Hark upon the gale

Thanks to a little extra time before my interview at King's Daughters in Norfolk, I was able to return to William and Mary for only the third time since graduation.  There is something palpably magical about returning to your undergraduate institution after years spent away, especially when that institution is The College, located in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg, itself steeped in years of tradition and so much history.  Walking down D.O.G. Street bring back memories with every step.  A journey such as this would leave anyone hungry, so our first stop of course was....

The Cheese Shop.   House dressing, bread ends, and Chowning's Tavern root beer... plus the Hot Smoked Salmon...  this epitomizes my favorite meal in all of college.  After stuffing myself full, it was time for a stroll through memory lane.  In a town that's 300 some years old, nothing much had changed in the couple of years since I had last been here...

Bruton Parrish Church still standing strong...

A new coffee house which greatly disappointed me because it doesnt actually serve any beverage or food, it's just a building you can tour... whose terrible idea was it to not actually serve coffee and hot chocolate?? They would have made so much money...

The Capitol... I rarely made it this far through CW on walks, but occasionally on runs I'd come this way, or long walks with good friends and long conversations.

There's something utterly magical about CW.  It's the feeling you get when you're there, amplified by the many memories made there during college.  The real ghosts of CW (and there are quite a few for all those of you who never took a ghost tour) are joined by the ghosts of your memory, full of close friends and precious free moments when we'd steal away from the real world and get lost in a historical wonderland.

One of the things that I miss the most about W&M is the tradition.  The sense of countless students, countless generations, who went before you and paved the way, going through the same rites as you, since 1693.  This of course is Wren Building, where most of our favorite traditions took place (Convocation, Yule Log, Wren Tens, Beta Theta Pi ceremonies, many ceremonies surrounding Graduation, to name a few prominent ones).

There is this true sense of pride, of nostalgia, of belonging, that comes from being here, even this many years after leaving these hallowed grounds.  The nights that I spent with Alex / Adam / Will / Stephen smoking cigars and talking on the steps of the Wren and throughout CW are some of the most profound memories of friendship and belonging that I know.  The times I spent on the terrace with friends, the nights spent figuring life out with the Barons and all the SBs, it all comes back in wave after wave, like an ocean of myself washing back to me. 

And of course, the Sunken Gardens.  It's impossible to describe the sheer emotions that standing at the head of the Sunken Gardens arouses in me.  I once spent the night in a sleeping bag with a couple amazing people here.  Adam and I completed step 1 of the triathlon not even a couple weeks into our first year here.  Many lazy afternoons spent here.

There is a part of W&M that never leaves you, and a part of you never leaves W&M.  I suspect that this is true for everyone of their undergraduate experience, yet I imagine that there is something about the sheer history, the sheer magnitude, the sheer quiet mystery of William and Mary, that captures you in a way that is somewhat unique.  

I believe that the most amazing things from W&M, however, are the things that I have been lucky enough to take with me.  The friendships that have borne the weight of time and distance and have seen me through everything in my life post-W&M.  The acquaintances who none-the-less have forever shaped me and my life in some shape or form.  The self-realization and identity gained during my time at W&M.  The mission to take forth everything I have learned and serve all of humanity.  

Hark the student's voices swelling, Strong and true and clear

Alma Mater's love they're telling, Ringing far and near

William and Mary, loved of old

Hark upon the gale

Hear the thunder of our chorus

Alma Mater hail

Savannah Wildlife Refuge

We had so many pictures from our wildlife trip that I thought it prudent to make a second album.  Jane spotted this Wildlife Refuge on a map and we quickly decided that it would be a perfect end to our stay in Savannah.  Little did we expect how cool it would really be.  The refuge featured this 3 mile driving trail through part of its wilderness, as a way to allow more visitors to get closer to the wildlife.  There weren't many other people / cars out when we went, so it truly made for a pristine / serene journey.  Jane's main goal was to try and see an alligator... did we succeed?? I think the pictures below speak for themselves...

Lots of Spanish moss hanging from the tress and plant life pressing in on the trail from all sides made this truly a cool trail to drive down; it was easy to feel like you were miles away from any sort of civilization at all.

Much of the wildlife seemed to accept our presence without being bothered too much by us, like these beautiful white waterfowl who entirely filled the branches of these trees; as we drove by, one too many landed on a branch and broke the entire branch off... I couldn't stop laughing as all the birds on the branch flapped around trying to figure out what happened. 

If you look closely you can see the hawk in the barren tree on the left side of the picture; if you look less closely, you can appreciate the natural beauty of the area.  

Ahh, there's that raptor in the tree.  We probably disturbed the vermin it was hunting. 

Much of the land of the Wildlife Refuge was flooded and divided off by land bridges into controllable wetland habitats which they could flood / drain as the need arose.

About halfway through, Jane spotted our first alligator!!  It was a baby little alligator, maybe two feet long, lying still like a branch.  Mission complete! 

Little did we suspect that we'd soon find a much larger alligator waiting for us!   I think it was trying to take a nap and since its head was buried in the reeds, it thought that it was completely hidden.  As you can see, it didn't do a very good job of hiding.  

Probably the most beautiful picture from our time at the preserve.  I love how the sky reflects in the just-flooded-enough land, with little plants poking up everywhere.

There's truly an abundance of natural beauty surrounding us, and we ought to make it more of a priority to seek out such natural beauty in our lives, to remind us that the world is beautiful and God is good. 

Savannah

Thanks to some time off after an interview in Augusta, Jane and I were able to take some time to relax in one of my favorite cities in the US. Savannah, GA has always held a certain air of mystery and excitement for me ever since my first visit here with my family.  From the layout of the city with it's beautiful green squares breaking up the monotony of the downtown every block in any direction, to the delicious down home food, to the beach just down the road, and especially with the amazing old school buildings that harken back to the old days of the south, there's just something mystical and magical about being in Savannah.  It's one of those cities that feels like it has resisted the pull of the modern world, preferring to stay behind in a slower, more peaceful time, which I fully approve of.

After arriving in the early evening, we checked into our hotel and then had an absolutely amazing dinner at The Olde Pink House, choosing to eat in their basement area which is stylized in the manner of a prohibition era speak easy, complete with a talented piano player rocking old school tunes.



Then it was off to some of the local bars, as per recommendations of our hotel clerk and our waitress.  We hit up several bars off the beaten path and saw some of the night-life of the Savannah locals.

The next morning it was off to the riverfront to explore.  Some of the riverfront is a little run down (which I think adds a little to its charm although at night I'm sure I'd find it very sketchy).  This area here is clearly a much better kept part, with an old schooner and a maritime monument fountain.

To me, Savannah is a city that is easy to fall in love with.  It's the quirky, mysterious atmosphere of the city that draws me in, and this statue symbolizes to me a lot of that quirky history of Savannah...  This is a statue of Florence Martus, aka the Waving Girl, who lived on an island in the Savannah River and, as legend has it, "From her rustic home on Elba Island, a tiny piece of land in the Savannah River near the Atlantic Ocean, Martus would wave a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night. According to legend, not a ship was missed in her forty-four years on watch."

But of course, the most striking feature of Savannah is the city's 22 open squares, which break up the roads through downtown and provide peaceful, musical, relaxing, active, vibrant, fascinating green spaces for locals and visitors alike to congregate.  The city was originally laid out in 1733 with four open squares, and as the city grew the design was replicated.  There's something instantly relaxing about sitting down with some food at one of the park benches in any given square and taking a few minutes to sit back, observe, and rest.

And as we explored the city, we also came across this historical cemetery, with the trees smothered in Spanish moss... I bet at night this could be one of the creepiest places I've been, but during the day it was actually really cool to see the stories of some of these ancient Savannah families.

If anyone can guess the significance of this picture below, you win a prize...  it's more than just another beautiful square in Savannah, it's where the famous bus stop scene in Forrest Gump was shot, although the bench they sat on is now in a museum.

Of course, lunch had to involve a peach margarita / peach mixed drinks... you can't vacation in Georgia without sampling everything peach that you can find.

And we wrapped up our day with two final attractions... the first is the most photographed site in Savannah, the Forsyth Park Fountain.  It has sister fountains in the Place de la Concorde in Paris and in Cuzco, Peru.  It's a pretty awesome fountain.

Literature fans might recognize this Savannah landmark... now a restaurant, this is supposedly the inspiration for the opening scenes of Treasure Island, where old Captain Flint died in an upstairs room in this building.  Jane is hanging out front here trying to keep me from getting us lost :-)