Savannah, Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Home!

North America » United States » Georgia » Savannah
June 1st 2006

Published: June 1st 2006

Edit Blog Post

Travelgirl

Portofino Bay Hotel - Orlando

I know, I know, I know.....I left many of you hanging! For that, I apologize! Once we arrived in Orlando (Portofino Bay Hotel) I kinda lost track of where I was and what I was doing. Travel can do that to a person after awhile. Not to mention I was sick for a day or so and out of commission. The mammas were left to their own devices. Oh boy. Look out Orlando. Here come the mammas. They ended up having a great time on their own! They hung out by the (gorgeous) pool and dined at one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Mamma Della's. Of course they started talking about "the hill" (a.k.a. Federal Hill) with one of the singers/workers who serenaded them. Because it was my mom's 16th B-day she received a free desert, tiramisu of course! I was so happy they enjoyed themselves. I on the other hand, was stuck in the hotel room! 😞 But that's OK...April's typing on the computer lulled me to sleep -- plus there was a Ghost Hunter's marathon on -- so I was all set. The next day I felt better. Wait, I am out of sequence here?? I guess I should

Look da mamma can do a magic trick! Buca di Beppo - Orlando, FL

start with our arrival in Orlando on May 4th. We got there kinda late and basically checked into Universal Orlando's Portofino Bay Hotel and went to bed. That could be wrong as I am writing this almost a month later...lol...but I think that is what we did!

The next days were spent hanging out by the pool, relaxing, sightseeing, going to the movies and, of course, eating out. I was very excited to go with mom & Elizabeth to Buca di Beppo, another favorite Italian restaurant of mine. I had been talking about this place for years so I had the mammas all excited! LOL! The inside is decorated in this really funky, fun, artistic, warped decor -- I love it. The food, although good, is secondary to the decor and atmosphere. We were seated next to a table of Italian tourists. I tried to follow along to what they were saying, but since my Italian skills basically consists of swear words (for now) I was out of luck. They were a boisterous crowd! They ordered a little bit of everything it seemed and they were quite pleased. So were mom, Elizsbeth, April and myself. We ordered a delicious

So can April! Forget a quarter -- she found a spoon - woah!

pizza (Ape ordered manichotti) and for desert -- the largest - coldest - rum sopped peice of tarimisu ever! Everyone was in heaven....and drunk...just kidding..lol! I, not wanting to feel icky, picked on everything -- but I find the food here a little too rich for my system. No need to upset the IBS thank you very much! Ugh....It was fun watching everyone else dig in though! We had a really great time.

Of course there was Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville at CityWalk which is always a good time. I mean really, does it get any better than Jimmy, live music, great company and good food? Nope! We would've been content having all our meals here!

Before we knew it May 9th came and mom & Elizabeth flew back to Providence. It was weird dropping them off at the Orlando airport. But they were well rested, extremely burnt/tan and ready to see the animals! We hugged and kissed them good-bye. We stayed one more night at Universal's Hard Rock Hotel and left the next morning.

Ape and I decided we would drive back to Providence through Savannah, Charleston and Myrtle Beach. It turned out to be a fantastic

The delicious tarimisu!

decision! Our first stop, Savannah, was just as pretty as the last time we were there. The only difference was this time we'd have time to walk around, explore the area and have lunch at Paula Dean's Lady & Son's Restaurant. We arrived Savannah late the first night and checked into Marriott Courtyard. We got an early start the next day. First thing we did was get a reservation for lunch at The Lady & Son's. It was a late lunch reservation (2:40pm I believe) and we could hardly wait. More on that later.

After making lunch reservations we headed down to River Street and City Market loaded with lots of cute tourist shops and restaurants. My favorite part are the buildings themselves. They are SO old and fascinating. You feel the history. Just walking down the cobblestone streets makes you feel like you are back in time. It has that aura of pirates and ghosts. No wonder Savannah is one of the most haunted cities in America! I didn't "see" anything, but the FEELING you get looking at these old buildings is a bit spooky.

The weather was perfect for our walk. A perfect spring day. It

Buca di Beppo decor

was roughly 75 degrees, no humidity, sunny with a cool breeze -- nice! The Indigo Girls sing a song called "Southland in the Springtime" and I could relate 100% -- I love the south this time of year. It oozes with the essence of southern charm....sweet tea, moss covered trees, steamboats, magnolia trees and the smell of pecans and peaches. In my opinion March-May is the perfect time to visit.

After shopping we realized it was roughly 2:15pm so we headed back to The Lady & Son's! The line was almost around the corner and people were getting VERY cranky and hastey. I was shocked and amuzed at the same time. Elderly people were pushing young people and yelling at the matra'd that looked like she could kick all our asses with one swiff kick! She yelled at the crowd like they were in kindergarten. The worst part was when a huge truck almost ran over 1/2 the hungry tourists outside the restaurant and then, stopped at the corner and began to, um, err....clean out the sewage shall I say??? The smell was enough to send 1/2 the hungry tourists packing...lol! Ape found refuge in a jewlry shop. I

Ape and I went to this great Irish restaurant in downtown disney after going to the movies.

covered my nose with my t-shirt and laughed at the mayham happening over some fried chicken and mayonaise. It felt so good walking past these crazy people when our name was called and yet I felt slight guilty as I looked at the Paula Dean look-alike that must've planned her entire trip around this one meal. She gave me a LOOK like "I hope you chock on peach cobbler".....she definitley WASN'T from the south....Dorchester, MA maybe.....Georgia, not a chance! Woah! I smiled and walked in....OH MY......

Let me just say I am (or was) the first person to tease Paula Dean fans. I made jokes about the amounts of butter and mayo she used until no end. I joked about the things she say and the "hi ya'all" until I was blue in the face....well.....that has all changed. Oh yes my friends. I have become one of them. A Paula Dean fan. No I will never have a picture of her in my house or cut my hair like hers or name my sons after hers -- nope. But I am a fan. How you ask? Well, I don't know exactly the precise moment it happened. It was somewhere

It was very cool looking inside. They have live music every night.

between my first bite of her famous fried chicken and nibble of homemade biscuit when I heard the southern angels sing. I looked over at April, my dear partner who never eats (well, rarely) anything on bones...and she was all cave woman on me! Yup....I saw the light. This woman can cook. THIS is southern cooking. Do you know the lunch buffet we ate (which was priced at a very reasonable $12.95 per person) was voted the BEST meal in the world this year? Seriously. Have I dined around the world? Not yet -- but I would have to agree. Her food, although heart stopping and clogging I am sure, tasted unlike anything I have ever (EVER) tasted. Flavors like your mom and grandma would cook if they cooked well....really well...lol. And the best part -- it didn't leave Ape or I with that HEAVY SOUTHERN FULL. Don't get me wrong, it left us full (we were both tipped by the end of lunch) -- but not that -- I AM GOING TO DIE full. It was pleasant. Nice. (@&#*@#^&& delicious full.

We did have one crisis however and April is still not over it! When asked if we'd

April dined with Bono!

like to try desert we both declined thinking we would have to pay for it and since we were both full there was no need. Well....on the way out April glanced at several tables to see these plates filled with cute sample pieces of various deserts. She walked by not one, not two, three + people with this plate of deserts when it finally hit her --- IT WAS FREE!!!! Holy Crap. April was slightly mute for awhile and. Then the mumbling and twitching happened and the regret set in but mostly the shame...oh the shame....how could she pass up on FREE desert??? I was still feeling guilty for satisfying myself the way I did and starting to talk with a southern accent (which I think happens after your last bite of Paula Dean chicken) while April was getting more and more sick about passing up the desert! LOL! Crazy? Yes! Funny as hell? OOOOH YEAH! I still hear about this. April will NOT be happy until we go back and she gets that free desert. This is April SWARTZ after all....a' hem. That's all I am saying.

Anyway, after our wonderful day in Savannah we headed to Charleston,

f10

Very cool decor.

South Carolina. We had visited this city briefly last year and I fell in love with it. We only had a day there as well...not even...1/2 a day. It just solidified the fact that not only is Charleston a gorgeous city it is also chock full of fun stuff to do! Before I explain our time in Charleston let me explain the fact that one of my worst nightmares came true! Why these things happen to us I will never know....but it happened. Everyone who knows me well knows I personally don't like driving over bridges. I can go over them -- no problem -- to drive over them is a whole other story. I can drive over some big ones back home (braga, jamestown, george washington in nyc and some huge bridge in ct) -- BUT -- bridges like Newport, RI's and Mount Hope in Bristol, RI are off limits as are bridges like the Delaware. Anywho....Charleston has a brand new (gorgeous) bridge that you cross when heading up from Savannah. It's called the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. It is the longest cable-stayed bridge on the continent. Yup. And guess what? We got stuck on it. That's right. Stuck

f11

Inside room at Hard Rock Hotel.

on the bridge. Why you ask? Well that would be for the simple fact that they were BLOWING UP the old bridge next to ours. OK, so picture it if you will. We are driving, gawking at the pretty bridge and then notice all the cars are stopped in the middle of it. It was like out of a horror movie. People were turning off their engines, getting out of their cars and walking like zombies to the edge of the bridge. Did someone jump off? Were we being held hostage? There was no way to turn around!! Eventually April and I got out of the car and followed the other dazed people to the edge of the bridge to find out that yes, there was a bridge implosion set to happen any second! #@*&@*^@*^ Every swear world known to man (and a few new ones) crossed my mind. After realizing that there was nothing I could do and looking at April who had the look of: I COULD GIVE HER A PIGGY BACK RIDE TO THE END OF THE BRIDGE LOOK ON HER FACE -- I decided to "let it go" and enjoy the experience -- vertigo and all!

f12

Very Restoration Hardware looking.

And just like you'd expect in the south, the explosion was almost polite. Boom. Pow. Crumble. Cameras taking pictures. A couple of oohs & ah's and then everyone ran back to their cars and took off. My camera's batteries died (of course). I did manage to get one photo and April took a couple with her cell phone camera so at least you can get a basic idea of what it looked like.

We were lucky to have enough Marriott point credits to get a free night at the new Courtyard Charleston Downtown Riverview. This beautiful hotel had a great view and location. I would recommend this property to anyone. After checking in we went for dinner at Jim-N-Nicks BBQ! We were so excited to find one had opened on King Street. After dinner we explored the area and absolutely fell in love with it. The homes and buildings are so palatial and gorgeous. Lots of plantation style homes and mansions. Charleston is a funky, artsy, beautiful city. It felt like Providence, Newport, Savannah, Annapolis and mostly New Orleans all in one. Everything was clean and fresh looking. I loved it. Defiantly my kind of town. Mix this with

f13

The Kitchen Restaurant at Hard Rock Hotel.

the water of Key West and music scene and it would be heaven! LOL! King Street is loaded with cool stores including Lucky Brand Jeans, Gap, J. Crew, Banana Republic and even a Margaritaville store. You could spend all day shopping on this one street.

The next day we took US 17-North to Myrtle Beach. This was one of the most pleasant drives we ever took. You drive past beautiful moss covered trees, marsh land, beach towns, shops and restaurants. You also pass some great antique shops and little road side stands. We stopped at a great place called Carolina Cider Company. This place sells all home made ciders, jams etc.,. Their ciders are delicious. We got peach, grape and cherry. It turned out to be a great stop. Another great stop was Boone Hall Plantation. This plantation is over 300 years old and is one of the last "working" plantations. For $14.50 per adult ($7 per child, $13 seniors) you can tour the plantation, gardens, gift shop and our favorite and REAL REASON why we took this tour -- the world's longest oak-lined avenue! Wow, was that beautiful! We honestly had no interest in touring the plantation itself

f14

Outside of Hard Rock Hotel

-- we wanted to see this road and I am glad we did. We took some amazing photographs and enjoyed the peaceful surroundings (until we both had to pee and then it was adios...lol).

The closer we got to Myrtle Beach the more motorcycles we started to notice. It was one after another. I looked at April and she back at me. Were we stuck in another bike week? LOL! YUP! We were hear during the beginning of Myrtle Beach Bike Week -- too funny! The place was hopping. There were leather glad. tattoo covered adults everywhere! Woah! I always love driving by a place during bike week. There are usually tons of outdoor vendors, live music and lots of people watching to do. The people are very down to earth and friendly and April feels at home. JUST KIDDING. For those not in the know -- we tease April about her secret lust to be a motorcycle mamma....she denies it but I have this feeling that someday the truth will come out. Her eyes light up whenever we pass a hog...lol. It's always the quiet ones -- remember that!

We checked into the Marriott Courtyard Broadway at

f15

This is the PT Cruiser we rented for the drive home. It had Sirus radio which was nice.

the Beach and then went for dinner at Margaritaville. Afterward we drove by the "strip" and beach and couldn't believe how emerald the water looked. It almost had a Destin glow! I was very impressed. It was a completely different color from the last time we were here. Although when we were there last year there was a hurricane on the horizon which probably kicked up the sand and made the water appear more brownish. Myrtle Beach really does have something for everyone. There are shopping malls, outlets, entertainment districts, theme restaurants, old fashioned souvenir shops, nightclubs, and of course -- the beach! It is NOT a tacky destination. It is actually a classy/family-friendly getaway. Sure, there are budget properties and restaurants, but they are mixed with the NEW and classier properties and restaurants/shops. This is a GREAT place for a vacation!!

The next day we started our REALY journey home and that was that. Nothing exciting happened. We drove up I-95 home and before we knew it we were reunited with da mammas and pets! 😊

As I write this long overdue blog Ape and I are getting ready for yet ANOTHER road trip! This time we

f16

You know your in the south when???

are heading to Texas! I know...I know....BUT there are many great parts of Texas -- especially -- AUSTIN! Austin is the music capital of the world. Yup -- THE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD! OH MY! I am going to have sensory overload! Where to go? What to do? There are so many live music venues plus funky shops and restaurants not to mention lots of BBQ restaurants! Austin considers itself a state within a state -- they are very OPEN and gay friendly and just a wonderful place to visit. We will also check out Dallas, San Antonio and Amarillo before heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico and Las Vegas. We can't wait for Las Vegas! My mom, Elizabeth and dad are flying down for a couple of nights. It will be my dad's first time in Vegas! Woo-hoo! Should be hilarious! We will then drive home though Utah, Colorado and across the plains. I just can't wait. Hopefully we will have great health and a very safe trip.

Until next time....

Happy Travels! :-)
-Des

Additional photos below

Photos: 65, Displayed: 33