Shenandoah National Park: Skyline Drive

Today couldn't have been more beautiful.  After weeks of volatile weather we've finally been graced with several days of consistent sunshine and cloudless skies.  As a result, Evan and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take advantage of Skyline Drive.  Not only was the weather ideal but in honor of the U.S. National Park Service's Centennial, entrance is free through next Sunday!  We bought an annual pass in the fall so we were excited to use it but obviously, we didn't need to.

We started the day by taking the short-cut to Charlottesville, VA.  It's a 90-minute drive and a straight shot.  I had researched Citizen Burger Bar beforehand and was interested to see if they were all they were cracked up to be.

O.M.G.  Evan and I both agree that these were probably the best burgers we've ever had and between the two of us, we've had a lot of burgers.  The best part?  The meat, the cheese, the produce is all organic and locally-sourced within five miles of the restaurant.  All of the meat is grass-fed and free-range, antibiotic and hormone-free.  They even make their brioche buns and french fries in-house.  And their desserts, which we didn't try this time, are also locally-made.  The only thing I'd change is that I'd probably tell them to skip the salt on our fries.  The burgers are very filling and you can definitely split one order of fries, which we did.  I wanted to simultaneously eat really fast because it tasted so good but also slow down so I could savor it.  Evan got a custom-made burger while I got "The People's Burger".  SO AMAZING.  We will definitely go again.

We realized that we had never been to Downtown Charlottesville until today.  We've always associated "downtown" with the UVA campus.  Oops. Anyway, it's a very cute area with an extensive pedestrian-only outdoor mall.  We also stopped by Monticello but decided against joining a tour since there was a long wait.

From there we drove an additional twenty minutes to reach the end point of Skyline Drive at Rockfish Gap.  We took it all the way to the beginning at Front Royal for a 4+ hour afternoon adventure.

Here are the pictorial highlights:

I have an obsession with "naked trees" as I like to call them.

We saw several deer here and there but what we didn't expect to see was a black bear cub (maybe teenager)!!!  We spied him/her about twenty minutes from our exit.  How fortunate are we?!

We can't wait to go back when the vegetation has filled in a bit.  I think the spring flowers are afraid to come out since it still felt like winter about a week ago.  Come out, come out, wherever you are!  

Do-over: Charleston, SC

Charleston was a repeat destination for us and we were looking forward to making new memories there after our repeat performance in nearby Savannah.  The last time we made this trip we hit Charleston and Savannah in the reverse order.  I remember feeling relieved going to quiet, quaint Savannah after bustling, busy Charleston.  This time around I was anxious to get to the "big city" after a couple of days of seeing the same several blocks over and over again in Savannah.  Charleston was chock-full of spring breakers (annoying!) but there was more diversity in things to do/see.

Our itinerary (March 30, 2016 - March 31, 2016)

Wednesday, March 30

We got on the road as soon as we were ready and arrived in Charleston in time for a late breakfast/early lunch.  Not expecting our B&B to be ready for us, we parked in a public garage and made our way down Meeting Street to Toast!  While en route we passed a place I thought looked decent but we were determined to get to Toast! because of its high acclaim. Not surprisingly, there was a line and a 30 minute wait.  We added our names to the list but while waiting decided to google the place we had passed earlier.  We quickly realized that they were part of the same restaurant group, the menu looked great, and best of all, NO LINE.  We removed ourselves from the waiting list at Toast! and made our way back to Eli's Table.

It was hands down the best meal of the entire trip, inclusive of what we ate in Savannah.  I had the best crab cakes of my life with house-made remoulade sauce.  Evan got a pretty generic breakfast plate but he really enjoyed it.  We also split some sweet potato pancakes as an appetizer/dessert.  I'd go to Charleston again just to have another meal at Eli's Table.  

After our meal we figured we'd give the King George IV Inn a try and see if they were ready for us.  They were so we parked the car and dropped our things off.  The hosts were great and we enjoyed our gigantic room and comfortable bed. What we didn't like were the breakfast offerings (buffet-style generic fare) and the bathroom, which was tired and in need of renovation. The location was excellent, however, so it made it really easy to walk everywhere.  Unlike our Inn in Savannah, King George IV was more reasonably priced.    

We set out early afternoon to join Therese of Two Sister Tours for a walking introduction of Charleston.  I found that Therese had more pep in her step than our guide in Savannah.  She held my attention and I enjoyed the stories she shared. For instance, we learned the difference between a "beenya" and a "comeya".  A beenya is a native or someone whose family has lived in Charleston for many generations.  As a fitting antonym, a comeya is a newer member of the community.    

Charleston is called the "Holy City" and there are churches of all denominations on almost every block.  We learned that the church congregation senselessly attacked by a racist gunman last summer has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

   
Rainbow Row:

We learned that Stephen Colbert grew up in a house not far from Rainbow Row across from the water.  Bill Murray also lives somewhere on that stretch.

Therese is a seventh generation Charlestonian and she talked about seeing "the hat man" growing up.  The adjoining shop doesn't exist anymore but the natives fought to preserve this last remnant, which looks like something out of a Stephen King book turned movie.

Since I love all things Gone With the Wind, I was especially attentive when Therese mentioned that the woman who played India Wilkes in the movie was a Charlestonian artist.  She also said that Rhett Butler was based on a real Charlestonian.

We took our own walking tour afterward and explored some more.

The Charleston City Market:

Last but not least we strolled through the beautiful main campus of the College of Charleston just a couple blocks from our Inn.    

We had a light dinner from Taziki's and ate it in a park next to the college.  Yes, it's a chain, but it was yummy and way better than the non-chain food we had the following day.

We ended the night on a sweet note with Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.  I had churro while Evan had mint and sweet cream with a house-made waffle cone.        

Thursday, March 31

We started our day off with a lackluster breakfast and that theme carried through for the rest of our meals that day.  

Evan's really into tea so we paid a visit to the Charleston Tea Plantation - the only one in America!

The factory tour was really lame because none of the machinery was running nor was anyone working and the information was conveyed by a short series of videos.  Snoozefest.  The trolley tour was an improvement because we got to see the tea gardens and the greenhouse where they grow new plants from cuttings of the "old" plants.  

Waddy the frog:

When we got back to Charleston proper we went for a fairly dismal lunch at Chick's Fry House.  I was really disappointed because it's a casual/fast food offshoot of Hominy Grill, which is a very known and popular restaurant in town, and it didn't deliver.  I got fried catfish, which was good but my side of mac & cheese was half breadcrumbs and they weren't even crispy. It was like eating "raw" breadcrumbs.  Evan hated his fried chicken. He said it was dry and stringy.  I was hoping to have a friendly competition between Chick's and Rocky's (see Asheville blog) but as it turns out, they're not even in the same league. No comparison can be made!

To make up for that, on the way to the Nathaniel Russell House, we stopped at Peace Pie for a quick pick-me-up.  The guy who helped us out (pictured below) was really cool and he gave us each a free taster of the chocolate mousse he was whipping up.  It was amazing or as he called it "heaven".  Speaking of (H)Evan, he didn't want anything but I got the chocolate chip cookie.  It was very rich so I couldn't finish it all but it definitely hit my sweet spot. 

         

From there we went to the Nathaniel Russell House (as previously referenced) for a docent-led tour.  Therese had swung by there on our walk the day before and I made a mental note to return.  I'm so glad we did.  The history buff in me absolutely loved it.  If we return in the future I'd like to visit more house museums.   

It's an exquisite home with wonderful examples of the architectural craftsmanship, furniture, and luxuries of the 1800s Charleston elite.  Nathaniel Russell made his wealth as a merchant.  He was married to a woman who had her own wealth prior to their union.  She must've been one of the earliest feminists because not only was she 36 when they married (that's an advanced age even by today's standards) but she devised a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets.  They had two daughters.  Their family of four had fourteen, I believe, slaves to attend to their needs.  What a repugnant period in American history.

      

From there we made our way to Waterfront Park, passing by other beautiful homes and gardens.  

Therese explained that these plaques recognize historical preservation:

Wisteria!

Finally, we reached Waterfront Park, which has a hard-to-miss landmark in the form of a pineapple fountain.  The pineapple signifies hospitality.  

  

Last and least, we had dinner at Monza.  We were both hopeful and excited because it got good ratings and we were in the mood for Italian.  Evan got a pizza and I got carbonara.  We were both extremely disappointed.  Evan's pizza was not light and airy the way a Neapolitan pizza should be and I don't even know what they did to my pasta.  It tasted like someone knocked a salt shaker over into my dish.  Ick.  Needless to say, we wouldn't recommend it.  

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We had a good time in Charleston.  I was able to bounce back emotionally though I was still distracted.  There was a part of me that was ready to go home from days before but that had nothing to do with Charleston.  It's a shame but I really couldn't relax on this trip.  Now that we're back home, I'm feeling more like myself.  Maybe five years from now we'll go again and third time will be the charm?  Haha.  

Do-over: Savannah, GA

The last time we visited Savannah was almost five years ago.  It was an addendum to a trip to Charleston for a family wedding.  We decided to revisit both places because not only did we enjoy them before but we thought it would be nice to visit without the cloud of family obligations hanging over our heads.  We were also looking for somewhere warm this time of year and both places are within a reasonable driving distance.  

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.

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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.