Richmond Hill, GA
End: Savannah, GA
Miles: 25.70

Tomorrow Savannah like a tourist, and trek into South Carolina.

What I’m Listening To:

St. Patrick’s is our version of the Super Bowl…

— Riley Miller / News Report / WJCL-TV, ABC 22