Savannah Smiles

I am finally getting around to blogging a bit about our trip.  I took SOOO many pictures, and there is so much to say about this lovely city that I will probably need to break it up into a couple of posts for the sake of time. 

Our oldest daughter attended a week long art seminar at SCAD - short for Savannah College of Art and Design.  It's a beautiful school dedicated to art education, and it was right up her alley.  Once plans were in place we decided to send her ahead and then meet up for our family vacation. 

So.....starting there - I had to put my 16 year-old on a flight that included a connection ALL BY HERSELF.  She handled it beautifully, and I, well, I handled it. 

I am going to take a moment and rant a bit about airports/air travel, etc.  I was in the business about 20 years ago.  I know things have changed, (9/11, technology, loss of jobs, condensing more seats into planes, etc) but COME ON ALREADY.  Let's just say if I had provided the level of customer service we received, it was possible I would have been fired on the spot back in the day.  Couple this with crazy busy line that aren't clearly marked, (is it baggage??  Customer service line??  TSA??  Who knows??!?!)  a disinterested security dog handler,  and people ahead of us that were checking in luggage that was big enough for me to climb in with room to spare. All that was missing from the experience was a crate of chickens.

BUT.....once Reaghan was settled on the plane,(I was able to go to the gate with her) things went smoothly on the remainder of the trip, so I was grateful for that.   We chatted every night, and texted during the day, so that helped us feel more connected.  I don't know how parents handled kids being out of state before cell phones!!

We started driving down the following Thursday and stopped in Asheville, North Carolina.  I have two very dear childhood friends that live in the area, so they picked me up from my hotel and we went to dinner and walked around town and had the best time reminiscing.  I'm so thankful for social media that allowed me to contact them years ago, and then getting to see them 30+ years later was such a treat.  We are making plans to get together again.  It wont' be this year, but is won't be 30 either!! 

The next day we drove from Asheville to Savannah.  Truthfully, that drive was more challenging than the 11 hour drive the day before!  But, once we got past the traffic and a little weather, we found our rental easily and were able to get right in.  Here are some pictures - we stayed right in downtown and I'm so happy we made that choice.

 The big arch windows look right onto one of the main streets, and we would just pop downstairs and into shops or restaurants.  It was SOOO very hot and humid, and it was great to just be able to come back to the condo and cool off in between.  We found this on VRBO and I would highly recommend.  Plenty of space and everything a family needs in a home away from home.

We were there over 4th of July, and by day's end, we were all too tired to stay out for fireworks.  But look what we got to see from those beautiful windows!!!!

 We had gone to Tybee Island that day (more on that at a later date) so this was a perfect ending. 

We went to the beach twice, and the other two days we took in some of the Savannah sights.  I got up early one morning and took my own walking tour, as I knew all of us would enjoy that much better ;)  The homes, flowers, and architecture are amazing!!

The trees and flowers are gorgeous here!

 St John's Cathedral.  They had a service in progress when I was walking, but otherwise, tourists can view inside.

 The fountain in Forsyth Park - one of the attractions in Savannah.

 Cemetery.  I felt a bit disrespectful walking in with my phone, but as I was doing that, another tourist was walking out with a Gatorade, so.......

I don't know much about this hotel, but is is just lovely.


















Gotta run for now, have a tired boy home from camp.  I will try to not wait another month to post!!