First Stop: Savannah

After staying up late the night before packing (some of us continuing to make lists of things to pack while packing...yes, i know-it's a talent), we were all ready to hit the road for Savannah, GA! Bryan had to work a few hours that morning, so we really didn't leave until lunch time. But don't worry, I'm sure we stopped at the Chick-fil-A before getting on the interstate. One thing this family LOVES to do on road trips...EAT. And since my husband likes to make good travel time, we aren't allowed to eat AT a restaurant, fast food place, or rest area. We are firm believers in the drive-thru, and any candy/chips/soda you can pick up at the curb store. Sooooo bad, I know. But I guess that was one of the fun things I remember about going on family road trips. Getting to pick out MY OWN candy bar. MINE. (I had two sisters, and we had to share a lot).

Anyways, after several hours of highway driving, and at LEAST fifty requests from the second row (i.e. Mommy, I can't reach my headset), we finally saw signs for Savannah, GA. Woohoo! I had always wanted to see this city, but never found the opportunity or time to visit. Since we wanted to break up our trip down to Clearwater, FL...this was the perfect time to stop by and say "Hey Y'all".
Speaking of that famous Southern lady, I'm sure y'all know that she has a restaurant in Savannah, GA. It's actually run by her & her two sons (Jamie & Bobby). AND it was our first stop after throwing our luggage in the hotel room.

Believe it or not, our picky-eater, Katelyn is a devoted fan of the Food Network. She just loves watching people cook! And when she first started watching cooking shows, her favorite TV personality was Paula Deen.

Now, we had heard that it is very hard to get a table at The Lady & Sons. They don't take reservations, and you have to appear in person to get a priority seating time. Honestly, the hostess starts taking names for lunch/dinner priority seating at 9:30 in the morning! So, we told Katelyn that we probably wouldn't get a chance to eat there, but we could at least go by there for some photos. When we got there, the hostess said they actually had a spot for us, and it was only a 45 minute wait!

Since we had some time to kill, we went for a short walk along the riverfront. It was such a beautiful time of day. I loved the feeling of walking along with my family, and knowing that we were creating some happy memories together.

The kids (all three) were so excited when we crossed over this HUGE bridge as we made our way in to Savannah.

I love their sweet little faces.

After several hours in the car, this was an excellent place to release some pent-up ENERGY. To be honest, we were all pretty excited to start our vacation.

If you've ever been to Savannah, then you know that they have the coolest little stairways all OVER the place. Some of them are kind of steep, but they make for adventurous climbing for the kids! Daddy & Aaron pose at the bottom of one of these stairways...the stonework was so COOL.

Just a few pics I snapped of the riverfront. This place reminded me of downtown Wilmington, or maybe Charleston. Wish we could've explored more, but we had only one night here!

The cobblestone streets were beautiful, but kind of hard to navigate on foot. The kids didn't seem to mind! Get that energy out...we have another long drive in the a.m.!

Off to The Lady & Sons for dinner. It's about 7:30 p.m., and we have all walked off our soda and candy bars (okay, maybe not quite...)

They served everyone a cheese biscuit and a hoecake. Yum!

Another cool thing about Paula Deen is that she is a native of my hubby's hometown (Albany, GA). B's mom actually went to high school with her! And thanks to those special connections, Katelyn received a Paula Deen cookbook from Mema last Christmas, with a signed personal note from Paula inside the front cover. The picture above is just a small portion of a huge collage that hangs on the wall inside The Lady & Sons.

After dinner, we were still too wired to turn in for the night, but alas, we really didn't know where to go (not like we are going to take our kids to the local "mic night"). Back at the hotel, we decided to explore the rooftop pool. And yes, this is an elevator picture. For fun. Because we were on vacation. Footloose and....well, you get the picture (ha!).

the pool

pics of the city from the rooftop of our hotel

And of course, as soon as the kids saw the pool, they wanted to jump IN.

So they did! They marched back up to the room, put on their suits & took a dip in the pool. And thankfully, my husband was willing to join them. As for me....well--this is more me:

The hot tub was nice and warm, and felt wonderful on my tired muscles
(it is hard work sitting all day, people).

And this brings us to the end of our first night on vacation. Hope to blog some more soon!