We've made it a goal to not only reduce our travel budget this year but to also reduce our carbon footprints by taking a year off from flying. That's right, every destination will be reached via our fuel-efficient car. We both agree we did entirely too much flying last year, far more than our annual average. We're looking forward to a break from long security lines and germy plane passengers. More freedom and more control - yes please!
Our Itinerary (March 26, 2016 - March 29, 2016)
Saturday, March 26
We stopped overnight in Durham, NC to break up the trip. We were there so briefly that we didn't give it a chance to make much of an impression. We took a brief walk through the Sarah P Duke Gardens before rain drove us away.
Then we grabbed a quick but delicious bite to eat at Only Burger in Downtown Durham. We spent our evening at Arrowhead Inn, a beautiful historic home with lush grounds.
Sunday, March 27
We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of shirred eggs but were exhausted after old house noises and our workaholic refrigerator/ice-maker kept us up the night before.
We didn't do much today except drive to Savannah and check-in to Azalea Inn & Villas. I really liked our shower and the option to eat breakfast "in bed". I put that in quotes because we actually ate on our private patio. I was disappointed, however, that the Inn wasn't as luxurious as their website advertised. I think some of the photography was tricky, too, because our bedroom quarters were much tighter in person than I had anticipated. Mostly, it was very expensive and ultimately, not worth the cost. Despite delicious breakfasts, attentive staff, and a great location, I wouldn't shell out the dough to stay there again.
Remember how I wrote earlier about having a cloud of family obligations over our last trip? Well, this time we had a cloud of a different sort. Evan and I work at a local animal rescue and our feline friend, Elvis, had been ill for some time. While in Savannah that first evening I checked in with my boss to see how he was doing and was dealt the devastating blow that he had been diagnosed with cancer. On top of that, he had taken a turn for the worse seemingly overnight. Evan and I wanted to bring him home for his last days or weeks but we lost that opportunity.
Needless to say, I was upset and not feeling up to doing anything special that night so we grabbed a quick and casual dinner at Whole Foods.
Monday, March 28
We started our day with chicken and broccoli quiche on the patio.
From there we took a walk all through the Historic District to reach our final destination - Vic's on the River.
Along the way I re-took a picture that I had taken five years before. The trees have grown in a bit so if you compare the shots side by side you can see the church steeples more clearly in the past.
You can check out my old blog entry here.
We stopped at Marche de Macarons for a quick snack. Neither of us had ever had a macaron before and we figured a Monday morning in Savannah was as good a time as any. I'm glad we gave it a whirl but we agreed that it's not our thing.
It seems like we jumped from breakfast to a snack to lunch but we really did a lot of walking in between and after!
We had a wonderful meal at Vic's on the River. Evan got the rich but well-prepared shrimp and grits and I had fish tacos. We each had a "Savannah sunburst", which tasted like spiked Hawaiian punch to me.
From there we met up with Old City Walks to take an Antebellum Savannah Architecture Tour. I always forget what Antebellum means so I was glad our guide reminded me that it means "before war" or in this case, before the Civil War.
I feel terrible saying this but I didn't get a whole lot out of the tour. Historic Savannah is gorgeous but I could've walked it on my own. I really didn't retain much of what was shared nor was my attention focused on the guide. In his defense, I was partially distracted because of what was going on back home.
We started in Chippewa Square, which was the backdrop to Forrest Gump's bus stop story-telling.
Along the way we admired unique ironwork, hidden gardens, door knockers, etc.
This is a decorative drain pipe of a dolphin fish or mahi mahi:
I love the Spanish moss:
This sleeping kitty is the perfect advertisement for Tracey Stewart's book:
On our own we went to Forsyth Park. We saw an episode of House Hunters being filmed.
Late afternoon we took a quick drive out to Tybee Island to see what all the fuss was about and weren't impressed. We did hear that they're filming the new Baywatch movie in town.
We had dinner about ten minutes outside Downtown at a casual seafood place called Driftaway Cafe. I had a salmon BLT and Evan got fish tacos.
Tuesday, March 29
Today had a rough start. I think a combination of the richness of the food from the day prior, alcohol, and the stress/sadness of Elvis's passing gave Evan a mini-stomach bug. I ate a sweet quiche/breakfast pie alone on the patio.
I had originally planned a mini-road trip to Beaufort, SC and the surrounding area but that was obviously, off the agenda. After Evan halfway recovered we made our way over to Whole Foods for some crackers and electrolyte water. The motion of the car seemed to help settle his stomach so we went to Bonaventure Cemetery and meandered around very slowly in the car. I got out here and there to take some pictures.
As we were driving out after having circled around the cemetery for forty-five minutes or more I turned to my right and saw a kitty cat figurine perched on top of a tombstone. I want to think it was a sign because it gave me some comfort that Elvis was OK. In spite of the pink collar, the cat looks very much like Elvis did.
We had a very late lunch/early dinner at Gryphon, a tearoom/restaurant that our walking guide introduced us to the previous day. I figured Evan could get some tea and tea sandwiches as something light and easy on his stomach. I got a delicious smoked salmon club sandwich. Later, I ordered a cup of hot chocolate since it was actually a little breezy/chilly at the time.
Then we walked around the historic center again (we'd done this loop a few times but found it enjoyable every time) to keep ourselves occupied before our 7:30pm concert at the magnificent Lucas Theatre.
We saw Andrew Bird as part of the Savannah Music Festival.
It was definitely one of the highlights of the Savannah trip and the road trip overall. He's an amazingly gifted individual. We saw him play the violin, guitar, and xylophone all while singing and also whistling. I very rarely enjoy listening to music anymore because in my opinion, there are so few artists of Andrew Bird's caliber nowadays. I suppose that makes me a traitor to my generation but generally speaking, I think today's music is garbage. Andrew Bird is the exception to that rule. I would love to see him perform live again. Evan downloaded his recent album so we could listen to it on the drive home.
...
I feel very badly that we didn't have the best time. Historic Savannah is lovely. The Spanish moss, the shaded squares, the stately mansions, the horse carriages, the old brick, the cobblestones, the iron gates, the ivy-covered staircases, the meticulously manicured gardens, all add up to a charming and romantic setting. I just wasn't able to fully appreciate it. My emotions were all over the place; my head was somewhere else. By Wednesday morning Evan and I were both anxious to put Savannah in the rearview mirror and start anew in Charleston.
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