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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Hostess City of the South and Low Country

My mom and I took a girl's trip down to Savannah and then up to Charleston. I make a record of the proceedings:

The first night we stayed at a bed and breakfast in Savannah. It was really cute. Our unit was two-stories with a little living area/kitchen downstairs and the bedroom upstairs. It was very southern-style decorating. The bed and breakfast serves fresh chocolate chip cookies every night at 8 so we partook before going to our room.

That morning we went to eat our breakfast and were sad to discover what these people expected us to put into our mouths. It was some kind of Eggs Benedict on English muffins with a mustard sauce on top. No thanks. I asked for a toasted English muffin and some fruit, which I only ate a few bites of because they thought it was okay to throw a bunch of plain yogurt, granola and nuts on top of it. My mom was a trooper and ate most of her "food" but I obviously left hungry.This is the outside of the bed and breakfast.
We went straight to downtown Savannah and got on a Trolley tour bus. We took a 90 minute tour, which was really interesting. The driver knew his junk and we got to see all of the amazing plantation homes and house museums. After the tour, we walked around ourselves and looked at all the shops and squares. There are 22 squares in Savannah, all of which are like little parks with 9 streets branching out of them. Most of them have monuments in the middle of them and they all have a lot of really cool history. Our tour came with free shuttle wherever and whenever we wanted so we could get around faster. This came in handy since it was almost 100 degrees with 70% humidity that day. It was exhausting just walking around in the heat. We lost our energy quicker than we usually would in different circumstances. These are moss-hanging trees that are seen everywhere you look in Savannah. Out of all the things we saw here, the trees were my mom's favorite. She reads a lot of southern romance books and apparently they all talk about the moss trees. You should have heard her squeals of delight when she saw the trees in real life! In fact, when we got home and looked through the pictures she took, most of them are of moss trees. Really.

We went and toured the Juliette Gordon Low house where the founder of the Girl Scouts was born. I couldn't believe how much the tour guide knew. He was about 150 years old so he probably lived with Juliette at some time and that's how he knew everything. It was a charming house with a lot of the Gordons' original furniture and art work.
We really liked this house. It was two houses built side-by-side for twin sisters. They looked exactly the same. I wish I had a twin sister to build a house next to. That would be fun.
The Waving Girl Statue is on River Street facing the Savannah River. Florence Martus was the daughter of a sergeant stationed in Savannah and the brother of a lighthouse keeper. As a little girl, she would go out to the river and wave at all the ships coming in with her handkerchief and the sailors began to wave back. She continued her waving tradition for the rest of her life- 44 years- and never missed a day. I think she should have missed a few days to do something with her life, but that's just me.
This is the place where the park bench was placed in Forrest Gump where he would sit and say stupid things. It is called Chippewa square. I know of one person who likes that movie. There you go, Perry.
This is River Street, which faces the Savannah River. We walked along all those little shops. A lot of them were candy shops that made their own fudge and glazed pecans. I don't like either of those things.

When we were too tired and hot to do anything more, we left for Charleston, South Carolina.
We were tired when we got to the hotel so we just went to bed. In the morning, we went to breakfast and then went to the visitor's center to get on a tour bus. We took another 90 minute tour around Charleston, which was also very informative and entertaining. The tour guide was born and raised in Charleston and talked about all the things he did as a boy that he now takes his grandkids to do. It was pretty cute. We saw a lot of really pretty old homes that are worth millions now. We saw Fort Sumpter , which is an island east of Charleston. The iron work in Charleston is amazing. The homes are elaborate and charming.This house is on the market for a little over $10 million in case anyone wants it.

We decided we wanted to go to the beach so we went to a little local grocery store and got stuff for lunch. We changed into our suits, got our folding chairs, and headed for the beach. We just walked to where we saw water. When we got there, we were humiliated to see that we weren't really at the beach. We were at a riverside park overlooking the river. We looked retarded with our suits on, carrying our beach chairs and towels. We played it cool and pretended we had planned on bring our own chairs to eat our picnic in our bathing suits (even though there were benches and places to sit everywhere). After we ate in shame, we quickly covered our faces and ran to the car and drove to the real beach. On the map, there was a picture of a lighthouse by the beach so we wanted to go there. When we got there, this is what we saw:
Not really the lighthouse my mom was expecting in Charleston. It looks creepy and scary up close. It is triangular in shape, which was pretty cool. We loved the beach. Warm water, cool breeze and a cute little blond toddler we watched playing in the sand. It made me miss my boys. We were done with our trip and ready to head home. When we got home I went in and saw my sweet boys sleeping in their beds.

I think I want to make this a yearly tradition. Next year maybe we'll go to Europe. Right, mom?

Hi, this is Adam. I thought I'd add the excitement that Brody, Bridger and I shared while mom was away doing obviously boring things. We had fun, but have no pictorial record of such. You'll have to imagine us wrestling, playing tag, riding bikes, swimming, going to chucky cheese, reading books, shopping and making funny bodily noises. We also threw together this little bench swing for when we have a new back yard - but you don' t have to imagine it because I took a picture.

12 comments:

Becky said...

I think next summer will be my "never leave the house for two months" summer. I have really had fun here though and our mini trip to Savannah and Charleston was wonderful. I'm going to have to plant an oak tree in my yard and cover it with fake Spanish Moss.

Jonathan and Rachel said...

Wow ... so much history - I think you know more than me and I'm supposed to be FROM Georgia! Looks like you had a great time!

Aivaz Family said...

That Becky Parry is so hot right now. Also, I am jealous of your mini vacay.

Nicole said...

A couple of things...

1. Now you know 2 people who like Forrest Gump -- why do you hate people with mental deficiencies?

2. The Spanish Moss hanging from the Live Oaks is a cousin of the pineapple. It is not a parasite and causes no harm to the trees and lives solely on nutrients it catches from the air. You're welcome for that super important info.

3. How do you not like fudge and pecans?

Shari Davis said...

Its funny because that little Bed and Breakfast place you stayed was the same place Ben and I stayed when we were there. AND I think you stayed in the same room as us!!!! hahaha That's kind of funny!!

The Mitchells said...

@Adam, you're so freakin talented. I'm jealous! I throw something together and it looks like...well, like I threw it together!

You're Awesome!

-Tyler

Kendra said...

I am glad you got to play with your mommy. I will have to visit Charleston with you sometime because that is where my ancestors are from.

Zachariah Parry said...

It's kind of gross that you noticed that your tour guide "knew his junk."

As Ted, of Better Off Ted once said, "With great junk comes great responsibility."

Winn Family said...

Okay--so that sounds AWESOME! I totally need the names of the places you stayed and what tours to take and ALL of that for when my family comes out next. And seriously...I'VE NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF LEAVING THE KIDS WITH JESS. (that was in caps because it was just such a great great idea!--I hope he thinks so too) But for real--so so great! Plus, I laughed out loud at the lunch at the over look story in your suits--HA HA--that's what I was like--seriously, you can ask Jess, I laughed and laughed! Awesome. Not to mention that swing that Adam made--AMAZING! maybe...with a little financial backing..he might could make one for us??? You're mom seems so great! Anyway--you're awesome

Unknown said...

That trip looks fun. I'm pretty sure I'll never get to take a trip like that with my mom cause she only takes a vacation like every 5 years and when she does, she goes with my dad. You're lucky!

Anonymous said...

Wow! It looks like you girls had a great time. I'm begging you though--you've got to try more foods! You are missing out on so much! No wonder you are so skinny. I can make a killer Eggs Benedict.

Forrest Gump is one of Eric's all-time favorite movies.

Elaine Parry said...

The pictures tell it all. I love staying in Bed & Breakfast places and what would it be like to go sight seeing with your very own Mom. Actually Grandpa and I did stay in a Bed & Breakfast with your Mom & Dad. It was up some stairs and every landing was loaded with curios and other interesting things. There were lots of free paperback books. Your Mom, Becky is fun to travel with, also your Dad. You should try him too someday.