David KrisoEvery January 1st, everyone has a New Year’s resolution in mind. Sometimes the resolution may be lofty. Sometimes it’s just a brain fart; just a crazy idea never acted upon. In late December 2024, my New Year’s resolution, finally was about to happen. For two years, I was planning to visit Savannah. Not only was I going to visit, but when I was going, and what good came would come of it. Time and time again, I had to punt on the trip due to schedule conflicts and lack of urgency by magazines. As the line goes, “It’s not how many times you get knocked down, but how you get back up”. Late December, the truth of at famous line came to pass.
Early 2024, I was reading an issue of Trains Magazine, which I have been a subscriber since 1987. My dad and I dually read it. I had noticed that in the back of the magazine, there’s a travel section. Right there was my “Ah-ha moment”. As they say, “You miss 100% of the chances you don’t take”. I took the chance at pitching to Trains Magazine, the story about Amtrak’s Palmetto (New York City-Savannah). Originally, I had pitched a similar story idea to Passenger Train Journal. After a successful 2021 interview story with Amtrak’s Executive Vice President Roger Harris, I knew the Palmetto would make a great feature story. Unfortunately, I’ve been in a holding pattern. I’ve been in a similar holding pattern with American Rail Magazine. Finally, I received an email response from the editor at Trains Magazine. He said in his response “We usually don’t do pitches like these, but after much consideration, there’s no reason why we can’t do something different”. Right there, I was given the green light. I was commissioned to do a destination travel story about Amtrak’s Palmetto. The opportunity to write a story for Trains Magazine, a magazine I’ve been a longtime subscriber, had come true. Next, it was a matter of nailing down a story about Savannah’s haunted side. It was a far bigger challenge than I had imagined. It was an uphill battle with landmines in between.
Having been given the green light for the Palmetto story by Trains Magazine was a blessing. Being commissioned by a prominent publication had me feeling like I was on top of the world. However, I wasn’t done yet. I still needed to get my haunted story accepted. Magazines like to have a story that’s unique, and not something that is run-of-the-mill”. This was going to take some serious digging. First, I wanted to do a story about the “Dead of Night Tour” by Ghost City Tours. When Ghost City Tours responded back, they said “Why are you reaching out to us? You should look at someone local, like Enocha Edenfield”. Enocha Edenfield has been a Savannah resident since 2010. She does up-close and private tours, both historic and haunted. When I reached out to Enocha via email, she responded right away. She was delighted to be the subject in my story. I asked if she could show me around Savannah and pinpoint the most haunted locations in town. “No problem”, she said. I successfully found the focal point of my haunted story. No longer was I “buried” in a graveyard of doubt.
Having found the subject for my haunted story, I was excited. The next-to-worst was over. Still, I needed to find the right magazine to pitch it to. I tried Frommer’s, Fodor’s, South Magazine, Southern Lady, and Haunted. Haunted Magazine is based in the United Kingdom. I’ve been published internationally before, particularly in the United Kingdom. Before Christmas, I pitched my story to Costco Connection. The editorial team asked me two challenging questions. First, is Enocha Edenfield a Costco member and second, how do Enocha’s tours coincide with Costco’s members and its products? All I could say was “Costco members shop for nothing but the best, and Costco products are indeed the best. Enocha’s tours are up-close, and best-tailored to their requests and needs, particularly visitors with disabilities. In my story, I made no mention of Enocha Edenfield being a Costco member or not. Specifically, what does being a member have anything to do with the story? Having submitted my story draft to the Costco editorial team, I’m in a holding pattern. If Costco says ‘yes’, I’ll be esthetic. All I could say for now is, “No time to put all eggs into one basket. Next man up!”.
The next magazine I couldn’t help pitching to was Travel Magazine. Like Haunted Magazine, Travel Magazine is also based in the United Kingdom. As this point, I didn’t want to limit myself to any publication. I was exploring all of my options. Whether I was going to be compensated or not was no longer the concern. Sometime ago, I learned that exposure is of high value, too. While on the train en route to Savannah, I received a message from the editor-in-chief at Travel Magazine. She asked me what the angle of the story was. I thought quickly and said that the story will feature an interview with Enocha Edenfield, sharing a list of the most haunted locations in town on a “chill scale”; ‘1’ being the least chilling to ’10’ being the utmost chilling-the utmost captivating, a location so haunted, one would wonder if he/she would able to sleep at night. What was the editor-in-chief’s response? She gave it the go! Green light! Last, but not least, I wanted to add another travel lecture topic to my repertoire. My newest travel presentation is entitled “Savannah, GA: Living history…lifting spirits”. Why did I entitle it that way? Savannah may be the most haunted city in America, but I also wanted to approach the topic from a non-haunted point-of-view. Basically, I want to cover both points-of-view in the same presentation. So far, the presentation looks superb. When it’s complete and ready by February 7th, it will definitely be a must-see for any would-be traveler.
My train ride down to Savannah was wonderful. Much of the way down, we were making excellent time. We were twenty minutes ahead of schedule, until we were slowed down by freight train activity in the home stretch. We arrived in Savannah twelve minutes late; not too bad. During the ride down, the hotel’s director of sales and events emailed me, asking an interesting question. The hotel’s executive chef indirectly asked if I had any food allergies. I responded, saying that I have none. My Uber ride from Amtrak’s Savannah Station to the Savannah Riverfront Marriott was only twelve minutes. While checking in at the front desk, I was met with a surprise. I was given the executive suite. The surprise was not over yet. Upon entering my suite, on the long table was a platter of chocolate dipped strawberries, wrapped in plastic wrap. I was absolutely stunned. More than stunned, I was totally overjoyed. After struggling to place a pizza order via phone while waiting for my Uber ride, chocolate dipped strawberries was the perfect late night pre-bedtime snack. From that point on, I learned a valuable lesson. I did further research on pizza places in Savannah; just in case I visit again in the future. New Year’s resolution-I will use the Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Little Caesar’s apps on my cellphone. There will be no need talking to anyone who speaks broken English!
How did my visit to Savannah turn out all together? The trip was nowhere shy of legendary. From sightseeing on River Street and Bay Street, to watching container ships sail by, to perusing restaurant menus by the dozens, I knew I had quite an itinerary in store. I had lunch at Dub’s Pub, recommended by Enocha Edenfield. I went on my afternoon haunted tour with Enocha Edenfield. After my tour, I strolled around Chippewa Square, and took a picture of the spot where the “Forrest Gump” bench scenes were shot. Afterwards, I visited Service Brewing Company, a craft beer brewery run by a retired military couple. The beer was fabulous. Dinnertime, I ate at Alligator Soul, which was on my to-do list for two years. At Alligator Soul, I had their exotic game special-Grilled Elk. What was my side dish? I had the Alligator Chorizo Mac N Cheese. It sensational! Later in the evening, I went on the “Dead of Night Tour”. The next day, I did some museum hopping. I visited the Georgia State Railroad Museum, the Ships of The Sea Maritime Museum, and the American Prohibition Museum. The American Prohibition Museum is a must-visit for everyone. To cap off my visit, I sailed on the Georgia Queen on a evening dinner cruise. For the first time, I had shrimp and grits. There’s a first time for everything, agree?
The return home was tough. I had to wake up at 5:15 am to be at the train station by 7. It was hard leaving Savannah behind with great memories made. Forged in video footage and photographs, it’s a travel presentation that will speak volumes. My Palmetto story is due to be published in the June issue of Trains Magazine. My haunted story featuring Enocha Edenfield will soon be published in Travel Magazine, pending the editor-in-chief’s remarks. Many of my most popular travel presentations are well-enjoyed. My cruising, Amtrak, Walt Disney World, Newport, RI, and Washington, DC presentations have impressed many. “Savannah, GA: Living history…lifting spirits” will be beyond impressive. I waited two years to ride on Amtrak’s Palmetto. I waited two years to visit Alligator Soul. I also waited two years to visit the American Prohibition Museum. My Savannah presentation has been penciled in at one library in my area for the Fall. I am confident that many others will follow suit. They say that “patience is a virtue”. That’s true! Having such patience has paid off. More than paying off, I am confident that this presentation will “pay it forward”. To this day, I strongly believe that the chocolate dipped strawberries were a good omen.
