Travel: Savannah

 

Welcome to this month's installment of "Diana catches up vacations" post.  Actually the first of two posts this week because time and length concerns.

The Plan
With 2020 being 2020, we didn't go on a vacation and then it took awhile into 2021 before we decided that we would be comfortable going somewhere (which turned into 2 somewheres) this summer.  I think it was around April that we decided that vacation would be a go and knew we wanted to go somewhere warm since our last trip, pre-pandemic, was colder (the UP, coming next month).  I spent what felt like FOREVER looking across the entire Gulf Coast (every state Florida to Texas) at anywhere available close to the water that was available our approximate dates and within walking distance of the beach.  It was A LOT of looking and some budget expanding.  I also had the secret goal of making it to the The Bookshelf if it wasn't too far out of the way.

We ended up finding a place on the Atlantic coast of Florida (that's coming later this week) and but we couldn't find anywhere with a full week at the beach available (at a price we were willing to pay) and so had planned on going somewhere else on our way to/from Florida.  I had been to Savannah, Georgia with my family in 2004, on my last family vacation, the last one with all 8 of us, and really enjoyed it.  It wasn't too far out of the way on a direct drive to our Florida spot and it seemed like a great place to stop on our way. 

Our trip started with leaving on a Friday night after Matt got home from work.  We just drove to Cincinnati, where OF COURSE we got stuck in traffic on I-75 (I've spent a good many hours on 75 and the times I haven't gotten stuck in traffic are rare).  I have great nostalgia for that drive with having gone to college in Dayton, done many trips to Kings Island, WGI trips with winter guard in high school, and a cousin getting married there.  It filled me with all sorts of warm fuzzies to be driving through there again, before getting stuck in traffic.  

 
Anyways, we got through Cincinnati and stayed at this La Quinta.  This is notable because I forgot our laundry bag there, which I remembered with a start when Matt had given me the chance to nap in the car two hours after we had left Cincinnati.  I seriously considered if we should turn around but instead called them and they found the bag and then I spent too much time stressing how to get it back the rest of the trip.  (We ended up adding 10 minutes to the drive home to go back through Cincinnati, instead of Indianapolis, to get it, picking it up at midnight, almost exactly a week after we had checked in.  I still remember the huge relief I felt picking it up again when I see pictures of that part of our trip home.  I practically skipped out of the hotel and that excitement helped me stay awake for the final 3+ hours home).

Anyways, we drove through 5 states on our way from Northern Kentucky to Savannah, Georgia.  

Where We Stayed
We've been staying at VRBO's since before AirBnB's were a thing.  I always look through both sites when I am looking for lodging.  In Savannah we stayed at this AirBnB which was easy walking distance from their main historical district but not so close that it was insanely expensive.  It had HIGH ceilings and fantastic light in the two front rooms.  Luke slept on the futon folded out and Sam slept on the trundle that slid underneath during the day.  Matt & I had our own spacious room that connected with the boys' and also the hallway, so we didn't need to pass through their room to use the bathroom.  The kitchen had everything we needed and the tv was already hooked up to Netflix which was helpful for settling down rowdy boys. 

The only downside of the place was the horrible tasting water.  We got through it with a lot of ice cubes but it wasn't good.  

We had easy street parking right outside the door and walked everywhere we went in Savannah until we had to be out of the apartment.  It was a fantastic place to stay and perfect for our family.

What We Did
The first night we ate supper, everyone showered, and we went to bed.  We had a VERY late night the night in Cincinnati and were all tired from a full day in the car.

The next morning was Sunday and had time for breakfast AND left early for Mass.  It was CRAZY.  We walked through a few squares that morning and it really felt like we were on vacation and I had forgotten how much I missed exploring new places.  It was so exciting and wonderful.  We were less than a mile from the GORGEOUS Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, one of the places I remember visiting with my family 17 years earlier.  Also, I don't know the last time we left EARLY for Mass.  It remains the most crowded place I have been since pre-pandemic and being back in a church filled with people singing almost brought me to tears.  It was wonderful.  

We walked the long way home from Mass, walking through Forsyth Park and then picking up lunch to eat at our apartment.  We all changed and headed back out into the heat!  Matt so helpfully carried a backpack with water bottles (of gross water and lots of ice) for all.  

I had spent a lot of time in the weeks before the trip reading through blog posts found via Pinterest of what to do in Savannah.  Made a lot of notes.  Mapped out a plan.  We followed almost none of it.  We started back with Forsyth Park where the boys really enjoyed the playgrounds (and Matt & I competed on the monkey bars, we are always trying to outdo each other on those). 

Once we had them worn out and then re-energized with ice cream, we started walking towards River Street with plenty of time and nowhere we NEEDED to stop.  We walked through MANY of the squares Savannah is known for.  I wish I had taken pictures of the signs at each one so I could remember which all but I think we hit 14 of the 22 with no effort. Everything was so pretty and charming and just so nicely laid out.  Savannah is also a very pedestrian friendly city, with pedestrians given the right away crossing almost every street in the historic district.  We definitely got used to that right of way!

We did caught in a sprinkle which we could mostly avoid thanks to all the trees in the square we were in at the time.  But the boys loved the rain and it did cool the temps off by about 10° (got it closer to 80° than 90°).  It was a lovely afternoon just taking in the city.

We eventually made it to River Street where we took a free ferry ride across the river, seeing the giant bridge that I HATED driving over the day before (the boys took great delight in my fear, thankfully Matt was doing the actual driving).  It was also a nice way to sit for ~15 minutes!  We did some souvenir shopping along River Street and ate supper where we gulped down the water and refilled all the water bottles.  I think it was the first time we had eaten in a restaurant with the boys since we were in Michigan two years earlier.  (Pandemic or not, we don't eat out much, much prefer picking food up to eat at home or in a park or, when needed, in the car.)

 

One highlight for me along River Street was seeing "the stairs" that my sisters and I had posed on when we were there in 2004.  The picture of all 6 of us, in born order, was framed on my parents' mantle for many years afterwards.  So much so that Matt spotted the stairs before I did "because I had seen the picture on your parents mantle".  It helped that my parents had just been in Savannah in the spring, reminding me of the stairs and giving me a heads up as to where they were.  The stairs and the waving girl were the two things I remembered about Savannah besides the Cathedral and it was a bit surreal to be back there with my own family again.  It felt like time folding in on itself because it just didn't seem possible it had been 17 years since our last family of 8 vacation but now here I was, married and taking my own family back.  Time is weird.  

We found the one available bathroom on River Street (the visitor center and the only place that required masks on this whole trip) and eventually headed back to our apartment, finding an empty playground and more squares on the way.  We got everyone to bed even earlier, all having walked SO MUCH that day.  

The next morning we had to be out of our apartment at 10am which led to some FRANTIC packing and loading up the car, closing the door for the last time at 10:01am.  We drove and parked near Forsyth Park since we had some time to stall, even with the drive we couldn't get into our next condo until 4pm.  The boys played on the playground again (it was a great playground) and then we headed south!  

Our time in Savannah was brief but we all enjoyed it.  When people later asked where we went on vacation and I told them, nearly everyone (who had been there) said  "I love Savannah".  I would have loved more time to wander and it would be nice to go back someday but I'm glad we got a taste of it now.  It's not like home and it's always wonderful visiting and exploring new places, even if it's just in a different way or decades later than before.  I'm glad that's how our trip worked out, that we had time to go somewhere besides just the beach and we got to experience Savannah.