Miss Savannah goes to Savannah

It has been a little bit of time since we updated, mostly because it seems there really wasn’t much going on. That has certainly changed lately. We have had Savannah’s latest doctor’s visit and she is up to 16 pounds and 26 inches. Meanwhile she has been hanging out with Wiley and her other baby church friends lately.



This past weekend though was especially busy for us. We took a long weekend, left Dixie with Willow, piled the car full of diapers, and headed south to Savannah, Georgia. The main reason for our trip was for a follow up interview for Tom with the Community Planning and Development Department in the City of Savannah. The second reason is because the beaches of coastal Georgia are not the worst place to be the first weekend of March. This seems especially true as we notice the snow covered apartment that Dave and Jackie have recently moved into in Indiana.

Savannah is well known to be incredibly beautiful and charming, as is the city. We had a great time with three straight days of sunshine and near perfect temperatures. The first day there we got oriented to the area and prepared for Friday and Saturday. On Friday morning we enjoyed historic River Street on the Savannah River and took a trip on the ferry boat to Hutchinson Island and back.

Then Friday afternoon was the interview which seemed to go really well and of course updates on that can be expected here. During the interview Sue and Savannah headed to Forsyth Park to enjoy the beautiful weather and natural surroundings of the area. They had a wonderful time hanging out together in the sun and green grass (on a normal work day no less).

After the interview we all headed back towards downtown and just enjoyed the late afternoon and early evening walking around the historic district with its amazing old homes and beautiful public squares. We really enjoyed the time to just explore together as a family, and to talk and pray together with nothing else on our schedule.

We then had dinner at the City Market where we had panini’s and some delicious peach gelato for dessert. As it cooled down at night we headed back to the car (passing many tourists snapping pictures of Paula Dean’s place) and returned to the hotel for another night of restless sleep.

It seems the one down side of Savannah so far is that Savannah Grace doesn’t sleep so well in Savannah, Georgia, or anywhere without her crib bumper for that matter. It got so rough in fact that Tom found a Wal-Mart at 2:00 in the morning to buy a bumper. If you know us at all you won’t be surprised that it has been more than two years since we have shopped at a WalMart. Being a parent challenges you in many ways though, including doing whatever it takes for a night of sleep (for your child as well as yourself). Nevertheless that plan didn’t work at all and the new bumper was returned the next day.

Saturday morning was another beautiful day and we intended to make the most of it. Sue had a wonderful idea to enjoy the day as planned and then head home that night. Anticipating sleep problems, we had not reserved a room Saturday night. Once we tried to Friday night it turned out there wasn’t much available and the rates were pretty high.

On a side note…there were many people from Indiana in Savannah last weekend as the Indiana National Guard was being deployed to Iraq from Hunter Army Air Base near where we stayed. Hurry home Hoosiers.

Anyway, back to Saturday. We decided to pack up and then head for home later that day. Saving a hundred bucks and Savannah Grace actually sleeping were incredible perks for late night travel. We took a couple of hours early to cruise around the city looking at potential rental properties in case we get the offer and make a decision to move south. That didn’t last too long though as we were ready to head back downtown to buy candy, Savannah onesies, and then head for the beach. We didn’t find a single onesie that would fit Savannah that simply said “Savannah”, much to our disappointment. We did enjoy the river walk vendors and shops though, especially the candy stores. And if you ever go to Savannah’s River Street looking for taffy we would highly recommend the taffy from Savannah’s Candy Kitchen over River Street Sweets (because of superior flavor not name bias). River Street Sweets is known for wonderful pralines but Sue couldn’t tell the difference between the two and Tom wasn’t willing to try it out.
We did have a wonderful time all around.

Finally, we headed out to Tybee Island to spend the afternoon at the beach with a picnic lunch and sun and surf in our toes. It turns out that many places (including Subway) are closed out of season but we were able to enjoy a picnic lunch courtesy of the Tybee Island Dog House, home of the “Dixie Dog”. We considered calling the Hormels to check on Dixie but thought better of it. After constantly chasing away the birds with a corn dog stick and finishing off our lunch we headed for the sand. Savannah had her first dip in the Atlantic Ocean though the water was a bit chilly still. She seemed to really enjoy herself before falling asleep cuddled up in her Maya wrap.

All in all a great weekend getaway that was a much needed break from the norm for everyone…though we were all incredibly glad to see Richmond and be back in our own beds at night.