Southern Charm

My summer adventures started with a working vacation in Savannah. Tanya and I went to pack up her apartment and move her home, but we managed to have fun to. I love visiting Savannah! We took time this trip to explore this beautiful city.

One of my favorite places to go in Savannah is River Street. I love the atmosphere, the shops, the food, and the view of the Savannah River.



One day we went and they were having a Spanish street party. There was music, dancing and food. The crowd was having a great time! The music made you want to join in and start dancing.




The view of the river is spectacular. I love seeing the mixture of old and new Savannah.




I don't think I could have a trip to Savannah without a stop at River Street Sweets Candy Store. Tanya introduced us to their fabulous pralines on our first trip. The best part is the samples they hand out when you walk in the door, warm and delicious! We like to put the ones we buy in the microwave for a few seconds to recreate the same sensation.


The last time I came to Savannah I tried a dark chocolate bear claw. FANTASTIC! Now I have to buy both pralines and bear claws. Don't come to Savannah on a diet!

It is really fun to watch them make the candy. I have watched them make pralines. peanut brittle and salt water taffy.


Another favorite stop is for ice cream, especially after a day of sightseeing. Tanya introduced me to Kilwin's where I had a superb toasted coconut ice cream.

Now my whole trip wasn't about eating! We spent some time getting Tanya ready for her trip to France. She received an e-mail telling her to bring something white and sheek for a gallery opening. We spent part of a day going to a variety of stores to find something that would work. Tanya finally settled on a white pencil skirt with a white sweater top. She found a fabulous necklace and plans on wearing brown sandals she bought in Paris on her last trip to France.


We spent one morning going through two historic homes in Savannah. This is the Owen-Thomas home. This house is an example of English Regency architecture. A predominant part of this style of architecture is symmetry. Fake doors were even built in to maintain symmetry. The builder also loved curved lines. The dinning room has a curved wall. The amazing part is the door to the pantry is also curved! Another use of curved lines was the installation of a curved bridge to connect the front and back passages upstairs.

I loved the gardens at the back of the house. The gardens seperated the main house from the servant quarters and carriage house.





This is the Historic Sorrel-Weed House, built in 1838. It is a great example of Greek Revival and Regency architecture. It was the home of General Gilbert Moxley Sorrel, the youngest General in the Confederate States of America. The house is suppose to be haunted, perhaps by Sorrel's wife who killed herself by jumping off the second floor porch.

We could not leave Savannah without a trip to a beach. We went to Hilton Head in North Carolina on a hot Saturday morning. It was only about a 45 minute trip from Tanya's apartment. The beach was fairly crowded, but we walked down the beach and found a nice spot. The water felt great. It was fun to walk out and wait for the waves to come crashing into you. I had forgotten how salty sea water is. Make sure you keep your eyes and mouth closed when the big waves come!

After the beach we headed to the shopping area for a delicious lunch and then back home.

The last two days in Savannah were mostly work, packing up Tanya. Mike joined us and helped with the creative packing of his truck so that we could get everything back to Virginia. We only had to leave a couple small pieces of furniture that her roomate will store.