this weekend ant and i took a road trip to check out savannah. he hadn't ever been there and i've only been there for a bachelorette party and st. patty's day, so neither were more than a day/night. Thursday night we headed to OP to stay with mom and dad... lucie and reagan were there, too, so that was a bonus!
we left on friday morning... ant had scheduled a tour of SCAD for that afternoon. we got there JUST in time for the tour to depart and it turned out to be fantastic. we had a great guide named Julie and she took us to the building where ant will be spending most of his time in the next 3-4 years... the Illustration bldg!
The tour was very informative and we got to see lots of cool stuff like the library, the graphic design building, the fashion building and the awesome student center that is oozing technology and coolness! The campus is really spread out around downtown, but it's awesome because you can ride your bike or walk anywhere. there are bikes EVERYWHERE! of course, this really excited us because that's one thing we love about where we live now. it's actually pretty awkward driving in the city because there is so much traffic (cars and people), so it's better to just walk or ride your bike.
after the tour we were able to meet with an advisor to ask questions and such. so, we soaked in all we could and then left to find our hotel. i found a new place near river street that was pretty much brand new and we were extremely pleased... AND i got a sweet last minute deal... thank you, expedia!
after the hotel check-in, we were starving and ready to eat. we tried our luck at a BBQ place called Barnes. ant said they were the BEST ribs he's ever had! ... EVER!! i was impressed! (he doesn't look too happy, but he was putting on a show - surprise!)
Saturday morning we SLEPT IN... it's always so nice to do that! we enjoyed a little complimentary (semi-decent) hotel breakfast and then headed out for our trolly tour. our guide's name was Mickey and he was great! we got to see all the sights and learn a lot of the history of savannah. we got to go inside the huge cathedral in town, which was so beautiful!
And then Ant saw this in the stained glass:
(for those of you who don't know, that's the name of my fiesty aunt mary!)
After the tour we stopped to have lunch at the city market and it was fantastic! (all the food was a hit) That was when it started raining and got really cold. So we headed back to the hotel for a nap and some coats. After the nap we got our second wind and headed back in to town to check out the shops and find some grub. We came across a lot of sweet vintage shops that I can't wait to tackle later and this really awesome bee store. We got to meet the founder and developer of all this amazing honey and body products made out of honey and bee's wax. They even had a honey bar where you could sample the different kinds of honey. I've never been too much of a honey lover, but after that experience, I LOVE honey! I also realized that my favorite chapstick comes from there so I got a new one that I love and we also walked out of there with a great smelling bar of orange blossom soap and some hand butter :) (it's the little things!)
After walking in the rain for a while, we stumbled across a sushi joint that was recommended by a possible new savannah friend. They served this complimentary fried flatbread sort of thing that was really yummy and they had white sauce on the table!!! (for those of you who don't know, i LOVE white sauce in japanese restaurants!)
After really great sushi and a nice walk in the rain down to river street, we came across what will be my new favorite place... the candy kitchen.
just like a kid in a candy shop:
this is how they cool the taffy before it gets stretched and wrapped:
So, after some candy and a few drinks at a bar down the way, we called it a night.
Sunday we drove around to check out some places for rent and then started to make our way back home. So, it's official... we're moving to Savannah!! We were so in awe of the city and the history. It's just beautiful everywhere you look and everything has a story. We both feel like God keeps opening all the doors for us to be there and we have a great peace about it. We know it will be a challenge, but as long as we know we're there for the right reasons, we'll be great! Now, it's just a matter of finding a place to live! Mom and I will be heading back up in a couple weeks to scope out some apartments (and hopefully lock one down). Right now the plan is to be up there by the second week in March. (Everyone is invited to come up for St Patty's day... don't know if we'll have room for you, but we'd love to see you!)
stay tuned...
