Southern Living

So, like I mentioned in my last post, we went to Hilton Head Island, SC and Savannah, GA while we were visiting my parents over Christmas. My Mom was nice enough to watch Oliver and Christian and I took Amelia (she won't take a bottle and I'm still nursing, otherwise we would have left her too) for our overnighter. It was about a 4-hour drive there and we stayed at this French-ish country inn right off of Main Street in Hilton Head. Hilton Head was so clean and pretty, with bike paths everywhere and tons of people were out and about riding. It's known for it's golfing, so there were green golf courses everywhere. There's really only one main road that goes around the relatively small island. So, we drove down this road, by all of these big, beautiful neighborhoods with lakes and ocean views. We stopped by the ocean and got out, but it was pretty cold, so we didn't stick around. It was a really nice, white sand beach, though. We also sneaked past a security guard to go see a neighborhood of big, fancy homes by the ocean. It was kind of crazy, though, because in this neighborhood and all over the island there were pine trees mixed with palm trees by the ocean. After dinner, Christian went back to the inn with Amelia and I hit up the outlet malls. The next morning, I got up and went on one of the best jogs ever on the bike paths through all these old neighborhoods. Someone should start a marathon there. It's a runner's paradise.

This picture doesn't do this place justice. It was so old and antique-y and beautiful.

These were the gardens around the inn. Soooo beautiful.

Too bad it was so cold outside, because that pool looked pretty inviting!

This is by the beach. We had this elderly couple take a picture of all 3 of us, but somehow, it got lost??? I think they just managed to focus the picture, not actually snap it... Oh well.




After a yummy breakfast at the inn, we drove about 45 minutes south to Savannah. I was a little surprised at first to see how big the city is. It's right on the water as well, but unfortunately, we didn't make it down there. Nor did we see Paula Dean or any of her family members.:) We mostly stuck around the historical district. If we ever go back (which we will) we'll be sure to see the river sights as well. I could literally have spent a week touring through the historical district. We only had a few hours, though, so we decided to go to the Mercer House, where the bulk of the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil took place. Christian had recently read it and was excited to tour the house of the famous designer Jim Williams, whom the book is about. The house was filled with REALLY old antiques and art and great stories.

The Mercer House

While we waited to go on our tour of the Mercer House, we stopped for lunch at this tea room, Gryphon Cafe. It was an old pharmacy made in to a restaurant and we were both in awe of the decor and atmosphere. It was incredible, not to mention it served one of the best salads I've ever tasted.

The ceiling was made out of tapestry and this stained-glass window/chandelier was right in the middle of the restaurant.

I know it's not totally apparent in this picture, but the attention to detail in this place from the tile flours to the wood paneling and stained-glass accents was remarkable.

This was the square/park right by the Mercer House. There are 13 squares just like this organized all over the historic district, surrounded by big, old, beautiful houses and churches. It was so green there and Spanish moss hung from all the trees. Amazing.

This was a monument to the Polish soldier, Kazimierz Polaski, who helped defeat the British in Savannah.



The rest of the pictures are purely for your enjoyment. They are just a few of the old, beautiful houses that we saw that day in Savannah. It was incredible to see how well-preserved and maintained all these historic buildings are. As you can see, someone (whose names rhymes with Shristian) went a little camera-crazy.