Savannah

Savannah is a 45 minute drive from Hilton Head and was an unexpected bonus for our trip. The Georgia Highways were lined with beautiful Live Oak Trees accented with Spanish Moss, they served as Savannah's red carpet.

The one "must see/do" on our short list was to experience Lady Paula Dean's restaurant. Lady and Sons offered a glimpse in to fine southern cuisine. We couldn't leave without trying fried green tomatoes which were delicious. Ashleigh ordered a chicken salad sandwich and I enjoyed Paula's crab cakes. The quote of the day had to be "yes, mac n chz is a vegetable.", Pierce loved the "vegetables."

With our bellies full and our arteries a bit more firm we decided to jaunt on over to the newly restored River Walk. You can imagine the history that rests there. Slaves bought and traded and cash crops being exported back to the King. With so many Historical squares and House Museums, it wasn't hard to immerse ourselves into Savannah's roots.

One vehicle that we chose to take advantage of was the home of Isaiah Davenport. A master builder in the 1820s, he left his fingerprint on the architecture of the city and it is still prevalent today.

The tour lasted 30 minutes, Pierce had a bottle to occupy him for the first ten and after that, Ashleigh and I did a good job of taking turns entertaining little P, while not disturbing the other four members of the tour. At one point when it was my turn, we were in the hall while the rest of the group was in one of the bedrooms. I was feeding him yogurt bites and he began to babble loud enough that it echoed which earned him a large laughter. The group went on, Ash and I stole a glimpse of each other and as they went in to the next room, I quickly scooped up what came out of his mouth when he began his babble. The tour ended, the group complimented us on his behavior and I remember thinking, I wouldn't have dreamt of attempting that ten months ago, it's all about adjustments.

We spent a couple more hours in the City Market and the Historical District before grabbing one more Georgia meal and heading back across the Savannah River. When I reminisce about our trip to Savannah, I'll think of three things: how filling the food is (because it's all fried), the 200 year old pine heart floor boards that probably still have Pierce's snacks smashed between and lastly how nice the locals were.

I don't care which restaurant or diner you go to in New York, Chicago or San Francisco, you won't get any member of their staff come up to your kid and have a sincere conversation with him about what he should try on the menu and offer (almost beg) to feed the baby. It was more than a token, generic salutation delivered in high pitch baby speak. It was Southern Hospitality!


My experiences are new to me, the lessons learned are probably not new to you. Most of the time, I'm just working out in my head, what the Silver and Black Lining is.