savannah - day 1

When I take a trip I usually jot down what I saw and what I ate in a little notebook I keep in my purse so I can look back and remember the fun I had. On my recent girl trip to Savannah I neglected to do this so I'm trying to reconstruct it now. Sometimes the easiest way for me to remember is by remembering what I wore. I thought I was starting to get good at packing lightly but on this trip I just couldn't decide what to pack and ended up packing maybe ten or more outfits that never made it onto my body. But summer clothes are small and lightweight and ten outfits don't really take up that much room in a suitcase. Besides who knows...what if I spilled something on myself or was invited to a ball. I was going to be in Savannah....who knows.

My vacation actually started the evening before I left. My friend, Barb, had recently moved to Rochester so she came to stay the night so B could drive us to the airport in the morning. It was a lovely evening. We spent it on the patio with a bottle of wine and a visit from Alex, her sweet daughter who remained in Buffalo when Barb moved to Rochester.

The next morning, Wednesday, Barb and I flew into Charlotte where we met up with Donna and her sister, Carla, who flew in from Chicago. We all took the same flight from Charlotte to Savannah.



On the flight from Charlotte to Savannah I received a compliment on my necklace from the passenger across the aisle from me. I thanked her and told her that my sister had made it for me. A little later in the flight she turned to me and inquired about getting one for herself at which point I offered up that it was my sister's signature piece and then I offered up my sister's email address.



We arrived in Savannah around noon and Joan, our our lovely van driver, drove us downtown and told us what to see and where to eat and what was on what street and what streets to avoid and just a wealth of information and background on Savannah.
We checked into our hotel, The Hampton. From our fifth floor window on Bay Street we looked out over River Street and the Savannah River. Our hungry tummies guided us out to Bay Street and the descent down to River Street



where we lunched at Huey's.



I had a fried green tomato muffaletta sandwich with red beans and rice. My only regret here was that we didn't order the beignets for dessert. Normally just a wine or Margarita drinker I broke out of my rut and accompanied this with a gin and soda water with lime...refreshing.



We are all just so happy be here.


After lunch we walked the city some, got our bearings and stopped in a visitor center to begin making our sightseeing plans. We also walked into Matters of Factors where we had a lengthy chat with the owner about local Georgia wines and picked up three bottles for our late night chats at the hotel. Back at the hotel we all opted for a shower and change of clothes. It was hot, hot, hot and humid in Savannah.



We decided to attend the theater in the evening. We saw a delightful little play called The Beat Goes On which was all music from the 60s, 70s and 80s. And proof that it is a small world after all, who should Donna run into but a teacher from the high school where she works.



After the play we went to the Bohemian for a cocktail on the roof (continuing in my adventurous vein, I had a Bloody Mary which I thought was quite appropriate since I was in the most haunted city in the US). I knew I liked this hotel as soon as I entered the lobby.



Here I snapped a shot of the bridge to Hilton Head over the Savannah River.



It grew dark on the roof and we grew hungry. At midnight we found a little pub serving food until 1 am. We split a wonderful little Margherita pizza.

I think we had one of those bottles of Georgia wine back at the hotel and thus ended day one.