Elizabeth and the Seven Dwarves September 2009 TR *update 7/20 Complete

[charming23]

September 26, 2009
Hello Paula

So we got up bright and early showered and grabbed some cereal before heading out. We knew we needed to be at Paula's by 9am to get reservations and with it being a saturday we knew it would be crowded.

Downtown was about 20 minutes away from the hotel and we found a parking spot about a block away from the resturant. The great thing was that parking is free in the city on the weekends.

We walked over to Congress street and got in line. We started chatting with the a nice lady in line with us and he husband is from our part of the country. She then asked us if we had ever done the trolley tour around town and we told her we had planned to that afternoon. Well a friend of hers worked for the company that runs the tour and gave her 4 free tickets and since she only needed two she offered us two of them. SHe even ran back to her car after getting her reservation in to get them for us. It was nice to have a little in Savannah. So thank you Kelly. She saved us $50 since it is $25 per ticket.

I also took a few pics while waiting.

We got up to the podium and decided to have lunch and got reservations for the first seating at 11. So with an hour to spare we walked around for a bit. We went into some really cute shops and one of the ones we went into I recognized in the movie "The Last Song" when I saw it.

At about 10:45 we lined up to watch the opening show. A few more pics.

A few minutes after 11 our name was called and we were brought into the restuarant. It was so cute inside and I was in seventh heaven.

Here is a pic of the menu. You can either order off of that or get the buffet. (we both had the buffet and got a side order of the fried green tomatoes, yum)

We ordered sweet tea (so good it had mint in it) and were brought a hoecake and cheese biscut and allowed to go up to the buffet at anytime.

They had both a cold buffet and the hot buffet.

I started out with a small plate of salad and then dug into the hot stuff. There was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens, carribean jerk pork chops, macaroni and cheese, rice and a few other things I can't remember. For dessert they bring around a a tray with a variety of desserts. It was all very yummy and I think well worth the money.

We then explored the gift shop and spent a small fortune. While we were shopping the skies had opened up and it was pouring. This was during that time when Georgia was being pounded with rain. So we donned our new Lady and Sons ponchos and made a mad dash to the car. We were both soaked and decided to head back to the hotel and change.

This is where we could have used a boat because the roads had so much water on them it would have been faster than driving. We made it back to the hotel and both changed and since the weather was passing we decided to head out to Tybee Island and do the trolley tour the next morning beofre leaving town.

Up next: I finally put my feet in the Atlantic ocean.

 

[praisehisname]

Great updates! I love the pictures you got of the manatees!

Savannah looks like such a pretty town and I'm so jealous that you got to eat at Paula Dean's restaurant!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Somehow, I missed your last two updates. I love Sea World but haven't been for several years. Your pictures brought back memories of our last trip.

I love love love Paula Deen and envy you for getting to eat at her restaurant.

 

[charming23]

Great updates! I love the pictures you got of the manatees!

Savannah looks like such a pretty town and I'm so jealous that you got to eat at Paula Dean's restaurant!!!

Thanks. That particular manatee kept flirting with everyone who was down below. I think he just loved having his picture taken.

Savannah was beautiful and Paula's was so yummy.

Somehow, I missed your last two updates. I love Sea World but haven't been for several years. Your pictures brought back memories of our last trip.

I love love love Paula Deen and envy you for getting to eat at her restaurant.

I too love Sea World. I miss the one we used to have here in Ohio and loved being able to see all the animals again.

If you ever have the chance to go to Savannah, Paula's restuarant is definately worth it. The buffet was so yummy and her regular menu looked really good as well.

 

[charming23]

September 26, 2009
Feet meet the Atlantic Ocean

So after getting dried off and changing our clothes the weather was clearing out enough that we decided to head out to Tybee Island. When we originally planned this trip we were going to skip this completely but after deciding to extend our days in Savannah, we could do it.

Tybee Island is about 20 minutes outside of Savannah and is all accessible by roads. It is such a beautiful little Island.

Our first stop was to hit the Tybee Island lighthouse as it is on the way to the pier/beach area.

After exploring the lighthouse, we headed down to the pier/beach area where we parked our car. They had a nice little science museum near the pier where we looked around and grabbed a few drinks.

Loved this painted turtle.

We then headed onto the pier.

We found a bench on the pier and just enjoyed the view, drinking our sodas. Mom decided she did not want to head down to the beach but I did so I took off my sneakers and made my way onto the beach.

It has been on my "30 things to do before I turn 30" list to put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean so i was so excited to be able to cross it off.

Here are the pics my mom took of me on the beach

After dipping my toes and and just marveling once again at how large the ocean is we headed off the beach and did a little shopping at some of the shops. Mom bought herself a local church cookbook (she collects them from wherever we go) and I got a book on Haunted Savannah and 2 Tybee Island tees.

The heat was starting to get to us so we decided it was time to start heading back inland.

On the way back we stopped at a Target to get another duffel bag to pack things easier.

Then we stopped for dinner at this restuarant

I had to take a pic of the sign because my grandma's maiden name was Barnes and I thought my family would get a kick out of it.

The food was Yummy. Mom had a shrimp platter while I had buffalo chicken wings with sweet potato fries. We both had sweet teas.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel where I watched a movie on the portable DVD player and mom watched regualr tv.

We packed up what we could and put what we did not need into the car before drifting off into lullaby land.

Up next: Savannah's River Street and finally heading home.

 

[praisehisname]

So glad you got to cross something off your list! I take it for granted that we live 2 hours from the ocean and can go there several times a year. It is such a therapeutic thing to sit on the beach and listen to the waves rolling in.

 

[charming23]

So glad you got to cross something off your list! I take it for granted that we live 2 hours from the ocean and can go there several times a year. It is such a therapeutic thing to sit on the beach and listen to the waves rolling in.

Thanks. It was soooo different seeing an ocean since I am so used to lakes, especially Lake Erie that the largeness of it was intimidating.


Sorry I have not posted my last few days yet but I have been so busy lately. School started back up again and I am taking two online courses (Social Psychology and Comparative Politics) and one in class (Math, which I have not done in 7 years since I graduated high school) so it has been rough getting back into the swing of things.

I have also been helping out with at my old dance studio for their recital. I helped with some of the sets and today I sold tickets.

I also got to meet up with Sophia (OhioDisneyLover) and her husband Joe at our local Greek festival tonight. We took pics and I will post them once I find my mom's cord for her camera (I'd ask her but she is napping)

Tomorrow is my first father's day without my dad and I had been racking my brain for weeks about something to do in honor of him and this morning I finally figured it out. Mom and I are going to go see Toy Story 3 as he loved the first two and claimed that behind the Little Mermaid they were his favorite. Then we will come home and have his favorite dinner, grilled brats with German Potato Salad.

Hope everyone's summer is off to a good start.

 

[praisehisname]

That sounds like a great way to honor your dad! What did you think of the movie? We saw it this past weekend, also.

 

[charming23]

That sounds like a great way to honor your dad! What did you think of the movie? We saw it this past weekend, also.

Thanks. We ended up not getting to go because my mom woke up feeling sick so we are going to go on Friday because I can not wait any longer.

So we still had his favorite meal and I watched Animal House and the first three Indiana Jones movies in his honor.

 

[charming23]

So sorry I have been MIA here for awhile. It has been so crazy lately.

I promise to post my pics from meeting Sophia soon.

We also spent the fourth of July weekend up on Kelley's Island and tonight I am headed out to the Adam Lambert concert.

I will update soon. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

 

[charming23]

Finally September 27, 2009

Exploring Savannah

So we woke up bright and early and had a quick breakfast in the room. We finished packing up the rest of the car and checked out.

We drove into town and found a great place to park about 2 blocks away from where the main trolley stop is. We turned in our vouchers and the guy working the booth was from our area and he graduated the same year as my mom so they had fun comparing stories. We still had a few minuted before the trolley started for the day so we explored some of the little shops in the area. I found my Aunt a nice tee with butterfly's on it so I got it for her as a thank you for helping my Grandma with the cats.

We boarded the trolley at 10am and headed down to River street. The great thing about the trolley was you could get on and off as much as you wanted so we got off at the first stop on River Street and began exploring.

I loved the roads and sidewalks down there.

Our First stop was in the

Mom had seen Paula go in there on her show so of course we had to stop in. We got a couple of canisters of different nuts to bring home.

Our next stop was the Savannah Candy Company. Mom had seen Racheal Ray go there on one of her shows (we watch a lot of food network) snd get pralines which are my mom's absolute favorite so of course she needed some. She got two pounds and ate them all within a week of being home. I got some rock candy suckers.

We then explored some of the other shops and got my Grandma a Savannah tee, my mom one, and one for myself. I also got a book about pirates of the area which was really good.

We then hopped back on the trolley where I got a picture of the waving girl statue.

Here is the story from about.com

One of Savannah's favorite stories involves the life of Florence Martus (1868 - 1943), who was known well by Savannahians and sailors of the sea as the Waving Girl. The daughter of a sergeant stationed at Fort Pulaski, Florence later moved to a cottage along the river near the entrance of the harbor with her brother George, the Cockspur Island Lighthouse keeper.
As the story goes, life at the remote cottage was lonely for Florence whose closest companion was her devoted collie. At an early age, she developed a close affinity with the passing ships and welcomed each one with a wave of her handkerchief. Sailors began returning her greeting by waving back or with a blast of the ship's horn. Eventually Florence started greeting the ships arriving in the dark by waving a lantern.

Florence Martus continued her waving tradition for 44 years and it is estimated that she welcomed more than 50,000 ships during her lifetime. There is a lot of unsubstantiated speculation about Florence having fallen in love with a sailor who never returned to Savannah. The facts, however, about why she started and continued the waving tradition for so many years remain a mystery.

In any event, Florence Martus grew into a Savannah legend, known far and wide. On September 27, 1943, the SS Florence Martus, a Liberty ship, was christened in her honor.

The Waving Girl Statue by renowned sculptor Felix De Weldon, the sculptor of the United States Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, Virginia (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial,) depicts Florence with her loyal collie.

We then continued our trolley ride through Savannah. We had a great driver who kept us all in stitched throughout the trip.

Here are the rest of the pics from driving around

We ended our tour and headed back to the car to hit the road. It was about noon when we finally got out of Savannah and we traveled for a bit before stopping in South Carolina for a quick lunch.

We stopped at Shoney's were Mom had their lunch buffet and I had a bacon cheeseburger. Once we got back on the road I napped while mom drove. It was fairly uneventful and we only stopped for gas and to switch drivers. We got to North Carolina and stopped at a Sonic for a quick dinner. It was a goal of mine to eat at a sonic durin our trip as we do not have one near us yet they always have commercials airing.

At 8:30pm we finally got to our overnight stop, a Days Inn in Fancy Gap, Virginia which is right over the border coming from North Carolina. It was a beatiful area with lots of trees and mountains. It was at that point that when we got out of the car to check-in it finally felt like fall. I had to grab my jacket to unload the car.

We watched some food network shows while I played online for a bit.

We went to bed about 11 and I was so happy because in less than 24 hours we would be home and I would have my first night in my own bed in over two weeks.

 

[charming23]

September 28, 2009

Finally home again

We were up bright and early and after finishing the last of our cereal and milk we checked out and hit the road. While mom checked out I grabbed a few pics.

It felt so weird to be wearing long pants and long sleeves again.

It was an uneventful trip home. We stopped at a McDonald's for lunch on the road and the only other stops we made were when we switched driver's or needed gas.

We finally reached Ohio at about 2pm and I was so excited I forgot to take any pics at the Welcome to Ohio sign. We called my Grandma to let her know where we were and said we would call when we were closer to home.

About two hours later we needed gas so we stopped in Medina which is about 45 minutes from home and called Grandma to tell her the plan. Since our car was jam packed we were going to stop home and switch to my car to come get the kitty girls.

We got home at 5 and quickly switched cars as I was dying to see my babies.

We got to my Grandma's and the girls came running to greet us. We gave Grandma her thank you gifts, A Grandma Disney Mug, the Savannah T-shirt, and some Paula Deen Playing Cards which she was thrilled with.

She then took us out to TGIFridays for dinner before we packed up the girls and came home.

It was nice to curl up in my own bed with two cats clinging to me.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Elizabeth,

Thanks for sharing your trip to Savannah. I have ALWAYS wanted to go there. I hear that it is just beautiful.

 

[charming23]

Final Thoughts


I still at times can not believe we actually got to go on this trip. It was the most relaxing thing my Mom and I could have done after the few years we had. I know my Dad was with us every step of the way and smiling down at the fact that his girls we finally able to let loose and have a little fun. Would the trip have been better had he been there? Of Course but mom and I made the best of it.

Highlights: Everything
Disappointments: Some rain during the MNSSHP



I want to thank everyone who has let me relive this journey with them. it was nice to "meet" all of you and hope to continue to talk in the future.

Hopefully I will be able to start a PTR soon as we are waiting for 2011 prices to come out to see what will happen nest year.

 

[charming23]

Elizabeth,

Thanks for sharing your trip to Savannah. I have ALWAYS wanted to go there. I hear that it is just beautiful.

Sophia,

No problem. It is such a beautiful city and I wish I had taken more pics.

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a great way to wrap up a trip! Savannah looks like an absolutely beautiful place to visit. I had to laugh when you talked about your mother visiting the places that Paula Deen and Rachel Ray had visited. I'm a big Food Network fan too and remembered both of those places from television.

Please post when you start a new pre-trip report. I'm still working on my tirp report from our last vacation but am anxiously waiting for the day when the 2011 rates are out.

 

[charming23]

What a great way to wrap up a trip! Savannah looks like an absolutely beautiful place to visit. I had to laugh when you talked about your mother visiting the places that Paula Deen and Rachel Ray had visited. I'm a big Food Network fan too and remembered both of those places from television.

Please post when you start a new pre-trip report. I'm still working on my tirp report from our last vacation but am anxiously waiting for the day when the 2011 rates are out.

Thanks. Both my mom and I watch a lot of the Food Network channel and as we planned the trip she had a whole list of places she wanted to visit based on some of the shows.

I will defineately let you know when I start a PTR. It is killing me to wait for the 2011 rates to decide for sure when we want to go. We keep changin our minds on what time of year we want to go. I am praying for some good deals in January.