3,298 miles, 10 breweries, and 1 Mega Meet - a July '16 Trip Report *New 6/5/17 - Link to new TR!*

[Sbk1234]

Great trip report so far. You really show how the journey is just as important as the destination. Looking forward for more.

 

[ashleymrush]

You literally have me drooling over all of the food! If I ever go to Savannah I'm going to have to hit up these same places you went.

I'm SOOOOO happy you ate a Bojangles! I love Bojangles, especially for breakfast (which they serve ALL DAY)! They have the best biscuits. Back in my college days, Bojangles sweet tea and a biscuit was my post-party meal. It'll kill any hangover!

The carriage ride also seemed really good. I'm a history teacher so I love activities that work in historical tidbits. My DH and I are taking a kid-free (woohoo!) trip to Charleston in two weeks and plan on doing a carriage ride while we are there. We considered Savannah but Charleston is much closer. You're making me second guess our choice.

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Dugette]

Wow, that is an amazing bridge! The carriage tour sounds like a fun activity. Looks like an enjoyable day in Savannah. We've not been there, but now I know the places to go if we ever venture off that way.

(@Dugette - I kept thinking of you this trip as Emma is at that stage where she wants to go to the bathroom all the time and only goes like once every 5 times and I recall your Trip Reports with Izzy doing that)

You know my pain.

Is this a girl thing? Cause Cal waits until the last second until he goes to the restroom, he doesn't like going.

I think it was a phase more than anything. For us, it happened to be going on during our May 2015 trip (when she was relatively recently potty trained). But now, she's more like Cal and will refuse to go until she just can't wait anymore.

 

[afinnteach]

Really enjoying you report. We always drive down to WDW (from PA), but usually either drive straight or do one quick overnight stop. Your report is making me want to plan a longer drive down and back and your beer stops might just convince my DH to do it! Before we had kids we lived in Las Vegas and would drive home to PA/NY every summer and eat at Cracker Barrels for breakfast and brew pubs for dinner (slept at KOA's too - we were young and broke!) We've been chasing microbrews for over 20 years now - looking forward to seeing the rest of your stops!

 

[chillitsanne]

Savannah looks like a great time, i vaguely remember being there when I was little. Reminds me of a cute little historic town.

All the food you ate looks great!

Whats a cooling towel?! Might need to invest in one of those

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Never heard of this place! Is it similar to Popeye's?

Yikes, yeah stay far away from that.

So proper! And it's crazy how much she's grown since I saw her in person last October!

Very cool. As long as it isn't too long, Cal would go for it!

Uh YUM!!!! I love the fried green tomato sandwich at Jazz Kitchen.

Is this a girl thing? Cause Cal waits until the last second until he goes to the restroom, he doesn't like going.

I like trouble

So Bojangles I guess is like Popeye's or KFC but really just in the southeast ... but we past quite a few of them

I know, and I feel like Emma has even grown further in the past few weeks - crazy how fast she is growing

The tour was like 1.5 hours I think, or at least a little more than an hour ... so it was a good length and not too long

Not sure if it is a girl thing or what - some of it is that whenever any of the other kids want to go she decides she wants to go too ... so might also be a "younger sibling wanting to be a big kid" thing

Savannah is such a beautiful city. We were there for one day in 2007. I insisted on eating at The Lady and Sons Restaurant because it was around the time Paula Deen was very popular. For the lengthy wait, we weren't all that impressed. My sister recommended Vic's on the River and I admitted that we probably should have gone there. Your meals look really good. I swear I could make a meal out of appetizers.

That carriage ride looks fun. The informative driver is always helpful.

If we had more than one day I think we would have tried out THe Lady and Sons - or even more time for lunch to go there but just didn't want to push it and I really wanted to try Vic's and, obviously, glad we did!

The carriage ride was good and the driver seemed to share the details in an entertaining way - so definitely would recommend!

Awesome report, as usual, Phil! I've never been to Savannah, but have heard it's a "must do" place, and judging by your report, I agree! I love HOHO trolleys, and have used them in several cities. I will admit though - the first time I heard of them, I thought they were only for the holidays (no lie, I'll admit how stupid I was!)

Definitely think Savannah is worth a stop and a perfect place to spend a day or two if you are driving through

Great update Phil! I have been to North Carolina but never South Carolina or Savannah. Bojangles looks like an interesting place and I love sweet tea! Looks like you had an awesome day down there. When I was younger I was big into the food network and loved watching Paula Deen so that would be cool to go to her restaurant.

Bojangles was pretty good - definitely just a fast food type place but seemed like they use better ingredients than a McDonalds or something

Yeah, I agree about Paula Dean and I was tempted (and if we had more time probably would have done a meal there) but wanted to try Vic's after the recommendation and with it being on the river

Sounds like you had a great time in Savannah! I like that you got The Easter Egg at Wet Willies ... because mixing all of the flavors together always works out well, right?

We did have a good time! I think I also panicked a bit and couldn't decide which drink to get as a lot of them have a funny name and then multiple flavors/liqours in them so I just went with the one that seemed to have the most things I wanted to try all mixed together

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I feel like you have already done so much, but your trip has just started! Savannah is on my list of cities I would like to visit. I have heard it is quite charming. I may go for the candy store alone!

We did try to cram a bit in and make each stop a bit of an event rather than just "a stop" - still a lot more to come though!

I liked Savannah - very nice to visit and different vibe than up where we live. Candy store is definitely a reason to go!

Look at me!! Actually keeping caught up for once! Lol. What a day off will do to me!!
That tour looks super fun! And a trolley tour! Yay!!
Food all looks amazing, I'm so happy we have so many burger & craft brew places in Vancouver, and lots of healthier/vegetarian/vegan options at all of them too! It's even hard to find regular beer here, so much of it's craft! Lol.
Can't wait to read more!!

The tour was fun - and something different I think.

We try to seek out good food and I was really trying to find local places to eat at. We are definitely getting more and more places that have craft beer - though I think most will still have macro-beer options as well

Your Savannah pictures are bringing back so many fond memories for me I've visited there 3x, the first time in 1992 with my dad when he moved to Ga. after taking a job with the Medical College of Ga. We did a tour of many of the historic houses and visited Wet Willies lol, loved that place! Between that visit and my subsequent visits I've been to all the historic buildings as I love that kind of thing. My dad has since passed so reading this is bittersweet yet making me smile I'm glad you all enjoyed your day there, I'd love to return with my boys someday!

Glad I could make you smile! If we had more time we would have wanted to check out some of the individual houses as well as it seemed like so many had interesting stories and histories to them. I'd definitely go back again some day

Sounds like an easy drive into Georgia!

I'm glad the carriage tour was a success, sounds like a fun time!

Ohhh Wet Willies!! Nice choice!

What a nice dinner! Wow, your entree was certainly a lot of food. Each plate looks like it could have been its own meal!

I think the carriage ride was a success - which I was glad about because the kids seemed excited about the Trollys be they seemed happy with what we did.

Yeah, I know and it was all really good but that would have been a lot of fried oysters to eat on my own!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Great trip report so far. You really show how the journey is just as important as the destination. Looking forward for more.

Thanks! We knew with the long drive we had to make the stops events as well ... I think for the most part we did pretty good (though we definitely had more ideas for places for the kids on the way down compared to the way back)

You literally have me drooling over all of the food! If I ever go to Savannah I'm going to have to hit up these same places you went.

I'm SOOOOO happy you ate a Bojangles! I love Bojangles, especially for breakfast (which they serve ALL DAY)! They have the best biscuits. Back in my college days, Bojangles sweet tea and a biscuit was my post-party meal. It'll kill any hangover!

The carriage ride also seemed really good. I'm a history teacher so I love activities that work in historical tidbits. My DH and I are taking a kid-free (woohoo!) trip to Charleston in two weeks and plan on doing a carriage ride while we are there. We considered Savannah but Charleston is much closer. You're making me second guess our choice.

Can't wait to hear more!

Definitely recommend Vic's - all the food was really good and not outrageously priced either

Biscuits and sweet tea after a long night sounds pretty good to me!

Nice! I am sure Charleston will be really nice. I looked at that being one of our stops but timing wise getting further south that day was better which is why we picked Savannah and Charlestown would have added a few more miles.

Wow, that is an amazing bridge! The carriage tour sounds like a fun activity. Looks like an enjoyable day in Savannah. We've not been there, but now I know the places to go if we ever venture off that way.

You know my pain.

I think it was a phase more than anything. For us, it happened to be going on during our May 2015 trip (when she was relatively recently potty trained). But now, she's more like Cal and will refuse to go until she just can't wait anymore.

We knew nothing of the bridge until we came to it so it was a nice surprise - love cool bridges that have a bit of creative art form to them

If in the area I definitely recommend a day or two in Savannah

I think part of it with Emma is when the other kids want to go she wants to go to so she comes every trip for anyone ... and she like flipped out when I wouldn't let her use a urinal like Peter was doing

Really enjoying you report. We always drive down to WDW (from PA), but usually either drive straight or do one quick overnight stop. Your report is making me want to plan a longer drive down and back and your beer stops might just convince my DH to do it! Before we had kids we lived in Las Vegas and would drive home to PA/NY every summer and eat at Cracker Barrels for breakfast and brew pubs for dinner (slept at KOA's too - we were young and broke!) We've been chasing microbrews for over 20 years now - looking forward to seeing the rest of your stops!

Thank you! We drove down a few trips ago and did just the quick stop over one night thing but figured with 3 kids to make it more of a journey and have fun with it and I am glad we did it that way (though definitely did take more time and a few times I did find myself wishing we would just get to the Disney part)

Nice! Hopefully some of the breweries we hit up inspire you!

Savannah looks like a great time, i vaguely remember being there when I was little. Reminds me of a cute little historic town.

All the food you ate looks great!

Whats a cooling towel?! Might need to invest in one of those

Definitely a lot of history to Savannah - different vibe than the cities up by us, so was neat to see!

So a cooling towel is made up of some special fiber that you just have to wet it a little bit and then you like snap it and it turns cool. Doesn't lat too long but is nice when it is really hot and humid ... I am glad we had them for this trip!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

After that delicious breakfast (the toasted amaretto was my favorite of the donuts) we were heading to our main event for the day which was the Museum of Life & Science which was only about 10 minutes or so away. Once there aparently Emma wanted to push Peter in the stroller ... yeah, that was going to be efficient.

Those donuts look amazing!!! And that museum seems fantastic! They need one in New Jersey!

Your kids are very cute! My oldest just turned 8 and my youngest just turned 6, so I understand the striggle of traveling with young kids. But sounds like you guys have that down to a science! My husband would never drive all the way to Disney. He would go crazy before the kids!

Great report so far. Can't wait to

We didn't stop or anything (plus the kids were still asleep and you can tell from the dashboard it is 6:28am ... not sure I want to see what is still happening at South of the Boarder at 6:28am

We just came from Myrtle Beach. We stopped at South of the Border. I can tell you. You didn't miss much. We were not impressed.

Started with beer, of course. They had a fairly basic menu but a couple of interesting options including a barrel-aged sour beer which was rather tasty!

I love sour beers, totally jealous at the amount of sour beers you got to taste!

 

[ajsary]

Sounds like you made the most out of your day at Savannah! Your pictures are fantastic! I thought we were going to melt from the heat when we were there, but as you said the vibe is just so neat there. So glad everything worked out for your carriage tour and dining.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Those donuts look amazing!!! And that museum seems fantastic! They need one in New Jersey!

Your kids are very cute! My oldest just turned 8 and my youngest just turned 6, so I understand the striggle of traveling with young kids. But sounds like you guys have that down to a science! My husband would never drive all the way to Disney. He would go crazy before the kids!

Great report so far. Can't wait to

We just came from Myrtle Beach. We stopped at South of the Border. I can tell you. You didn't miss much. We were not impressed.

I love sour beers, totally jealous at the amount of sour beers you got to taste!

The donuts were very good - and very fresh tasting. We really liked the museum and just the vibe of it

Yeah, definitely can be a struggle traveling with young kids and all their stuff, etc. - guess we just kinda figure you gotta deal with it or else we wouldn't go anywhere

Good to know we didn't miss much at South of the Border ... I give them credit for all the billboards though!

Just wait till we get to one of the stops on the way back up if you like sour beers! (I'll give you a hint - they had 1,200 barrels of sour beer)

Sounds like you made the most out of your day at Savannah! Your pictures are fantastic! I thought we were going to melt from the heat when we were there, but as you said the vibe is just so neat there. So glad everything worked out for your carriage tour and dining.

We liked Savannah a lot - definitely a fun day. It was definitely hot - there and the whole trip. But it actually was super hot back in NY at the time so it made us feel a little bit better that if we were going to be hot and sweaty anyway, might as well be on vacation!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 11: Traveling to Disney - Day 6
We make it to Florida!​

Tuesday was not quite as early a start as the previous day - but close. based on the time stamp of the millage picture we were on the road about 5:40am. This day is when we would make it to our first stop in Florida and Judi wanted to get there early enough to get some time with family that was also visiting and getting to the beach, etc. He look, we are over 1,000 miles:

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At about 7:30 we made it into Florida and a little later stopped at the Florida Welcome center as I figured we could get a little break and get some free orange juice ... except they didn't open until 8am

But we still did get one photo to prove we were there and also were able to get a SunPass from the vending machine so we got that task taken care of at least to make the whole toll booth scenario easier

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Not too long after this we crossed over another neat bridge - this one very close to Jacksonville. We dubbed this one "the Bow Tie Bridge". Second picture is downtown Jacksonville from the bridge

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At about 11:30 we got off the highway to make a bit of a pitstop to get lunch. Doing some research I found a brewery that was on the way and a fun sounding restaurant was nearby so thought it would be a good stop. I think Judi would have preferred not really making a stop as she just wanted to get to the next destination but appeased me. We were stopping in Tequesta Florida and at lunch at Hog Snappers Shack and Sushi. It was definitely a funky little joint and was neat to try. The food was a bit mixed - but I'd go again.

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Olivia has been on an oyster kick so she was glad they were on the menu. She ate 8 of the 12 oysters we got, plus some of her soup (which was like a miso soup). Emma got edamame (and ate some of Judi and mine's sushi) and Peter got the soup and ate some of the edamame. Oh, and I guess Emma brought in the travel Hungry, Hungry Hippos game.

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Oh, the oysters came with two sauces and an oyster shooter - we didn't let Olivia have that one (I took it for the team)

​

Judi and I got a few rolls to share - honestly, at this point I don't remember what they all were, but the one that was wrapped in cucumber was really good. The others weren't that great (I know they had shrimp tempura in them and remember the shrip not really being tempura style and a bit overcooked)

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The kids were a little punchy at lunch and, as mentioned, Judi was anxious to get to the next destination so I just quickly stopped in the brewery (it was in the same strip mall as the restaurant). The brewery was aptly named Tequesta Brewing Co. There wasn't much to the brewery itself (not really somewhere I would spend a lot of time hanging out) but the beers I tried were pretty good.

While there I tried the Into the Darkness black IPA - and it was really solid. I liked how it really did feel like the blend of a dark beer (the malt notes) combined with an IPA (strong hop flavors) rather than the two muting each other. I also picked up a hat and a 4-pack of the ONO2 - which is a double IPA with mango and papaya ... oh, and got some stickers for the kids. I like the hat and still wear it a lot

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Then back on the road ....

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 12: Traveling to Disney - Day 6
Beach time and The Whale's Rib​

At around 2:40 we reached our destination - which was Deerfield beach and pulled into the parking lot of where we were staying, which was the Villas at Deerfield beach. Some of Judi's family was also vacationing here this week and they had a villa rented for the week down the road of here. We were looking for options and most places, at least this time of year, either wanted full week rentals or were really expensive. We found this place, which was a full one-bedroom, for less than 1/2 of what anything else was charging. That made me a bit worried about what to expect but it was really rather nice. Definitely a bit dated, but spacious and clean and couldn't beat the price

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The living room had a pull-out couch and Judi and I slept there and we put all three kids in the big king-size bed in the bedroom. Overall it worked out well and we would definitely recommend the place.

It didn't have direct beach access to we went down to where Judi's relatives were to hangout and spend some time on the beach. Judi's grandmother was there - so this is Olivia, Peter, and Emma's great grandmother (or, as well call her, super-nana) and she was enjoying time with all her great-grandchildren (not sure if the parents of the other kids are ok with them being on the internet, so thus the smiley faces)

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After some fun we were discussing what to do for dinner. We debated going out but then decided to just order pizza. We still needed to get milk and a few things for the morning so I figured I would make a stop to the grocery store and also get some chips and beer and wine and stuff to go along with the pizza.

Well, when I was just loading up the car Judi with the stuff Judi calls and tells me everyone changed their mind and now wanted to go out to eat

​

I was a little annoyed as I just bought enough snacks and beverages for like 15 people that now were not needed - but even more so as when we first were discussing it was on the early side and now was like an hour later and in prime dinner time ... so, you know, getting into a restaurant with a group that sized would be easy

On the plus side, we decided to go to The Whale's Rib which is one of our favorite places down there and, ironically given the news of today and his partnership with the Planet Hollywood at Disney Springs, was visited by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins, and Divers.

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We wound up having to wait about 40 minutes to get seated, which was ok as it took some parties a longer time to get changed and get there and time enough for Judi and I to enjoy a beer and margarita (or two). They don't have any tables that big so we were split up a bit but it all worked out. Lack of pictures of the food though. I did get one of what I got which was their special oysters rockafeller which are unique as they have sliced tomato on them ... definitely a bit different but really good. One of my favorite things there is the Whale Chips (which are just housemade chips) with Whale Sauce (which is kinda like a honey mustard). They gave us a few free baskets of them due to us having to wait longer than they originally quoted.

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All in all a fun meal and hanging out with family - some of whom I had either never met or like only once and not in a while

After that it was pretty much back to the resort and to bed - more sun in the fun the next day ... plus one of the breweries I was most looking forward to visiting!

TTFN

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Just catching up on your TR after I have been away from the boards for a few weeks while on a summer stay-cation at home.

I really like the look of Savannah. I must admit it's a place I've never thought about visiting, but it does look like it would be worthwhile if I ever find myself in that part of the US.

 

[missangelalexis]

Glad your place in Deerfield worked out! It's nice that you were able to get there and spend time with Judi's family. And I'm sure it was nice for super-nana to spend time with all her great-grandkids!Annoying about the dinner situation but sounds like in the end it worked out!

 

[Founders Fan]

That black IPA sounds delicious. Founders has one that I tried once and I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a blend it was.

I also noticed that it looks like your trip home was through my neck of the woods (I live in the Bristol TN/VA area). Definitely looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Just catching up on your TR after I have been away from the boards for a few weeks while on a summer stay-cation at home.

I really like the look of Savannah. I must admit it's a place I've never thought about visiting, but it does look like it would be worthwhile if I ever find myself in that part of the US.

Hope you had a nice Stay-Cation!

I initially was thinking of stopping by Charleston but timing just wouldn't work as it would leave too long of a drive down to Boca - so then I saw Savannah was just a few hours further south and would work out well. Definitely something to check out if you are in the area!

Glad your place in Deerfield worked out! It's nice that you were able to get there and spend time with Judi's family. And I'm sure it was nice for super-nana to spend time with all her great-grandkids!Annoying about the dinner situation but sounds like in the end it worked out!

The place definitely worked out - glad we found it as we ultimately decided on this with not too much advance notice (at least not as much as compared to the rest of the trip). Definitely was nice to mix in some family time into the trip - reminded me of my trips to Florida as a kid that would be 1/2 Disney and 1/2 visiting family

Things definitely worked out in the end with dinner. This whole part of the trip was a bit stressful to me as I left the planning up to Judi and she and her family are much less into planning things than I am. So I would ask what the plan is for dinner and the response would be "I don't know, we'll figure something out" and then ask what the plan for the next day was and get the same response ... meanwhile I just want to fill in my spreadsheet!

That black IPA sounds delicious. Founders has one that I tried once and I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a blend it was.

I also noticed that it looks like your trip home was through my neck of the woods (I live in the Bristol TN/VA area). Definitely looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

The black IPA was really good. I have to admit I wasn't expecting much as I hadn't heard of this brewery prior to the trip and the actual physical location wasn't anything special but the beers I had were pretty solid. Founders is a good one for solid IPA (I like their All Day Session IPA). Firestone Walker's Wooly Jack Black Rye IPA is pretty good too if you ever see that one.

Yup - we definitely went up through your area as I remember thinking Bristol could be one place we stop for the night after spending the day in Ashville, NC .... but you'll have to keep reading to find out if we did or not

 

[TiggerTrigger]

These two most recent posts are giving me serious FL flashbacks. I don't drive through Jacksonville very much these days, but man...I saw a few of those pics and it was like - hello 1990-1997. I'll have to pass on The Whale's Rib to my parents. They are farther south, but they're now retired...they have the time to drive a bit for a change of pace

 

[annie170]

Olivia ordering oysters just cracks me up! You're lucky they're such adventurous eaters!

I'm not a big sushi fan, but I do have to say that the presentation of those dishes were very nice.

The place you stayed in Deerfield reminds me of a place we stayed at near Disney about fifteen years ago. It was large, clean and inexpensive. I thought it was fine, but my family still teases me about the dated decor.

Free chips are always a good thing!

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Enjoying the trip report, and can't wait for the DIS Meet stuff! You sound like me with the planning - also, with me - nobody will plan anything, and then always leave it up to me to figure out what to do/how to do it, etc. So they want the maximum benefit with minimum effort, and yet still always bust me about being a ""worry wort". So you know what? I plan "behind their backs" so I'm ready when they realize they need me! LOL. Glad your place in Deerfield worked out - looks nice, and very "beachy". Reminds me of stuff I've see on Beachfront Bargain Hunt. Cool you went to a place Guy did on Triple D, since you've been educating me about him.