After our night of travel we got some solid rest (let me remind you...no Max) and we were ready for a jam packed day of Savannah tourism. First stop, the Inn at 909 Lincoln! This was a great bed & breakfast just outside the main historic district and right next to Forsyth park.
It is a gorgeous 3-bedroom inn with all your essential quaintness and cuteness:
Old fashioned dinner table on dark wooden floors.
Ornate sitting room with antique couches coming out the ying yang.
Oversized king canopy bed and thick draperies.
And finally, the precious tub. Fantastic. This place was dope.
Then we were out to explore our neighborhood, starting with Forsyth park. One element of charm to Savannah is the thousands of live oak trees covered with moss (we later found out it is not moss, but a separate plant that happens to perfer live oak to grow on). It makes it feel like the town has been preserved untouched for ages.
The town does a good job of enforcing that preservation, with many laws that prohibit changing the style of homes and look over any modifications made to the plazas or home fronts.
And with good reason...the towns 22 plazas hold great US history. They are a big part of what makes Savannah so amazing.
Caitlin looks extra beautiful to me in Savannah. I think she would make a hot southern bell. Yep, I am positive of this.
And the homes are unreal. Let's just be upfront about that. Gorgeous historic homes everywhere you turn.
We found an organic grocer near the park where we could buy some lunch. Caitlin mulled over the decision of which delicious and healthy sandwiches we would have.
Success! Obviously we would choose one with baked cheese! The sandwiches gave us the energy we needed to power through our next activity...a historic city tour.
Our tour guide was born and raised in Savannah and had been a guide for like 25 years. His love for the town was evident, as was his desire to keep it exactly the way it was when he was a child.
He pointed out on this mural how the city had originally been laid out in the 1700's. It was a walled community on the river. It really has not changed much in layout since that time.
He was great about pointing out unique elements that I think other tour guides might miss...like these fun rain gutter spouts.
An interesting thing in Savannah is that many of the homes had been expanded in the late 1800's, but due to structural issues nothing could be added on top...so instead they lifted the houses and built under them.
Brick is new, the top is old. Awesome, right?
We decided that Devin should buy and run this pharmacy.
You are probably wondering why this post has gone so long without discussing treats. Sorry! We got ice cream after our tour...
...and then real dark chocolate peanut butter cups with PB that oozed out it's edges like guts from a squashed beetle.
And bags of salt water taffy which are always to Caitlin's liking.
We visited a not very touristy area where students of the savannah college of art and design go to eat and generally get plastered. It was beautiful in the day time. When we passed later that night it was the scene of much whoring and debauchery. I didn't know that women wear Easter bunny ears and lingerie to celebrate the resurrection...but they do.
Speaking of Easter, this bunny caught Caitlin's attention and lured her in...
It was a fabric store and Caitlin can not pass up a cute fabric store.
Especially if they have banners in the windows that she has been dying to make! We ended up with several fun patterns and some food recommendations for the rest of our night. With that we headed back to rest for thirty minutes before the main event.
Yessiree. We had tickets to Iron & Wine. This is me tickling Mr. Beams beard in anticipation. The concert was a sit down concert in a big theater in town. I had procured wonderful seats for the evening...6th row and center.
I'm not sure why this picture looks like we are so far away because I could see the whites of this man's eyes. The show was without doubt amazing, inspiring, invigorating and surprising all at once. He played every song with a 10 piece band and all songs had been rearranged, almost to the point of disguise. Each felt interesting and perfect for the venue. Many of the songs were old ones, which I prefer...and yet they were made new in the style of Kiss Each Other Clean or Shepherds Dog. Caitlin was besides herself...she may have called it the best concert she has ever been to. It was unspeakably delicious and by the last song Caitlin and I were on our feet, bringing smiles to the band and the rest of the audience on their feet as well. Chilling. And for the first time in a long time, the audience earned their encore.
He brought Monks with him because he knew that it would be a delicious evening and he didn't want Monks to miss one moment.
Our walk to the car always takes a bit longer then it used to because, well, Max finds interesting things to do along the way - like play with cups and walk up and down wheelchair access ramps.
But eventually we made it to our Friday night destination - Pei Wei. Now you Utah folk (and probably a lot of people around the country) already have access to Pei Wei...but we just got our first one. I was kind of excited, until I found out about a special feature that I will explain later.
My boy Landon and Mels were in da house with Eli (blocked by Landon's hand). They made some solid choices, including the Pad Thai.
Britt, Tyler, Owen, Britt's mom and their 10 day old baby Collette were in da house! They had had Pei Wei before, so they weren't fools and went right to ordering their favorite items.
We got a vegetarian thai curry thing that was pretty decent.
And a chicken pad thai, which I thought was better than decent and Caitlin thought was just okay. Did you know Caitlin doesn't really like to eat Chinese ever since she had that vertigo episode that lasted a few weeks. We had Chinese during that time and it ruined her forever!
Max and I pigged out and I taught him how to use chopsticks. Well, maybe I taught him to use his hands.
But here is the amazing part! Crazy rare and custom sodas that come out of a digital soda dispenser! Orange Diet Coke! Lime and vanilla Sprite! WHAT WHAT WHAT??? They had like 11 flavors of crystal light! I mean, could there be a place that speaks to my heart more than this?
Finally a brand that realizes the power of good soda. I love you Pei Wei - even if your food is just pretty good. Your sodas will get me every freakin' time. What a way to start a weekend!
