Weekend Getaway: Savannah

Two weeks ago, Barrett and I had a wonderful weekend getaway to Savannah & Tybee Island.  Ellie Belle spent the weekend at Grammy and Pop Pop's.  It was the fist time we'd spent the weekend away from her!  We missed her so much, but we knew she was in good hands and were able to really enjoy each other and our time away.  We left Friday around lunch time and got back home early Monday afternoon.  I had never been to Savannah before and Barrett had only been once about 10 years ago.  It was fun to explore a new city.  I'd say Savannah is the perfect mash up of New Orleans and Charleston.  Beautiful buildings, great food, interesting history, southern charm, and to top it all off...you can take your cocktail to go!  Tybee Island was....interesting!  It was nice to get to the beach for the day, but it definitely reminded me a lot of Myrtle Beach!  It's like nothing there has changed in 25 years.  It did have a certain charm about it though and I'm glad we ventured out to see what it was all about!  It was just a quick 3.5 hour drive from Charlotte and we'll definitely visit again!  Here's a photo summary of our trip!

In Savannah, we stayed at the Inn at Ellis Square.  It was in the perfect location - right on Bay Street at the City Market.  The room was huge with tall ceilings and hardwood floors.  There was a quaint little bar downstairs with a fun bartender named Jen.  They served complimentary hot breakfast every morning.  Downside:  the hotel was under construction while we were there, so no outdoor area to enjoy.  Something else that drove me nuts:  the doors!  I guess it's just such an old building, that the doors stick a bit and are hard to open.  The opening is loud enough, but the closing...oh!  The closing of the doors was SO LOUD!  I knew when every person on our floor was coming and going.  If I was a complaining person, I would most definitely have fussed at someone about the noisy doors.

  

Savannah is super laid back...and super dog friendly!  It seemed like every business had a water bowl outside and dogs were welcome in lots of restaurants/bars/shops.

After grabbing a quick drink at the bar in our hotel and taking a quick walk through the City Market, we strolled around until it was time for dinner.  We popped in to World of Beer and sampled some goodies.  We walked through a couple of the squares, too.  The layout of Savannah is really great.  Everything is centered around one of the many squares.  Inside each of the squares are trees, benches, water fountains, and monuments. 

Then...it was time for dinner.  We had the best, best meal at Alligator Soul.  Pretty much everyone we know told us to have dinner at the Olde Pink House.  Well, the Olde Pink House was booked, so we went to Alligator Soul which was recommended by my friend Nicole.  I am so glad the Pink House was booked!!  Dinner was phenomenal.  I had Buffalo Short Ribs with Truffle Seared Scallops.  They were more delicious than I can even describe.  We would 100% go back again.  If you are in Savannah...don't miss it!!

The next day, we took a trolley tour.  We purchased an On/Off tour with Olde Savannah Tours.  It was a great way to really get the lay of the land.  We were able to hop on and off the trolley whenever we saw something that interested us or that we wanted to explore a little more.  We even had a special visit from Forrest Gump.  Totally cheesy, but still fun!  We hopped off at the Pirate House for a drink and enjoyed the company of the crude, potty mouthed, loud bartender they call Country.  She was a hoot! 

The next place we hopped off the trolley was down on River Street.  We stopped in at Kevin Barry's Pub because there was a sign in the street that said "Bloody Mary Bar...Yes, We Have Bacon!"  Need I say more?  It's also ranked as one of the best Irish Pubs in the country.

  

 Then, we walked along the river front for a while until we were ready for lunch.

We stopped for lunch at Moon River Brewing.  All of the reviews were great, but we didn't think it was so awesome.  The food was OK, but not anything I couldn't get pretty much anywhere else.  They brew their own beer, and Barrett got a flight to sample them all, and none of them were that great.  So, if you're planning a trip to Savannah, you can go ahead and skip Moon River!

We had late dinner reservations on Saturday night, so we went over to the Bohemian Hotel and had a drink and an appetizer at Rocks on the Roof.  It was a fun atmosphere, with oyster shell chandeliers, and a great view of the riverfront.  Dinner was at Vic's on the River.  You feel like you're sitting in a dining room in an old, historic home and the food was really fresh and tasty. 

We said goodbye to Savannah early Monday morning and made the quick trip over to Tybee.  Just before we got into town, we started seeing signs for "Turtle Crossing."  You've seen them before..."Deer Crossing" "Bear Crossing"...but have you ever actually seen one of those animals crossing at their designated spot?  I haven't....until the turtles!  They really meant it! 

We had brunch at the Tybee Island Social Club.  We were planning to go to the Breakfast Club, but there was a line around the corner, so we opted for choice number 2.  I'm glad we did!  The food was really yummy!  Barrett and I split a yummy avocado stuffed with blue crab meat.  Barrett had a pork taco and I had manchego cheese grits and a cat head biscuit (called that because it's the size of a cat's head!)  It was all really yummy.  And...they had a bluegrass band playing live music during brunch!

Tybee Island is busy.  Granted, we were there during peak season, so I'll try not to judge too much.  The beach was wide and flat, so we were able to find a spot to spread out and relax.  Later in the day, we walked down to the south side of the island near the sand bar headed toward Little Tybee Island and it was WAY less crowded than the spot we'd chosen earlier!  We walked the beach a bit, saw a Horseshoe Crab, and got daiquiris from Wet Willies...because, hey, when in Rome...

We had dinner at Bernie's.  We were looking for something easy, laid back, and that served a wide selection of seafood.  It was really just OK.  Nothing to write home about.  Good thing we got there when we did, too, because not 15 minutes later the kitchen closed and they ran out of oysters.  It was Sunday night, though, so maybe that was part of the problem.  The food was just OK...the fried oysters were good and the shrimp had good flavor.  The crawfish were TERRIBLE.  Terrible.  We watched that crazy man walk across the Grand Canyon on dental floss, and then headed back toward our hotel.  We popped into the bar at the hotel restaurant for a night cap and called it a day.

On our drive out of town, we swung by the Tybee Island lighthouse.  Here it is.  Ten seconds out of the car and we'd seen the crown jewel of Tybee.  :-)

We really had a great time.  It was nice to get away for the weekend and just enjoy each other's company.  We'll be back, Savannah.  Tybee...we won't.  :-)