Spanky's Pirate Mermaid

Well, that title makes the mind whirl, doesn't it? Spanky's Pirate Mermaid?

Don't know if I can connect these three or not but I shall give it the old college try, as the saying goes.

Scene setting -- weather is warm, not hot; sky is mid-blue, calming; passer-bys are happily smiling, dressed in shorts and t-shirts of colors light yellow and whites and greens;  sounds of lapping water and splashes, muffled crunch of sand underfoot.

It's early morning, the stores are just opening.  These are gift shops with beach chairs, sandals of all sizes, sea shell collections and strings, beach umbrellas, and turquoise swimsuits, novelty gifts of rock bands made of rocks, and specialty coffee mugs and miniature tins filled with colored glass chips, and tweezers with pen lights.

Blackbeard!  Blackbeard came out as the shops opened their doors!  He was as black as the day was sunny in his broad-brimmed pirate hat!  And he was big!  Muscular!  Tall!  Imposing!  Had the dour look!  Then we laughed out loud...he was on wheels!

Just walk up, put your head in his arm pit and you have a souvenir photo.  "I was here."  So funny we laughed out loud.

Late that night, we knew the stores were closing, cause ol' Blackbeard was rolling home.   Pushed and pulled by young girls in summer wear,  he was.  Sure he was winking with the knowing look of a plundering black pirate's heart enjoying his spoils.

Wonder if Blackbeard ever saw mermaids?  They were everywhere -- swimming on men's shirts, sported on girls tops, adorning gift items, made into ornaments, even gracing doorways and engraved on signage.

John and Spencer were following me through one place after another at the Tybee Oaks Shops -- Shell Cut Etc, Swizzle And Shake, Latitude 32, and Island Gypseas.  The shops were built up two to four feet (in case of hurricanes) and lined up next to each other in salt washed colors of blues, greens, and soft orange.  I was going along the wooden planked walk looking into each one for ballerina trinkets.  Forget that.  You're better off looking for floatsy mermaid finds.

They went into a girly frilly dainty shop thinking I was in there, but the shopkeeper had a confused look on her face -- two men, no women in a mermaid shop?  "Obviously my wife is not in here!" John clarified.  He also said the place was full of sirens and mermaid figurines and beads and starfish and glitter.  One sign in there read  "Be your own mermaid".  Spencer was intrigued.  He misread it as "build you a mermaid"!

Spanky is a nickname lovingly given Spencer when he was a toddler.  Sometimes your birth name isn't enough, you get tagged with a nickname.  And some names just lend themselves to numerous nicknames, especially if you are of a certain character.   Spencer, in fun tender adoration, has been called Spencil, 'pencil, St'encil, Spen, Spence, and Spanky.

So when we were touring along the River Walk in Savannah, there was no question, we had to eat at Spanky's.  Spanky's River Street that claims "Original Chicken Finger, where the finger lickin' all began."

Spencer just had to wear a paper Spanky's hat sporting a large white chicken.  We insisted.  Photos followed.

Inside left, a red popcorn machine, straight ahead a ship bow shaped bar, to the right all kinds of happy eaters with fingers to lips.  There were cobble stone walls, wood beams, greenery filled hanging baskets and overhead a large elk head!  Why not a chicken?  I don't know, but the food was finger lickin' good.

Thinking of Spanky building himself a mermaid maybe ol' Blackbeard will upturn a cracked smiling lip.