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!