Savannah 40th Birthday weekend

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So my original that I saved unfortunately disappeared so I will have to start the original part from memory. It was a 4.5 hours drive from Durham to Savannah. We had planned over a year ago to go to Savannah and Hilton Head Island, but unfortunately due to COVID we had to cancel. We stopped at a Starbucks in Dillon. We thankfully got coffee, but if we had got anything else, it would have taken forever. We stopped on the way down to Florence. We forgot that we had stopped here on our trip to Charleston at a Starbucks, which ironically was right next door to the restaurant that we ate lunch at. The service was good and the restaurant was very clean. It was called Julia Belle's. The food was a casual seafood type restaurant. We left and made the drive down to Savannah.

Arriving into the city, we drove over a bridge and saw beautiful views of the water. The bridge was very modern, but it was hard to see much in the city until you got off the bridge. We found plenty of street parking near the Justine Inn. We passed by Forsynth Park on the way and see beautiful modern homes with the live oak trees that are famously called Spanish Moss. There was a cute courtyard outside that you can eat breakfast in the morning. We walked into the gate and upstairs and knocked on the door to get in. We were gracefully greeted and we walked inside to the checkin area. There were stunning chandeliers with Frank Sinata music blasting. The Inn dates back to 1877. We stayed in the Provence Room. It was in the basement. There were some rooms on the top level and a few rooms in the basement area and you need to take steps down to it. There was a courtesy bottle of champagne in the room for my birthday and bottled water. We rested and then went upstairs to talk with the front desk.

We got asked about our breakfast preference and what time that we preferred to eat. There was a happy hour with red, white or rose to partake in with a small chacurterie platter. The trey had peaches, blackberries, grapes, crackers, cheese, chocolates and nuts. The hostess Kate was very kind and had a lot of great suggestions. She hung out with us during the happy hour. We got ready then headed out for a drink and dinner. We passed through beautiful squares on the way such as Madison Square. Each park had huge statues, flowers and Spanish Moss trees. It was a paved brick and very charming. We went to the Artillery Bar. It was a mid century modern bar. I got a really quirky drink with gin, cucumbers and white balsamic. It was definitely an acquired taste. Chloe got "Oh Great Real Bullets". She felt the same way about her drink. It was a nice ambiance and good service. We went to The Public Kitchen and Bar next door for dinner.

The bar was busy when we got in. We had a great attentive waitress. We noticed lipstick on one of the water glasses. We got the Victoria house salad, shrimp and grits with public fries with parmesean and truffle. The fries tasted so so. We asked for jalapeno ranch to go with the fries and it wasn't spicy. The waitress did have the salad and shrimp dish split between us which was nice as we told her we were splitting it. It was a good but not great recommendation from the hotel. The shrimp and grits were the best part of the meal. It had spicy andouille mixed in which added some heat. There wasn't a lot of grits in the meal. We walked to Leopolds ice cream. It had a huge line and we didn't wait for the ice cream. We walked to 17 hundred 90 as a recommendation from my friend Scott dad. We tried to go for dessert. It was a cute place that had a piano player. The waiter Parker was excellent and though we were having dessert brought us complimentary biscuits. They had honey and butter on them and it was the best part of the meal. We split a gooey vanilla bread pudding, but we wished that we asked for ala mode as the ice cream would have made the dish better tasting. We walked back to the hotel through some uneven roads. We saw Cathederal of St John The Baptist. We saw in the distance a beautiful church with heat lightning. It was eerie and fascinating to see. It was still very humid even at 9pm at night. We got back to the room and there was a heavy thunderstorm outside. It was quiet except every time we moved anytime on the bed it gave a squeak.

The next morning for breakfast we had blueberry packages that were delicious. We had a quiche, choice of bacon or sausage, mixed fruit and papaya infused water. The host Tony gave us great suggestions on food and called the Old Savannah Tours to have us picked up at the hotel. A good tip on the tour is to sit on the opposite side of the driver to see everything. There were actors that came onboard from movies and American history, such as Forest Gump. We saw the park where Midnight in the Garden of Evil was shot. We learned about American Revolutionary and Civil War facts. We got off at City Market. There was a beautiful gold dome on top of one of the buildings. We saw River Street right near Stop 13 on the tour. We walked onto River Street and saw many homeless people. There was shops, restaurants, bars and beautiful brick streets.

City Market was a cute area with a lot of outdoor restaurants and bricks to walk on. We went to Bitty and Beau's coffee. It was a coffee shop set up for people with disabilities. It was very chique. The cold brew was so delicious. We tried to go to Vic's on the River for lunch and we got placed in the back area away from the river. It had sticky floors and felt like we were second hand citizens. We didn't like the ambiance so we left and walked around to find a different place for lunch. We ate at Grey Market, which is a sister restaurant to The Grey. The restaurant won best new restaurant on the James Beard awards. I got the falafel roti and Chloe got a hot dog. Her hot dog was big, tasty but very messy. I didn't love the falafel and it was dry since there wasn't enough tzatkiki then I wanted on the roti. The service was ok but some of the workers were a bit rude. We went to Peach Cobber Factory to try a peach cobber with ice cream. They used frozen peaches which was a little disappointing to not get the fresh peaches. It was tasty as you got the hot cobbler with the cold ice cream. We walked to East Brighton Street. We went to Telefair Museum and the admission covers three museums. We saw a live band playing to celebrate Juneteenth. There were different interactive paintings and displays at each of the museums. It was a decent recommendation, but not a primary thing I would look to do. We went to Scad shop and then headed back to the hotel for happy hour and rested in the room.

We walked before dinner in Forsynth park and saw the famous fountain where couples take wedding photos. We did see a few couples doing just that as we approached the fountain. We took an Uber to Cotton and Rye. It was a residential area and not at all touristy. It didn't look like much was there except for places that people live. The reservation wasn't ready so we walked to Tacos and Tequila. It was a whole in the wall Mexican restaurant and we sat at the bar. I tried a caipirnha drink. It was tasty but had way too much ice. We got called after 5-10 minutes that the reservation was ready. We started off with a strawberry and cream. It was interesting because it was spicy and played off the sweet and spicy. It came with fried chicken thighs. We also had buttermilk rye cornbread with fried Brussels. Chloe got a sauvignon blanc Nautilus wine and I got Southbound beer, which was local to Savannah. The beer was good and the place reminded me a lot of a gastropub. My main course was mac and cheese on top of crispy fried chicken with cornbread and Brussel sprouts. The mac and cheese had an amazing crust on top. Chloe got the redbeans risotto and thought it was ok. We had a peanut butter pie with concord grape jelly. It was like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a dessert. The waitress Asia put a candle in my cake and it was excellent. We took an Uber back to the hotel and rested.

We got a quiche with eggs, cheese, green onion and cream cheese with red bell peppers with regular/sweet potatoes medley for breakfast at the hotel. It came with a side of fruit, bacon and a biscuit. The quiche and biscuit was easily the best part of the meal. The potatoes and bacon were lukewarm unfortunately. We drove to Wormsloe Historic Site. It had beautiful Spanish Moss trees as you drove in. There was a museum to learn about history and tools used for surgeries as well as dentistry in the 1700's. It was probably the better part of the historic site. We saw Jones family graveyard. There was an observation deck with views into tall grass. It was peaceful to look at. The colonial life house was ok. We weren't super impressed by the historic site and finished it in 45 minutes. There were a lot more trails you could explore if you choose to do so. We drove to Bonaventure Cemetery next.

Johnny Mercer was buried at the cemetery. He sand the song Moon River. We saw some beuatiful stones and Spanish Moss trees overhead. We parked by a waterfront that saw boats go underneath a bridge. There was a nice breeze in some parts of the cemetery. It was a decent experience but only if you have a lot of time to explore. We went to Starbucks so I could get my birthday drink. It was near the cemetery. I placed a mobile order to try to make it quicker however it took forever. Chloe got her drink faster placing the order inside then I did on the app. It took an additional 15 minutes past the time I was quoted on the app. We went to Collins Quarter in Forsynth Park for lunch. It took us 10 minutes before anyone greeted us when we were seated and didn't even get told the waiter's name. There were flies flying around because outside in the park area. The restaurant doesn't take reservations and has very slow service. I ordered a Wild Berry French Toast. The french toast was very dry on its own. The fruit and syrup made it very hard to eat. It took 45 minutes to get the food. Chloe ordered an avocado toast and there was a roach leg in the food. We told the waiter and was told it looked like hair which definitely didn't make it any better! The waiter asked if she wanted another avocado toast and it came out with the toast burned. The restaurant didn't discount at all for the food and we asked to speak with a manager. She wasn't very sympathetic about the experience and we told her that we are out of town, she offered us 50% next time we come in. An awful experience and would never recommend it.

We got back to the room and rested. We walked down Jones Street. It is a historic brick street. We went to the Savannah Cruise River Boat. We got to the end of the line then were told we had to go to the kiosk to check in. We got the tickets through Viator. It was a huge boat. The cruise takes passengers 30 minutes in advance and there was a huge line. Unfortunately by the time we got on the boat, there were no tables available by the window. It was frustrating to say the least. The 2nd floor was closed off and seats were limited. We found space on the top deck in the sun with a light breeze. We saw Fort Pulaski, 2 dolphins, otters and a blue heron. Towards the end we finally found shade downstairs after an hour upstairs. There were old boats we saw. It was a decent cruise. We took the Dot Free bus back to Forsynth Park near the hotel. We rested in the room.

We took an uber to dinner at the Old Pinke House. You need to book this 2 months in advance. There was candy in the Uber which I had never saw before in any car. We got to the door and I was wished a happy birthday. The evening got strange as we were told that they tried to call me to tell me there was no room for our dog if he was with us. I never received a call from them and thankfully we had left the dog at home because of the heat. We got delicious complimentary biscuits with whipped butter. We had this southern sushi that was delightful. We split the low country she crab soup. It had lump crab and a delicious luxurious taste. The caesar salad with cornbread oysters was decent. The oysters was tasty tender and not heavily fried. I got sauteed shrimp and scallops parmesean cream sauce. Chloe got vidalia onion and sweet potato ravioli with scallops. The service was excellent. The biggest issue was this woman's bachelorette party that was in the same room as us. They were loud and obnoxious. It was very disruptive and was hard to talk. Three separate tables asked to be moved out of the room to another room. At one point the waitress referred to them as Woo girls because every time anyone says anything they go Woo. It reminded me so much of the show How I Met Your Mother. We were ready to leave by dessert and asked to be placed in another room away from them and were told that they are about to leave. The Old Pinke House had a beer called Pretoria Fields that $1 a can is donated to the organization. We got the fruit sorbet, but it wasn't anything special. Chloe mentioned to the waitress that it was my birthday figuring they would bring out a cake, but they didn't. They brought out a huge candle that is used for more decoration and placed it on the table. It was an odd draining experience and I didn't want to go out afterwards for a drink because of the experience. I was very disappointed in the restaurant for not saying anything and not accommodating our requests and just seemingly not caring about my 40th birthday celebration. We got an Uber back to the hotel.

We had a Croque monseiur for breakfast with fried egg. It was very tasty and came with a pastry with filling, fresh fruit and cucumber salad. We stopped at Anita Deli to pick up sandwiches to pack. We had them when we stopped at Pedroland and we enjoyed them. We stopped at Sasvannah Coffee Roasters and it was ok. We stopped at the Pedroland amusement park area on the way back in an outdoor BBQ restaurant picnic. Pedroland is this stereotypical wannabee Mexican theme park with ridiculously offensive billboards on the highway as you drive into the area. The flies were very relentless and annoying. The trip home was 5.5 hours. It was a great trip with excellent company. It was a cute city to visit though not a huge one I personally want to go back to visit anytime soon.

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