Savannah

This weekend, Thursday night through Sunday evening, Mom and Dad R. were gracious enough to watch the kids for us while we went away for a long weekend. This is the first time we've been away from both kids overnight, EVER. Especially for this long. We made lots of calls to say Hi, but we knew they were having a great time and were well taken care of.

We went 6 hours south to Savannah, GA. It was gorgeous, and just the getaway we were looking for.

Before we get there, let me say I was surprised Joey had never seen South of the Border. It's cheesy, dirty, and I can't believe it's still there, but by now it's an institution and I'd figured every kid had been there on a road trip to Florida! I mean, all those billboards for miles and miles deserve a stop, right? Or at least as a kid I thought so! So now Joey's experienced South of the Border!

The first night, all hotels in Savannah were sold out (it was the last weekend of the Savannah Music Festival) so night one we stayed on Tybee Island, GA, about another 30 minutes from Savannah. We arrived, checked in, and walked over to a little hole-in-the-wall bar that was open. It was actually good times, and we met a great couple from Norway, Kathrine and Filip.

Aside: This is when Joey learned that Savannah and it's environs are similar to New Orleans; as we prepared to leave, the bartender offered him a to-go cup; you may walk around with open containers down there. That made Joey's night, He could take it with him!!

For breakfast the next morning we went to The Breakfast Club, a local eatery with little ambiance but great food. In fact the chef, professionally trained at the Culinary Institute of America, was hired to cater the Kennedy-Bessette wedding on nearby Cumberland Island.

The next day we headed into Savannah and stopped at Wormsloe Plantation. It was beautiful. There is a 1.5 mile driveway lined with over 400 Spanish moss covered oak trees. Of course, in GA the bugs are already out, so our meandering walk along the property soon because a run back to the car, but it was still beautiful, and worth the visit to anyone going to Savannah.

We visited the famous Bonaventure Cemetery where the cover from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (know as The Book down there) was taken. We were told to take lots of photos from a local, but we should have done more research; we might have looked harder for well known stones. The famous Bird Girl statue, from The Book cover, was originally at Bonaventure but after the popularity grew and concern over traffic in the cemetery grew, it was relocated in 1997 for display in the Telfair Museum in Savannah. Bonaventure is beautiful; there is a nice American Legion section, and we saw where Nobel Jones, the original owner of Wormsloe (his heirs still live on a portion of the plantation) is buried. Another site worth seeing.

Historic Savannah is of course a must see, and not so large you can't walk it. We enjoyed driving along the historic streets in the district/old town, pointing out the grand homes and beautiful trees, but River Street I think was our favorite. The buildings there are old Cotton and other trading houses, now converted into stores, etc, but still keeping their original appeal.

One our way out, we ate at Clary's Cafe, open since 1903. This cafe was "The Diner" in Midnight. There are now 2 locations in the Historic district, but we ate in the original location at Abercorn & Jones. The food was hot and delicious. Joey, who has always disliked grits, actually ate grits twice on this trip, enjoying them each time. I guess it takes having them cooked right, the "southern way" to really appreciate them. Click on any of the photos for more detail (for example, the 3rd to last photo has 4 markers, titled "Father", "Mother", "Sister", "Sister")