Savannah

Around 10:30 we left our hotel for our trolley tour around historic Savannah. The tour guide/driver of course was very knowledgeable but was also quite funny. The town is full of beautiful squares dedicated to various people of historical importance to the town. At the 11th stop we got off at the river for lunch and to get ready for our riverboat cruise.

We stopped in a candy shop to try some world famous pralines. I'm not a huge fan of sweets, but boy were these delicious - just melted in your mouth!

Lunch was at the Boar's Head overlooking the Savannah River. Our waitress was a delightful southern girl - probably one of the best waitresses I have ever had! I enjoyed my sweet tea, crab soup and shrimp and grits! Kevin was also quite pleased with his meal, particularly the grits and sweet tea.

After lunch we took a short stroll around the river front before boarding the River Queen for our cruise. We sat outside on the ship to see the port city from the river. It was interesting to find out that Savannah is the second largest port on the east coast!

Once we disembarked, we walked over to the Colonial Park Cemetery and the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, which spans almost an entire block! Our walk ended at Paula Dean's restaurant, The Lady and Sons." Here we ate a tasty buffet of some down home southern cookin' accompanied with more sweet tea.

Finally, we headed back to the car, stopping in a few shops along the way. Around 8 we drove off to Wilmington, NC.

Off to Orlando!

After a quick breakfast at IHOP, we drove to Orlando. Five hours later, we were parking at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure!

We meandered through Seuss Landing, enjoying all of the sights. I think both of us had our minds set on Harry Potter World though, so we headed in that direction pretty quickly.

As we entered through the gate, we were greeted by the Hogwarts Express. Then we checked out each of the shops: Zonko's, Honeydukes, and the Owl Post. The highlight was definitely buying our frozen butterbeer and drinking it outside of The Three Broomsticks! It was a delicious blend of cream soda, butterscotch, and whipped cream (we think). Yum! The giant Hogwarts Castle was quite impressive. I hope one day they make it into something you can tour.

Continuing around the park, we ventured through Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, and Marvel Superhero Island. I rode the Hulk roller coaster, which was pretty cool, but left me a bit light headed walking down the exit ramp!

A quick stop at the gift shop was a must before our drive down to Pete's for dinner. At Pete's we had some tasty spaghetti and meatballs with enjoyable conversation.

On the road again should have been our theme song, but instead we chose "One Day More," from Les Miserables. During our 5 hour drive from Winter Haven to Savannah we learned all of the words to a few of the songs on the soundtrack. I have to say, it was one of the more entertaining car rides!

Loxahatchee, the Keys, and Miami

It was a cloudy day starting in West Palm. Once we got out to Loxahatchee, the sun was shining as we geared up for our airboat ride through the Everglades. Guide Dan knew all of the hot spots, so we saw many alligators, birds, and fauna all while catching some rays in the warm sun. Even though Kevin didn't want to go, he actually enjoyed the ride and was happy that we went.

The drive down to the Keys was a long one that we thought was going to end in disappointment upon our arrival in Key Largo. Neither one of us was really impressed, as the town appeared a bit run down. We kept driving and found a public access beach in Islamorada.

Anne's Beach was a beautiful place filled with alcoves for beach goers to enjoy the blue water, warm sand, and the setting sun as it just so happened for us. Many kite surfers were rocking the waves since it was such a windy evening as the tide was rolling in. I went for a short "swim" even though there was too much sandbar so it was more of just sitting. After a quick change in the parking lot, we headed back north toward the "east coast," of Miami.

When the pressure is on and you're trying to find a restaurant on your phone in a matter of minutes, or seconds, you really never know what you're going to get. We decided on a place that said it was Argentinian, called Novecento. As I'm pronouncing it in Italian, we should have known that we wouldn't be having Cuban style food, but instead Italian. It ended up being a delicious meal, but not what we had in mind!

After dinner, we drove around town, we stopped at Bayside Park, an outdoor mall with live entertainment nightly. There was a gorgeous view of the city on one side and the glistening water on the other. Finally, we started heading back to the hotel, but decided to drive up the coast on route 1. It sure wasn't easy to find a public access beach, but we did! Trying to take a picture on a dark, windy beach is a bit challenging. Still, we enjoyed the view!

Charleston to West Palm Beach

The alarm went off at 6:30. An hour later we were heading into the restaurant "Toast" in historic Charleston. After a tasty meal of crab cake, fried green tomato, poached egg, grits, and a biscuit with homemade apple butter for me and French toast and bacon for Kevin we toured the town. Of course, the architecture was amazing in the houses and many churches. Swinging on the harbor dock and walking through the marketplace were highlights before we hopped back in the car for an interesting drive on Kevin's now favorite road, 17A.

We may have taken a slight detour after seeing a sign for historic plantation and gardens. Too bad there weren't more signs telling you where they actually were! Don't worry, we found the Ashley River instead.

We finally made it onto 95 and decided Savannah would be a great place to eat lunch, even though we are going there on Sunday. Instead of enjoying Paula Dean's cooking, we happened upon B & D Burgers, which was rated in the top ten burgers in the world. Definitely a great pick!

After another hour or two of more driving, we made a pit stop at Dunkin Donuts and Exxon... This is where it gets bad. Kevin drove over the median due to a lack of connection between DD and the Exxon station. Then I stepped in pee and had to change my pants. Maybe an hour later, Kevin lost his gum... What happens in the car, stays in the car.

Arrival in West Palm Beach was about 9:15... And now we are off to the ipic theater to see Les Miserables in lounge chairs!

DE to Charleston

So after driving through rain, sleet, snow, pouring rain, and then crazy wind, we made it to Charleston around 8:15 p.m. We had a delicious barbecue dinner at Sticky Fingers. Pulled chicken, BBQ ribs and sweet potato casserole, yum! The Harbor Resort was a beautiful place to stay, even if the decor of the rooms was a little tacky... Mustardish yellow and navy blue. You would think that is nice, but it was way too much yellow! After the long day of driving, we crashed early!

Apparently I need to add a whole section about Han, the lovely concierge at our hotel. I never did ask him where he was from... Probably Norway or Holland. Anyway, he asks us where we are coming from and we proceed to tell him about our trip of precipitation. He comments, "oh, well at least your car is very clean now," in a delightful accent. About 5 minutes later when we came back into the lobby with our stuff, he notices me carrying my pillow. He says, "we have many pillows here you know?" Good times!