Savannah Get-Away

Phil and I recently had a wonderful get-away to Savannah! We both love historic cities with plenty to see and do (and eat), and this one did not disappoint.  We had tickets to The Master's for Monday and planned to head to Savannah right afterwards. Phil was super excited just to step foot on the course at Augusta National, and it was absolutely beautiful. The tv doesn't do it justice, that's for sure. Storms were on the way, so we walked as much as we could in the time we had, and we saw a few big names (Watson, Singh, Stricker). They ended up closing the whole course and canceling the rest of the day at lunch time, so sadly we left in a hurry (until we got to the parking lot!) without even grabbing souvenirs. I told Phil we will just have to go back as soon as we are able. We drove through a tornado warning and hail storm before checking into Savannah Bed and Breakfast. 

It cleared up enough for us to grab sandwiches at Zunzi's and do some walking along River Street for just a bit after checking in. This was our first B&B experience, and we really liked it, for the most part. It was nice to not have to worry about finding breakfast each day, and the homemade cookies every night were a big hit, too. We were the youngest guests, by far, but I'm never one to shy from conversation, and we enjoyed meeting and talking to other patrons over breakfast before heading out for the day.

Thankfully, our first morning the sun was shining and we were off to explore the city! Our b&b was just a block away from the Mercer House (of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil). I had just finished reading the book for the second time, so I kept filling Phil in with all the details of the "murder" and random Savannah trivia that I learned from the book. He finally decided that he'd like to read it for himself, as well (or maybe he just said that to get me to stop talking about it....). That book has done more for tourism in this city than anything else, for sure. We toured the home while there, and although the focus was on Jim Williams' antiques, it was neat to see the rooms that I had read about in the book and also to see the pictures taken in the house of the actors in the movie alongside members of the family.

Several days, we took advantage of the early morning (before much was open) and walked around beautiful Forsyth Park. We loved people watching and seeing all the pretty homes around the park as we walked. It didn't hurt that there was a cute coffee shop halfway around. :)

Apparently, this fountain was ordered out of a Sears and Roebuck catalog...only one other was sold and is in Peru. 

After a yummy lunch, we hopped on a carriage tour to better see the city and learn some of it's history. Our tour guide was funny and informative...

and the horse was pretty cute, too.

 I love all the squares in Savannah. It certainly makes it harder to drive through the city, but it's perfect for walking or stopping and sitting on a bench in the shade. I heard it said that the squares force cars, people, etc. to slow down and that the slower pace is perfectly fitting for a Southern city such as this. 

We enjoyed seeing the beautiful St. John's cathedral downtown and hearing its bells playing throughout the day.

The inside was just as beautiful as the outside.

So pretty!

 We also really enjoyed walking through Colonial Park/Cemetery. We learned on our tour that Union soldiers stayed in this cemetery during the Civil War (the walls/fences kept the horses in), and they vandalized/altered several of the tombstones. It was fun to search for them. Ones that have been damaged/misplaced from their original location are displayed along the wall in the very back.

This one says that Mr. Muir died at 11 years old, and his son died just after him at 12 years old. hmmm...

We really enjoyed our guided tour of the Thomas-Owens house. No pictures were allowed inside the house, so this is as good as it gets. We had a great tour guide who was super knowledgable and kept us longer than the advertised time, which we all were just fine with. These are the things you really can't enjoy with small children, so Phil and I were trying to soak it all in!

 Just before the SCAD sign, you can see Leopold's Ice Cream Shop. This place has been around since 1919, and it's where the tutti frutti flavor was invented. Savannah native Johnny Mercer later wrote a song about it. We finally walked by when the line wasn't all the way down the block, and decided on the peanut butter (Phil got his as an ice cream sandwich between two chocolate chip cookies!). It was so yummy and worth the hype.

 One fun thing about Savannah is that there's no open container law, so you can get take out adult beverages and walk with them. This place, the Savannah Taphouse, was right on Broughton (the main shopping street) and had an awesome pineapple cider that Phil and I shared while we shopped.

 We walked seemingly forever down River Street one afternoon to find the statue of the Waving Girl, depicting Florence Martus welcoming ships in the late 1800s/ early 1900s. 

Included with our ticket to the Thomas-Owens house was the Telfair Museum and the Jepson Art Museum. Both were pretty small and didn't take long to go through. I liked the Telfair because it was originally an old house (kitchen was set up like it would have been and pictures of family were on the walls), and it also had some pretty impressive paintings. Phil out front...

 Most exhibits at the Jepson, however, were a little too modern for us, however, we had to go in order for me to have my picture taken with the Bird Girl. This statue is on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It was originally in the Bonaventure Cemetery, but due to all the traffic from the popularity of the book, they moved it to the Jepson.

 Mission accomplished!

Our favorite dining experience was at The Olde Pink House. This restaurant is in a very historic old home facing Reynold's Square. It is super popular, and the only time we could make a reservation  was for 9pm (practically our bedtime these days). We heard earlier that day from a local that the tavern below was more intimate, same menu, rumored haunted (!), and less of a wait...so we decided to head there early and try eating downstairs instead. It was so much fun. We sat by the fire and ordered drinks while waiting for a table. Everyone was very friendly, and it was fun to just sit back, enjoy the atmosphere, and people watch. There was a fun/spunky older lady that played the piano and sang, and the food was certainly worth the wait. Fried green tomatoes?! Shrimp and grits one more time?!? Of course! We highly recommend, and we'll be back for sure the next time we're in town. My super handsome hubby...

The great thing about Savannah and the location of our b&b was that we were able to keep the car parked and walk every day, except for one. That day, we planned to visit Tybee Island, Wormsloe Plantation, and Bonaventure Cemetery. 

 Wormsloe Plantation dates back to the 1700s and is known for this beautiful 1.5 miles oak lined drive. You now have to pay the $10 admission just to take pictures, so we decided to take the guided tour, look through the museum, and watch a short film to get our money's worth. ;)

 These tabby walls are all that remain of Noble Jone's original structure, one of the oldest of their kind in the US.

 The river that the house/fort used to look out on is now marshland. We thought these trees were especially neat looking, along with all the little crabs crawling around them.

Afterwards, we ate the best pan seared okra at Tybee Island Social Club, and then explored some local shops and art galleries on the island. It was pretty chilly and windy, but we managed to visit the beach long enough to take a couple of pictures before heading off to find some coffee to warm us up!

Bonaventure Cemetery was quiet and beautiful. We managed to find all the grave sites that I wanted to see before realizing that there was a map available at the entrance.  The signs helped...

Conrad Aiken...whose tombstone is actually the bench (big one is his parents')

 Johnny Mercer, in the middle with the wind chimes, whose tombstone reads "And the Angels Sing"

Beautiful statue... I would have taken even more pictures of them, but it's also a little creepy.

 Back downtown, we had to try a slice of pizza at Vinnie Van Go-Go's in the City Market. This is just one slice that we had cut in two! There was no shortage of snacks on this trip- a fully loaded caramel apple,  Savannah's own Byrd's cookies, prailine samples from Savannah Candy Company, to name a few. Good thing we did lots of walking!

This is John Street, once named the most beautiful street in the US. Love these homes and all the trees that line the street. 

 Love him, too :)

 After searching all week for a Savannah painting to bring home as our souvenir (something new we're trying to do each time we get away), we ended up falling for a picture of...The Kentucky Derby.  The artist has an amazing life story, and we were so exited to find this painting tucked away in his studio above City Market. It was way out of our price range, so we walked away. After finding nothing else we liked better, we decided on our last day to purchase some signed Derby prints of his instead. After we asked if he had a military discount, he made us a deal on the original painting that we couldn't refuse. While not Savannah-y at all, we were both giddy with excitement over the fact that it was coming home with us.

 Claire says it looks like "scribble scrabble," but I strongly disagree. :)

We are so thankful to Nana for keeping the kids for us so we could take our trip! They had a blast and were having too much fun to miss us at all! We loved Savannah, and we look forward to going back some day.