my marfa by Jocelyn Tatum
Marfa.
A place that has been written about in nearly every publication in the U.S. Even Vogue voted Marfa’s Bar Nadar as one of the ten hottest new hangouts. So how does one write about a place that has such media saturation? I did two things: I called my friends who live out there and looked back at my ten years of visiting Marfa every year. As my friend who hosts yoga retreats at The Well twice a year in Marfa (and lives with her writerly hubby) said, “[It is] refreshingly slow and a little dark.” It is, quite literally, one of the darkest places in the country, so dark you can see the Milky Way at night. One local told me he could see massive thunderstorms roll in from 100 miles away. I have travelled all over the world and have never found a place quite like Marfa. When CBS Sunday Morning did a special on Marfa and the quirks that define the mood there, they interviewed a rancher about all the hippies, hipsters, artists, and tourists flocking to Marfa. I felt he stole the words from my mouth when he said, “Well, it’s a little like birdwatching.” He could not have said it better. Go to one of the internationally-acclaimed and award-winning restaurants like Cochineal. You can see cowboys just coming off a long day of work on their historic ranches. You can see tourists wearing Warby
Parker tortoiseshell glasses ordering the finest wines. The hipsters, artists, writers, and locals all share the small space and delicious food that exists underneath a sky as vast as an endless ocean. This is Marfa in a nutshell. Why do I go there so often? Why am I urging you to go to Marfa this summer? It is not for the prestigious/ pretentious art scene. I go there because when I Ieave Fort Worth to start the nearly eight-hour trek, layers of stress, anxiety, and the expectations of society slough off my soul like the peeling of a bad sunburn. The bigger the sky gets, the more stuff I leave on that long, flat road that takes me to that oasis in the middle of the desert. Once you start to tire of the long drive with only wind energy turbines, pump jacks and the smell of sulfur to entertain you, you begin to see mountains in the horizon. Yes, big, beautiful mountains in Texas. They do exist. You are getting close to the trifecta of experiences in Fort Davis, Marfa and Alpine – all within 15 minutes of each other, and all offering different experiences. Marfa is a playground for free spirits. If you’re not a free spirit, you will be once you get there, I guarantee. Maybe the outdoor community showers at El Cosmico will inspire you. Or the garden of hammocks offering conversations with strangers or simply time to read a
book. Or the hippie hot tub where you can meet those strange “birds” the locals like to watch. The sky is so big in the middle of nowhere, and the air is so fresh. God seems so close there; you could almost reach out and touch Him. Eddie Vedder sings, “Wind in my hair I feel part of everywhere.” I feel that when I roll down the windows when winding through those mountain roads. My favorite memory of Marfa is of waking in a teepee and then running down a long, flat road going nowhere, or at least going to a place where society does not exist. It was just me, the biggest bluest sky that overwhelmed the Earth, and miles of freedom ahead. Maybe that is why I have been back every year for the last ten years. There is something I cannot put my finger on that pulls me into the car for that journey west. I almost hate to share my Marfa, but if you must go, spring and early summer are the best time of year for your trip. Marfa is surprisingly mild during the summer months because it is up in the mountains. The air is dry, and there is almost always a breeze. With Big Bend and Cibolo Creek only a few miles away, plan to hike and explore one of the most beautiful and eccentric parts of the country, taking advantage of the five-star dining, the finest art galleries, and the “bird” watching.
square, is a gem of a museum featuring 19th and 20th century art. The Jepson Center is the Telfair’s sister museum, housing the collection’s contemporary art. The Owens-Thomas House in Oglethorpe Square is also part of the Telfair Museums and is a striking example of Regency architecture in America, while the slave quarters behind the house serve as a reminder of the complicated relationships between the wealthy and the enslaved in 19th century Savannah. There are many house museums located in the squares. The Davenport House Museum is a Federal-style house, filled with historically accurate furnishings and art. The Green-Medrim House is a Gothic Revival House used as Sherman’s headquarters during the Civil War. Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home is open for tours. The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace is, as the name suggests, the birthplace of the founder of the Girl Scouts. If you have a Girl Scout, I highly recommend touring it! City Market is also located in the Historic District, and while it is a very popular destination for day trippers, it does have wonderful little galleries showcasing work by local artists and restaurants where you can sit and people watch. Broughton Street has more galleries and local stores, including the Savannah Bee Company, which offers mead tastings for the footsore and gallery-weary. If you wish to get outside of downtown Savannah, there are plenty of things to do if you have access to a car. Tybee Island is only eighteen miles east of Savannah; take a picnic and spend the day on the beach! You can take in Fort Pulaski, a Civil War fort, on the way. If you are feeling athletic, Sea Kayak Georgia offers half day and full day kayak tours to Little Tybee, just south of Tybee Island. On the Isle of Hope, Wormsloe Historic Site is part of what was once Wormsloe Plantation. It includes a gorgeous oak avenue, the ruins of the original tabby plantation house, and a museum. In the opposite direction from Savannah, in Pooler, Georgia, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum tells the history of the Eighth Air Force and includes a B-17 Flying Fortress being restored right in the middle of the museum! While you are enjoying Savannah, there are many, many restaurants from which to choose, but Catherine and Ronald suggest staying away from the obvious tourist traps. Ronald highly suggests grabbing lunch at Zunzi’s, a South African/Swiss deli with amazing sandwiches. Catherine suggests lunch at Mrs. Wilke’s Boarding House (they have possibly the best fried chicken ever made) and drinks at the Olde Pink House. I love Elizabeth on 37th. It is the perfect place to celebrate your trip. Savannah can be a cliché; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil told of a city full of moonlight and magnolias and murder. But Savannah is more than the Bird Girl in Bonaventure Cemetery. It is more than the bars on River Street. It is more than azaleas in bloom and live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. It is a city full of historic houses and churches, great music, and incredible food. Walk her squares. Visit her museums. Feel her history. And enjoy all that Savannah has to offer!
BEYOND THE
MOONLIGHT AND
MAGNOLIAS Lee Virden Geurkink with Catherine Coleman, PhD and Ronald Coleman
On February 12, 1733, a ship of English settlers landed at Yamacraw Bluff on the Savannah River. General James Oglethorpe had planned a community in the new Colony of Georgia based on family farming, preventing what he considered social disintegration due to rampant urbanization. Savannah, founded where the colonists landed in 1733, has withstood both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, as well as “modernization” which lead to the demolition of many historic buildings. Through it all, Savannah managed to retained her beauty, making her one of the greatest tourist destinations on the East Coast. I was lucky enough to live near Savannah on the beautiful Isle of Hope for three years, but that was almost fifteen years ago. Fortunately, it is my great good luck to be friends with Savannah native Catherine Coleman. She and her brother Ronald, were able to bring me up to date on things to do and see in 2018 Savannah. Downtown Savannah is eminently walkable. James Oglethorpe planned six squares, each surrounded by four residential blocks and four civic blocks. Eventually, Savannah grew to twenty-four squares, of which twenty-two remain. Staying in an inn or bed and breakfast in the Historic or Victorian Districts and spending two days wandering the squares is a great way to get to know this wonderful city. Each square has its own distinct ambiance. Be it a monument, a historic church, or a restored Georgian house museum, there is something new to see in every square. The Telfair Academy, located in a Regency mansion on the west side of Telfair 6