Kicks in Savannah

Fresh off the bus I was excited to explore; my friend Cameron had a friend here in Savannah as well, Jill, a girl he's know since high school. I walked from the bus station towards her place, she lives above a bar that her roommate manages downtown. I did a lap around the neighborhood while I waited for her to get back. I met her and we headed to her apartment, she offered me a beer and then we went out in search for food.

In Savannah, unlike most other places I've been, you can drink outside as long as it's in a plastic cup. We grabbed some Mexican food at a place nearby and got to know each other a bit, she was a cool girl as Cameron had promised, a designer, self proclaimed nerd and party girl.

We grabbed a couple beers at the Eco Seed, the bar she lived above, she gets free drinks there in exchange for some design work she's done for them. After that she showed me around town, we walked by the river in the tourist area and then atop a hotel bar so she could show me the view. It was a really foggy night, there wasn't much to see in the distance, but the fog rolling around in the lights was good by me. We headed back to her place so I could grab my bag, she then drove me to the spot I was supposed to be couchsurfing.

A few knocks and phone calls drew blanks, but right as I was going to abandon, a roommate appeared and let me in. The house was a big one with four or five guys living there that went to Savannah College of Art and Design, SCAD. They told me of massive parties they'd thrown there with 100's of people packing in and around the house.

I hopped in the car with a couple of the guys, the one I'd been in touch with in order to stay there was at campus having car issues. We got there and pushed his car into a spot, he said it wouldn't start and someone said something about a spark plug, and jumping it wouldn't work. Someone turned the key after all this and it started up without a problem, perhaps it worked all along; the guy was on 5 ambien, so could have just turned the key wrong or something and assumed it didn't work. We hung in the parking lot talking for a bit before heading back home and crashing out.

I woke up the next morning and headed to the heart of Savannah, I grabbed a tea and relaxed for a part of the day. Towards the afternoon I did some more wandering around town and finally got in touch with Jim, my next couchsurfing host in town. He was conveniently at the Moon River Brewery very close by. I met him there and talked over a nice stout, he was a regular there and carried on with the friendly bartender girl for a while.

He was also hosting an italian woman, she called and we walked a few short blocks to his place nearby where she was waiting. His place was pretty impressive - perched right above a main street in town, big and spacious enough that he had a full on basketball hoop in his living room. He also had his own keg that was always stocked, usually with something from Moon River, currently it was their IPA. I enjoyed some of this while the three of talked for a while.

After some games of dominoes, a frequently played game at his place as he told me, we were off into what would be a great night.

The three of us met some of his friends at a bar, the kind that was seemingly in a residential area. They had aarogant bastard on tap and we got pints of it. After some beers and stories we were marching to Sweet Melissa's, the drunkards late night pizza place of choice in Savannah. After a slice we headed back to Jim's place where him and the italian started to wind down.

I'm not sure what time it was, but I still had a hunger, partially for food, but mostly for action. I filled up a cup from the keg and ran back onto the street, giving the SCAD guys a call from the night before. One of the came and scooped me up and we were off to the dorms, I had to quickly flash my drivers license as we rolled by security as if it were a college ID, then we were in.

We went to one room or a few, drinking beers and meeting various people, some beer pong broke out which is always a good time. The night spun along and around, soon everyone had disappeared, all at once or a little at a time, I can't recall. I found myself on a balcony in rattling conversation with a girl who's eyes caught mine throughout the night. It's likely clear by now that a wild set of eyes is all it takes to set me off; hers were the kind with suspicious intrigue, matched with a cautiously inviting smile that'll get anybody going. We enjoyed each other for a time, then finally parted. I was off to figure out where I was and where I was going.

I got off campus, I think, then realized I hadn't gotten her number, barely a name. I decided to run back, tearing through the security stand, a woman shouting at me about ID, I think I flashed my drivers licence again, disappearing into the stairwells before I could be pursued. What I had somehow forgotten, was I did get this girls number, it was already in my phone even. Before realizing this, I knocked on various doors I thought might be hers, greeted by different kinds of folks in different kinds of moods.

At last I reached in my pocket to find my phone, which I'd also thought I'd left behind, but then discovering that I did have a way of contacting her, although I never would see her after that night. I put my hood up and followed closely with a girl past security again on the way, then started to try and orient myself and to find out how to get back to Jim's. I walked by a minibus with no passengers and asked the driver about the streets, he could probably easily tell that I had a few and told me hop in, he drove me exactly where I needed to go. I climbed up to the apartment and fell out on the couch until the next afternoon.

After a shower the next day, I relaxed for a while in the apartment. In the afternoon I walked over to Jill's place and waited for her to get ready, we were going to a kickball game for her friend's birthday. It was sort of a theme deal, her friend was in a 70's style pink dress with shades, Jill whipped up a cave woman outfit complete with a club, we were off.

The kickball game was a good time in Forsyth park, the added bonus of beers in hand, a Savannah special. When dark finally came, we all dispersed with intentions of regrouping at one guys house. A few of us first went to Jill's where another girl put together a costume. Jill through me an afro wig and some 3D glasses so I'd at least have something, then we were off to the party house.

We played some drinking games and shared some laughs for a couple hours or more until everyone was ready to hit the town. We all headed to the Eco Seed, a few of us made a stop at a nearby apartment for a quick smoke, then were off to the bar. Sometime around midnight I was wandering back to Jim's, him and the italian woman were winding down, he went to sleep and I talked with her for a moment, she was to catch a bus early in the morning. I filled up a cup and ran back out into the night.

The costume crew had regrouped at a different spot and I met them there, we ran around a little bit more. Eventually I was off in my own direction, which led to the madness outside Sweet Melissa's - a line that went far out the door and groups of drunks stumbling around laughing with each other - I fit in nicely. A pretty blonde southern girl latched on to me for a bit, everyone was laughing, Savannah was kicking.

After a satisfying pepperoni slice and some more rattling on with folks, I finally found myself back to the couch, buzzed on good times and thoughts of the road ahead in the morning.