I get excited each time I think of the Clan Gathering in Savannah next year. Savannah is one of the oldest cities in Georgia and is awash with southern hospitality and charm. An offering of walking tours, trolley tours, boat tours, ghost tour, bike tours and horse drawn carriage tours gives varied opportunities for seeing the city. Savannah is rich in history, beauty and good old southern cooking.

Walking tours can be purchased with a narrative of each block or you can strike out on your own at no cost.

A bus tour has been arranged for you with both visual and verbal enjoyment. Questions are invited.

Boat tours are from the Water Street boat dock and are by water taxi along the Savannah River. Paddle wheelers and dinner cruises are fun for all.

A ghost tour is convened each night and the experience of a haunted house, cemetery and voodoo all wrapped into one is both exciting and educational.

Rent -a-Bike offers a fun way of seeing the city. This usually is for the young and the young at heart and limbs.

Carriages are found along Bay Street and offer a slow sight seeing experience around and through the parks of the historic area. Old Savannah is more enjoyable when you ride with someone that knows and loves the area and really knows the history of the city.

All tours whether they are walking, bus, boat, ghost, or horse and carriage are expertly narrated and will give you the sight and feeling of Old Savannah that will linger a lifetime.

The city market is an interesting place to spend an afternoon. (Don¹t pay the first asking price. It¹s fun to haggle and the merchant will enjoy the barter as will you.) There are many antique stores along Factory Row and throughout the city. Art galleries are numerous and there is a large School of Art in Savannah that draws students from all over the world.

Museums are everywhere from movies made in Savannah to Civil War History. "Forest Gump" was filmed in Savannah in parks along Bull Street and on Water Street. "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" was filmed there using some local talent and the very famous "Chablis" of Theater #1 on Bay Street.

There are two major forts in and around the area. The first fort is Ft. McAllister. Land given to CSA by Joseph McAllister was and is located in the bend of the Ogeechee River. General Robert E. Lee in 1861 recommended river pilings and strengthening the earthernwork fort. Captain John McCrady (CSA) implemented these changes and the earthern walls and underground tunnels still stand today. On one siege, several ironsides bombarded the fort for seven hours and the only casualty was the company cat named Tom. There is a plaque to that effect today at the fort.

Ft. Pulaski was constructed of brick made at Savannah. Walls that were six feet thick of solid brick were breached at the Battle of Savannah. After Ft. McAllister and Ft. Pulaski fell Uncle Billy Sherman entered Savannah and the war in Georgia was over.

As 2008 approaches, I find it hard not to ask but to plead that you join all of your Clan brothers and sisters at the Hilton Garden Inn Midtown for our 2008 Clan McAlister of America Gathering. Come early and stay late for the $99 per night rate. There will be free parking and free shuttle service to the historic area.

It has been Barbara¹s and my dream to have the Clan come to Savannah. Won¹t you join us on June 26, 2008?