Fall Break: Day 5- Savannah & drive home

Friday, October 12, 2018

Savannah

We're heading home today. We've had a very full week and I do wish we could've extended the trip at least another day, but we already made plans for Saturday long before this trip was planned. After breakfast, we walked to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. I really wanted to go there and we somehow missed it in all our walking yesterday. Well, we saw it from a distance, but didn't go in. I believe we walked parallel to it.

On our way, we happened to walk by the birthplace of Juliette Low, who founded the Girl Scouts. Moments later we reached the Cathedral and it did not disappoint. Beautiful both inside and out, I can see why they call it the Sistine of the South. I was so glad they allowed picture taking.

We saw the town fire bell on our walk back to the hotel. Back in the day, firefighters rang the bell if they needed more water to put out a fire and all the townspeople would come with buckets of water. 

At the hotel, we loaded up our car and started our drive home. 

Daniel wanted to go ahead and get lunch instead of having to stop an hour or two into the drive. Then he surprised me with Larry's Giant Subs! I was so excited!! I worked at one here in TN all through college and still their subs are my favorite. We knew there were a couple in Savannah b/c of our last trip. However, the downtown location closed or moved so I gave up eating there. Well, good 'ol Daniel had a surprise up his sleeves. He knew the other location was on our way out, so he made the stop for me! He said it was worth it seeing my excitement. 

Larry's did not disappoint either, just as yummy as I remember it. And it was extra special b/c Daniel managed to surprise me and we beat the crowd! I'm sure they thought I was weird for taking pictures, but I didn't carry. I have a lot of good memories from working at Larry's Giant Subs. We really had a great family trip- things worked out really well and Daniel enjoyed that I had a loose plan of daily activities rather than a rigorous one. Such a good time. And the subs topped off an already awesome family vacation!

Fall Break: Day 4 Savannah, GA

Thursday, October 11, 2018

Savannah, GA

Since Charleston and Savannah are so close, we decided to take a quick trip down to go 'ol Savannah before we headed home. Daniel and I have been here together once before around our 2nd anniversary. We had literally found out only a couple weeks before that trip I was pregnant with Will. So it was kinda neat to come back here with our 10-year-old little boy. And 3 more! Get ready for picture overload. We did a lot of walking and saw a lot of things.

 First up: Lady & Sons restaurant. We were unable to eat here on our first trip (I believe b/c it was Mother's Day weekend) so I said I definitely wanted to make it happen this time. Since we arrived around lunch time, it was perfect. Got early check-in at the hotel, dropped off our stuff and car then walked on over. We also walked through the city market on the way there and back.

We all thought the food was very good and we didn't have to wait long to be seated. Though, given the off season, I was surprised there was a wait at all. Next up, Chippewa Square. Because this, my friends, is where Forrest Gump's bench scenes were filled. And yes, we came here on our first trip as well. It was a little lost on the kids b/c they haven't seen the movie. On our first trip I learned the bench was a movie prop- added for the movie and then removed- still, I wish they had left it.

 Beautiful little girl! Below, more paved streets and the famous Forsyth Park fountain. I love famous things, in case you can't tell. ;) There was a playground inside the Park, so we let the kids play for a little while. We have been doing lots of exploring and cultural/learning stuff. 

 We hit most of the highlights in the downtown area, so we headed to the waterfront. On our way, a lady was standing outside of her shop and invited us in for some cookies. We were such an easy target... We did learn here, however, that most everything in the city was shut down b/c the storms hitting the gulf coast. Explains the minimal crowds- fewer than expected even in the off season.  Private tour of Savannah, thank you.

We walked along the waterfront, stopped in a couple shops, all the way to the waving girl monument at the end. By this time, the kids were all getting hungry so we headed toward the hotel with plans to grab dinner on our way back. I saw Leopold's Ice Cream and wanted to stop in but we decided dinner but after we finished, there was a line into the street so we did not get ice cream.

Once we returned to the hotel, I realized why that name sounded familiar: it was on my list of things to do! It's apparently a famous Ice Cream Parlor in Savannah and well, you know. ;) We had a great day, saw lots of things and all enjoyed ourselves. Great last day!

Fall Break: Day 3 - Charleston

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

South Carolina Aquarium

Today was set aside for the aquarium in Charleston as it was supposed to be the most likely day to rain according to the forecast. We were fortunate the other two days the rain held out until we finished our activities. I was glad we picked today for the indoor fun because it did rain off and on.

 We started at the stingrays because we got passes to feed them- a pretty cool experience for kids in my opinion. I took a few pics and a video then my camera died! So I had to resort to my cell phone. I know, I'm one of those weird people who prefer taking photos on my big camera.

 They had Legos all over the place. This pineapple fountain was cool and the kids loved climbing all over the shark below. Directly below is a real bald eagle, not a Lego version. :)

My silly husband. We spent several hours here then had a late lunch a place call Black Magic Cafe in Folly Beach. Name kinda crazy but the food was really good. I had the most delicious croissant french toast with fruit that I sadly could not finish but I stuffed as much as I could!

After lunch we stopped at a souvenir shop where Will finally found something he wanted. Then we hung out at our place for a couple hours, took a walk around the condo area and to the dock until it was time to get ready for dinner at Daniel's friend/co-worker's house. They provided us with oysters (I only had one) and pizza, which was delicious. The kids all had fun playing together. Another fun day filled lots of great adventures. It'll be sad to say goodbye to Charleston tomorrow!