Vacation- Day 6 (Final Day!)

Early on in our trip, "Tuesday the 24th" seemed like it was approaching way too fast! I wanted more vacation! :0) But in the final 24 hours of our trip, I began to get home sick for my hunny and the kiddos. It began to feel like my reunion with them couldn't come fast enough!

I woke up on Tuesday morning, and got my workout done first thing. I then went up to our room, showered, and packed up everything. We still had quite a bit of time in Savannah, as our plane didn't leave until 2pm. We left all of our luggage down at the front desk, and we did one last surge of shopping and exploring. We said a final goodbye to the man reading the paper...



We bought MORE sugary treats...





And then we finally went and had our Southern BBQ! Our final meal in Savannah...Lunch at Blowin' Smoke BBQ!



We started with Parmesan Onion rings with a smokey ranch dipping sauce...



...and Fried Dill Pickles...



For our entrees, my mom and I shared the BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich (no picture), and my sisters each ordered the BBQ Hand-Pulled Pork Sandwich...



After lunch we headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. The last time we had our luggage with us in the rental car, Anna was already at the hotel so we had one less person, and one less set of luggage. This ride made for a TIGHT SQUEEZE!







We were all going to be together for our first flight from Savannah to Atlanta...



But once we reached Atlanta, Anna had to high-tail it to her flight to L.A. with just a 45 minute layover! We said a quick goodbye, and then we went our separate ways. We had a 2 hour layover, and ate this...



And then we boarded our final flight, headed for San Diego :0)...





I had opted out of watching a movie on Jenni's cool "nook" this time around, and instead I caught up on my Bible Study book, and the other reading material I had brought along and NEVER got to. After I had exhausted my self from reading, I discovered how stinkin' cool flight entertainment had progressed! It turns out you can watch LIVE TV on the airplane! For an hour I was tracking all of the crazy tornadoes that were tearing through our country...that is something I never would have the time to do at home. And then eventually I caught a glimpse of what the person was watching in front of me...the start of the AMERICAN IDOL FINALE!!! I was stooooked! I had no idea that it was on that night, and I totally would have missed it. But here I was, somewhere over the state of Texas watching the finale live...technology is SO cool!

We arrived in San Diego, I eventually said goodbye to my traveling companions, and said a HUGE HELLO to the loves of my life! They were so happy to see me...the kids were freshly bathed and in their jammies...the house was spotless...and Rick had a big smile on his face. God was so good to me. I had an AMAZING vacation...becuase every time I checked in at home, Rick and the kids were doing just fine. I owe a gigantic thank you to my mom for financially making this all happen...and I owe a gigantic thank you to my hunny for physically being at home in my place, and making me feel good about vacationing every single day that I was gone. I am blessed.

Vacation- Day 5

I slept great the night before, and I woke up promptly at 6am to get my run completed on the treadmill in the hotel gym. I busted that out, and then rallied the troops to get up and get moving so we could start our day. Today was the day that we were going to spend our day doing NOTHING but laying on the Beach at Tybee Island! We had been going non-stop the whole vacation, and we planned to have our final day to be a day of relaxation.

After we packed our bags for the beach, went down to the lobby for breakfast, and then we headed to the drug store for some snacks! We picked up some large bottles of water, and a bag of chips. As we were walking from the car to the drug store we came across a cupcake store...we of course had to go in. I selected 6 cupcakes for us to snack on at the beach. My mom came in as I was paying for the treats, and she wanted 6 different cupcakes than the ones I had chosen! In true fashion, we left with way too many desserts!

We finally made it to the Atlantic Ocean!...











Our cupcakes weren't the best SUNNY beach snack...



Our day at the beach was AWESOME! The waves were great! I was so disappointed to not have a boogie board to ride on, but I gave body surfing my best shot...I caught 2 legit waves...it was AWESOME! I would lay on the beach for an hour, and then go play in the water for a bit...I would then go lay on the beach for an hour and then take another dip in the water. My sisters went and got us lunch, and we sat on the beach and ate these delicious gourmet sandwiches on the sand. The temperature was perfect, the atmosphere was fun, and there was NO SEAWEED to be found! It was the best!

My mom had stayed back from beach day to work at the hotel. She came and picked us up in the late afternoon, and we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. This was our last night in Savannah, and we had a Grand Finale to attend! But let's not get too far ahead of myself. Anna and my mom still had not made it to beautiful Forsyth Park, and so Jenni had requested that after we got all dressed up, that we would go there and have someone take our picture in front of the fountain. We honored her request...



In my "Savannah, GA research" it was said on multiple occasions that you MUST dine at Elizabeth's on 37th. We hadn't planned to go to Charleston and eat a beautiful meal at Peninsula Grill, and so all along, Elizabeth's was going to be our solo fancy dinner out. I had booked the reservation a couple of months ago, and I had let them know that we were traveling from California to celebrate my 30th birthday, and I had asked if they could seat us at their best table in the restaurant. Based on all of the reviews I had read, I had EXTREMELY high expectations for our night. But much to my amazement my expectations were crushed to the ground, and the reality of our dining experience SOARED high above my expectations!



They turned one of the old mansions into the restaurant...



And what I didn't realize until that night, was that Elizabeth's was also celebrating their 30th birthday...they originated in 1981 as well...so neat! (At least I thought it was.)



The staff was incredible! We had 3 different waiters waiting on us all at the same time. They anticipated our every desire and need.

We had started off with Mozzerella and Tomatoes served with a warm pecan pesto...



And a Local Blue Crab Cake served over creamed corn and tomato-chive butter...



A few moments later they brought us each a complimentary appetizer sampler. There was a bite of salmon, a delicious crusted muscle, and a cheese filled puff pastry...



Again, a few moments after that, they served me a complimentary plate of their Virginia Country Ham with manchego cheese and pecan-pimiento sauce...



After the appetizers were completed they brought us our dinner salads...I am still not sure if this was included with our entrees or if they had gifted us this dish as well. Regardless, it was still a lovely surprise to us all! Fresh lettuce and herbs (grown in their garden) with a delicate slice of watermelon on top...



For our entrees...

I had chosen the Double Cut Berkshire Pork Chop with five cheese macaroni and apple-cabbage slaw...



My mom had selected the Pepper Crusted Painted Hills Beef Tenderloin with Madeira cream sauce, saut'ed broccoli, and mushroom-potato gratin...



My sisters both selected the Soft Shell Crab (I can't remember what was under it or poured over it, and becuase it was the Chef's special, it is not listed on their menu)...



I had a hard time deciding on my entree as there were many delicious things to choose from. But for me it came down to the pork chop, and this other chicken dish. However, I didn't want the chicken, I only wanted the sides that came with the chicken. I never mentioned it to anyone at the table, but would you believe within minutes of our waiters serving us our entrees, they served me a special plate of all of the sides that were on the chicken entree! Local organic asparagus, ramps, wild mushrooms, and country ham pan gravy with a mashed potato cake...



Again, I am not sure if this was included with our entree or not, but our waiters then brought us each a glass of wine. As stated earlier, I had sworn off alcohol for the rest of the vacation, but this sure was a nice gesture!

For dessert we selected 2 items. The first was the Savannah Cream Cake- Angel food and sherry laced custard cake with berry sauce and custard sauce...



And, the Fresh Fruit Cobbler- Seasonal fruits with a sugar cookie crust served with cinnamon ice cream...



At one point during our dinner my sister Anna had asked me, "When you get home from this trip, which marks the end of the celebration of your 30th birthday, do you think you will cry?" I responded, "no." But no sooner had we began to eat our desserts, when the waiters had brought me one last final surprise...a scoop of their homemade Strawberry Raspberry Sorbet. They placed the cup in front of me with a pre-lit birthday candle, and then they walked away. The girls at my table began to serenade me with "Happy Birthday", and in no time at all, the guests at the surrounding tables of this very fine restaurant joined in chorus. It was a very special moment. All I could think about is how this was my final celebration for my 30th birthday...and I began to cry. HAHAHAHA! However, it wasn't a "my party is over, I'm sad" cry...it was "I can't believe this all finally over. I am so beyond blessed" cry. That was a perfect moment. Instead of my pork chop that the waiter had so carefully boxed up for me, I wish I could have boxed up this entire dining experience to take home with me. On those few days of motherhood when life is overwhelming, I would love to peek into that box and remember how I had not one, but THREE people serving ME! On the days when I have busted my booty around the house and feel discouraged that I have to do it all over again the next day, I would love to peek into that to-go box and remember how spoiled I was on this night. On the days when life seems robotic of church, wife, mommy, gym...I would love to peek into that box and remember how uniquely special this evening was. It was magical.

After dinner we were supposed to take a ghost tour on a carriage ride, but we didn't make reservations for that (becuase we didn't know how long dinner would be), and unfortunately the tour was all booked up. The only thing any of us still wanted to do in Savannah, was Anna had requested that we get ice cream from Leopold's one more time. She was anticipating us doing that AFTER the carriage ride, but since there was no carriage ride to be had, we went straight from dinner (with dessert) to MORE dessert! :0/





We discovered that there is ALWAYS room for ice cream!

Vacation- Day 4

We were halfway through our vacation, and becuase of my date with the toilet the night before, you will not find me drinking alcohol, eating fried chicken, or eating from a buffet of any sort for the rest of the trip. In addition, I also found that I got acclimated to our hotel room, and had restful nights of sleep for the final two nights. :0)

On Day 4, Sunday, we decided to ditch our Savannah itinerary. We each packed a small travel bag, hopped in our rental car, and headed 2 hours to Charleston, SC.

But first, I waited while the girls stopped at Starbucks to throw back some caffeine,



and I stopped at the drug store to throw back some pepto...



Also, as a matter of note, Savannah, GA is where many scenes were filmed in the movie Forrest Gump. On one of the tours we took, we were shown the bench that Tom Hanks sat at, and uttered the words, "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates..."...and on this morning in Savannah, we walked by the restaurant where "Jenni" was acting as a waitress in the film...



After my sister Jenni literally got hit by a car (she's obviously fine) as we were walking to Starbucks, our car almost got backed into by another car while we were attempting to parallel park, and my mom was inches from taking the door off of another car when this lady (without paying attention) opened her car door right as we were passing her by...we were FINALLY on our way to Charleston!

We ate Charleston Chews in Charleston...



We passed by this sign (anyone from the mid-west (my hunny) and the South will appreciate this)...



We also noticed that a lot of the street names were named after many characters in the movie "Gone with the Wind"...



On our way into Charleston, we saw this pie shop set up in the middle of nowhere...



They had beautiful pies inside, and I understand that their flavored ciders were delicious...



I mostly sat outside...



We only had looked into doing 2 things in Charleston...we wanted to visit a plantation...and we had reservations for dinner at a very nice restaurant. Everything else we were going to play-by-ear.

So, first stop: Magnolia Plantation...



This plantation was home to a HUGE rice plantation, a gorgeous home...



and an even better multi-acre garden...







We took a tour of the main house (which no photography was allowed), and then we also paid to take the "slave tour". The slave tour gave us a political background of slavery in general (EXTREMELY fascinating!), and a detailed description of the work that went on at this particular plantation. On this property were 5 cabins that the slaves/families occupied. They have restored the interior of the cabins to show what they looked like throughout the decades of use. You wouldn't believe it (at least WE couldn't believe it, but African American plantation workers were STILL living in these homes as of the late 1990's!)



The first cabin was from the late 1800's/early 1900's...there was no glass on the windows, the flooring was sketchy, and, well, it just wasn't too pretty...



The next cabin was from 1910-1920...still no glass in the windows, but the slaves had "decorated" their living space by adding newspaper in the form of wall paper, and they also had a "stove" at this point...





The next cabin was from the era of the 1940's-1950's...there were layers on top of layers of legit wallpaper, there was glass in the windows, and there were even linoleum floors...



The final cabin was from the 1970's-1990's...the workers had rigged up some shotty electricity, some plumbing, and had acquired some furniture...



This experience was eye-opening, and mind boggling. It's too much to go into on my blog, but I continue to have more questions than answers since visiting this site.

We spent a good chunk of our day at the plantation. At some point while we were there, I began to physically feel like my old self again. While browsing in the plantation gift shop, Jenni had come across the following book for her children...



Apparently when Jenni and her family visit a city, if they find this book for the visiting city, they buy it. Inside the book they say "Good night" to all of the cool sights to see in that particular city. The book immediately became our tour guide for the rest of the day. We hopped in the rental car, and first on our list was "saying good night" to Fort Sumter Park by the Atlantic...









Next we said good night to the actual Fort Sumter. You can't see it in this picture, but to the right of Fort Sumter, we also said good night to some particular lighthouse that I can't remember the name of...



We then said good night to "Rainbow Row" (a row of different colored houses)...



...the city market (not blog worthy), and finally, the Pineapple Fountain...







In our quest to find the Pineapple Fountain, we came across a spray ground, and Jenni dared me $5 to stand in the center for an extended period of time...



There were other sites mentioned in the book, but we had already seen them in journey...The Magnolia Plantation, and the large bridge that we drove across that connects Savannah, GA to Charleston, SC.

The Charleston trip was actually my FAVORITE DAY on vacation! It felt so freeing to go out and explore the world without an agenda or an itinerary. We saw beautiful things, historical things, and contemplative things...all things we were not planning to see in these 6 days of vacation.

We ended the day by dining at Peninsula Grill...





We started with the Lobster and Corn Chowder...



For our entrees, Anna & I both chose to have the Super Chilled Wedge of Iceberg with Smoked Bacon Jerky and Buttermilk Dressing...



My mom chose the Pan Roasted Jumbo Sea Scallops with Braised Butter Lettuce, Diced Lobster, Garlic-Chive Potatoes (that is the strip that the scallops are sitting on), and Truffled Lobster Broth...



Finally, my sister Jenni had Lobster "3 Ways"...Ravioli, Tempura, and Sauteed with Warm Tomato-Basil Vinaigrette...



For dessert, we shared:

Banana "Panna Cotta" Pudding- Silky banana pudding with milk chocolate ganache, homemade vanilla wafer, and caramel sauce...



Peach upside down corn cake...



Their Ultimate Coconut Cake with Coconut Anglaise and Strawberries. Our waitress let us know that you could purchase an entire cake for $100, and have it shipped to you for the same price. While we were eating the single slice, we all concluded that the cake is TOTALLY worth the $200!!! (However, in googling the website to report the details for my blog, I see that someone has published the recipe for this cake on the internet...I wonder if it's REALLY "the" recipe????)...



It was fairly late when we left the restaurant, and we had packed our overnight bags should our mom have been too tired to drive back to Savannah, but would you believe, after being together for 4 straight days, us girls still had MORE things to chat and laugh about for the next 2 hours back to GA??? There wasn't a heavy eye in the car! :0)