A local tennis pro bridges the distance between Savannah and the vast savannas of Africa.

He is an unexpected gust of wind, and chances are that you’ll hear Alan Davies before you see him. The booming, resonant English accent of the skilled tennis player turned instructor is first to greet you as you make your way down the sidewalk toward the green clay courts of the Wilmington Island Club. Yet you cannot help but see him as he stands to the side of the court, a man with a commanding presence, dressed in navy tennis clothing, waiting in his usual stance—one that is akin to the virile, debonair Cary Grant of the Golden Era—to begin the lesson.

When the travel bug bites, and you just gotta get goin’, let The South be your guide to a mini-getaway that will cure any cabin fever.

Barkin’ Bulldogs
Athens, Georgia
Travel Time: 4 hours

Spend a football-filled weekend in Athens and watch the Dawgs kick off the 2009 season at their first home game on September 12. As the Classic City transforms into a sea of red and black, enjoy the view from the comfort of Georgia Gameday Center, just a short walk to the stadium and packed with Georgia style. Insider’s tip: Southerners keep it classy; so don’t forget the pearls and suspenders.

For rates and availability at Georgia Gameday Center, check out www.gagamedaycenter.com

Antiquity meets authenticity on this captivating barrier island.

I can’t remember my first time on Amelia Island. The 18-mile long stretch of sand on Florida’s northeast coast has been part of my family for generations. My parents grew up vacationing there, renting ramshackle beachfront cabins on the island’s north side for $40 a week. In 1980, my young parents bought a house—for $35,000—across the street from those cabins, and I have a very vivid memory of standing on the front porch of that house one summer night, watching some of the little white clapboard shacks burn to the ground.

Like those cabins, Amelia Island has evolved in its 4,000-year history, but remained constant: You can no longer buy an ocean view house for $35,000, but you can still find that small-town beachy charm without looking too hard. Amelia, and its city center Fernandina Beach, have the distinction of being the only communities in the United States to be ruled by eight different political groups. The island’s nickname, “Isle of Eight Flags,” boasts of its rather chaotic past, and its 50-block waterfront historic district celebrates it.

In Savannah to tape an episode of her newest series, Travel Channel star Samantha Brown spends an afternoon with South discussing what it’s like to have one of the world’s best jobs.

Typically, when people first ride in my dusty, dirty ‘96 Toyota station wagon, I’ve known them for a while. They’re familiar enough with me to excuse the broken air conditioning, crumpled pages of Googlemapped directions, gum wrappers and piles of fast-food napkins stowed hastily atop the center console. But when I ushered Samantha Brown across Bull Street and to the dinged door of my car that warm, windless day, I worried that she and I didn’t know each other well enough for the ride.

As a guide with Old Savannah Tours, Bob Register leads the way to a thorough appreciation of the city for thousands of tourists a year.

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone that speaks more fluently—or frequently—on Savannah’s storied history than Bob Register. As a tour guide with Old Savannah Tours for the last 15 years, he leads over 750 tours annually and has shaped the experiences of literally thousands of visitors with his genteel manners, erudite delivery and homespun Hostess City charm.

The South takes a look at the outdoor spaces defining Savannah.

In a city stuffed with squares, it’s easy to forget about Savannah’s lesser-known but no less beautiful outdoor spaces. Lattimore Park is one overlooked alfresco area, carefully situated within Ardsley Park, one of the city’s most elegant neighborhoods. In 1910, original developers Harry and William Lattimore were careful to design this classy community after the famous Oglethorpe Plan by placing 1-acre parcels of land along the Abercorn Street corridor, much like the squares of downtown Savannah. Yet to make their own mark, the Lattimores arranged the land without bisected roads—an effort that created peaceful parks instead of bustling squares.