Savannah and our "Low Country" Adventures

Last Wednesday, Jamie, Noah, Lindsay, and I headed out before noon for Atlanta. We decided that with our trip to Savannah being close to 9 hours, it would be best to split it up into 2 days of travel. We made it to ATL around 4 (their time), checked into our hotel and headed to Lenox Square Mall for some shopping. I was able to find some cute summer, maternity items. Noah had only napped for about an hour during the drive and with our shopping and then dinner, we didn't get back to our hotel until around 9:30... at that point, he was deliriously silly and wired! After an hour or so, I was able to get him to calm down and go to sleep. Thankfully, he was great the whole day and didn't fuss or cry at all.

My parents drove to B'ham late Wednesday night so Thursday morning, we left our hotel in time to meet them as they were passing through ATL, that way we could follow them the rest of the way. We made it to Tybee Island in about 5 hours and unfortunately, our vacation got off to a rocky start. As SOON as we pulled into the parking deck of our condo, the electricity went off in the entire complex. This meant the elevators were out of order (with someone trapped inside!), so we had to tote all of our luggage up the stairs. When we got everything out of the car and get settled into our rooms, we realized it was HOT in the condo. There's no telling what it had been set on since it was unoccupied and at this point we were still without power... with a heat index of 110 outside. After an hour or more, the power finally came back on, so we decided to head out for dinner. My dad got into a conversation with the maintenance guy on site and he recommended we eat at a place called Burneys, which was located on a pretty busy street called Tybrisa. It wasn't quite what I was expecting when we pulled down the strip to park, but it reminded me of something that you would find on the Jersey Shore! Several t-shirts shops, souvenir stores, and small bars lined both sides of the street. Jamie, Noah, Lindsay, and I rode together and got there before my parents (who also have my grandmother, Nonnie, and my aunt Carol with them.) We walked into Burney's and the first thing I realized is that it's basically a bar with a couple of tables. Next thing I see is a rather large couple in their bathing suits, making out at the bar. Ummmm... I didn't want to be the one to veto this place but I didn't think it was for us. Lindsay pointed out pretty quickly that there were quite a few smokers and she didn't want Noah around it so we left quickly. My parents still hadn't gotten there so I called my mom's cell to find out where they were... turns out, when they parked the car, my Nonnie hastily opened the car door and slammed it into the neighboring car (which happened to be a brand new Tahoe), putting a dent in the side of it (and in the door of my parent's car). The owner of the Tahoe was LIVID and started mouthing off to my dad, despite the fact that it was obviously an accident! My dad was trying to calm the guy down and get everything situated (as far as exchanging insurance) but apparently that wasn't enough for this guy... he was looking for a fight. My dad finally calmed the guy down and we head out looking for another place to eat. The next attempt was AJ's. We found it easily, however, the parking lot would only hold about 10 cars at best. We drove around searching for a spot to park both of our cars with no luck, so we headed out looking for something else. We decided on The Crab Shack, which had been voted "Best Seafood on Tybee Island" for something like the past 10 years in a row so we thought we'd found a winner. We waited for about an hour or so but it passed pretty quickly because we sat outside and watched kids feed the alligators that they had in an enclosure. They took us to our seat and it immediately became apparent that the restaurant was without air conditioning. The food was okay, but nothing to call home about. A tired 3 year old, a 80-something year old lady, and a 6 months pregnant girl plus the rest of my family... in August, 100+ degree weather, no a/c, and all worn out from traveling all day ... it just was not a pleasant experience. We were all hot, sweaty, miserable, and tired.

The following day, my mom and sister had some last minute wedding details to finalize, my dad and Jamie wanted to check out a local golf course as well as make a grocery stop, so I sat with Noah and Nonnie at the condo. I woke up that morning feeling sick with really bad congestion, headache, and a sore throat/bad cough so I didn't feel like doing much plus my grandmother has Alzheimer's so there was no way I was venturing out just the 3 of us, especially after the run in she'd caused my dad the night before! :) That evening, we had reservations at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons, with Derrick's (Lindsay's fiance) entire family. Because of our party size, we had to choose the buffet, which was really good. Fried Chicken, Steamed Shrimp, Macaroni-n-Cheese, Corn Casserole, Yams, Mashed Potatoes, Peach Cobbler, Banana Pudding and more. The best thing on the buffet was the Mac-n-Cheese... YUM! The one thing I wanted to try but it wasn't offered this particular day was the Gooey Butter Cakes. Follwing dinner, Jamie, Noah and I went ventured off by ourselves to see Savannah. We headed a couple of blocks towards City Market and then turned up near some shops, however, with it just a few minutes to 7:00pm they were all closing. And let me tell you, it was HOT, despite it being 7 in the evening. In fact, that doesn't even begin to describe just how hot... I've always heard that it's much more hot and humid in Savannah and that night I experienced it! With full bellies from our meal, our clothes literally sticking to us, and huffing and puffing as we wandered around through downtown Savannah, we finally decided to just head back to the car, with hopes of returning to explore another day.

The following evening, Saturday night, was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. All I can say is this was the first time I actually saw where the wedding was to take place at the gardens of the Westin Savannah Harbor (other than pictures on the internet) and the scenery was gorgeous! Dinner was to follow at The Olde Pink House and it was wonderful... but the service was even better! It was flawless and so impressive. We all thoroughly enjoyed our experience there. Between Jamie, Noah, and I, we were able to try all of the options that were available on our menu. I had the She-Crab Soup, Shrimp and Grits, and Key Lime Pie... WONDERFUL!

Here's my observations:
1. Savannah is beautiful! However, being 6 months pregnant in one of the hottest months out of the year, I didn't get to fully experience it... it was just too hot and required alot of walking that I didn't feel up to doing. The combination of the heat/humidity, being sick the whole week, and pregnant just left me drained! I honestly didn't feel like doing anything, other than Lindsay's wedding activities. I hate that I felt that way because I know I really would have enjoyed Savannah with different circumstances. I would love to go back at a different time of year, and when I'm NOT pregnant, so that I can enjoy all that it has to offer.

2. When we were planning our trip, we were told that Tybee Island was only a 15 - 20 minute drive to Savannah. However, we found that it took about 30 - 45 minutes depending on traffic therefore, we didn't get to venture into Savannah much during the day since we were there so much each evening for wedding activities. None of us were impressed with Tybee Island and I wouldn't recommend it, except for maybe a day trip, but not somewhere to stay for a week. It didn't seem to be geared toward tourists, but more so a getaway for locals, because there wasn't anything there other than the beach, some tacky touristy shops, and a few hole-in-the-wall restaurants, majority of which didn't have air-conditioning. However, I know others feel differently because I had heard nothing but great things prior to our trip. I guess I'm just spoiled by Destin and the beautiful Gulf Coast!

Obviously, our number 1 purpose for the trip was Lindsay's wedding, however, Jamie and I were also using this as our summer vacation too. Since we didn't really get the vacation experience we were hoping for on Tybee Island, Jamie arranged for to get a hotel for 3 nights on Hilton Head Island, which was only a 45 minute drive from Savannah. His birthday is 8/3 and our 7th anniversary is 8/9 so he thought we should enjoy a little time with just the 3 of us. The plan was to head there following our departure from Tybee on that Tuesday morning. WHOO HOO!! But before that, we had my sister's wedding...


a little alligator-watching to pass the wait at The Crab Shack


the crab shack's slogan "where the elite eat in their bare feet!"


outside of paula deen's the lady & sons


river street


practice makes perfect!


the bride and her favorite nephew




our rehearsal dinner menu


family shot outside of the olde pink house