Savannah

December 7-9, 2018 and February 22-24, 2021

TL;DR: In our first visit, Jess’s best friend Chloe and her boyfriend Brennan came to visit us for this weekend and we hit the ground running the minute they got here! Though we didn’t have the greatest weather, we made the best of the city’s open container laws and delicious food options. Also, didn’t do a great job of taking pictures…probably because of the previously mentioned open container laws. Very different weather the second time around, so we were outside most of the time, and hit some great Roadfood spots.

The sights

The Grey

This restaurant used to be an old Greyhound station and provided a delicious kickstart to our weekend. Got awesome cocktails, fresh oysters, a foie gras tarte, red bean pancakes, an awesome shrimp salad with papaya, and beignets (!).

Alleycat Lounge

Cool bar with the same type of long, interesting menu as Trick Dog in San Francisco, but even longer and more intricate. Pretty overwhelming. Ended up going simple after the first few and getting Miller High Life ponies. Somehow left with not one but two tiki shot glasses and a stack of 10 menus (which we were surprised to find on the picnic table outside Layla the next day).

Tybee Island

This is where our RV park was in 2018. It was pretty fun to walk around, but we didn’t go out to eat or anything. Saw the lighthouse and an interesting mix of expensive and cheaper houses. Awesome swinging chairs right on the beach.

Spent a little more time there our second time around thanks to the weather. Saw the tiniest little lighthouse out on the point: Cockspur Island Lighthouse which is a Civil War-era lighthouse that ceased operation in 1909 since it’s pretty much IN the water at this point. Smallest lighthouse in Georgia. Built in 1837, and saw a 30-hour siege during the Civil War and lotsa hurricanes.

Forsythe Park

In this park we saw:

Beautiful mossy trees
A hawk destroy a squirrel!

Pinkie Masters

This. This might be our new favorite bar in the country. Has a solid divey feel, and on the day we went, a great bartender (“Berk”), who was loud and chatty and a little belligerent. We tried pretty much all the drinks: negroni, Michelada, very strong tequila slushies.

Leopold’s

Had heard great things about this ice cream spot. Super creamy scoops, but not our favorite. Was filled to the brim with ballerinas who had just gotten out of their Nutcracker performance.

Ghost Tour

The night we did this was super rainy and stormy, which was great for ambiance but not so much for warmth. Regardless, our tour guide was very enthusiastic and gave us a good dose of Savannah history. Some highlights:

On Factors’ Walk, tunnels that used to transport slaves to holding areas without being seen are now walled off, but many report moans and shadowy figures lurking in and around the bricked-off entrances and exits.
At many hotels, you can buy drinks for the ghosts that live there so they don’t haunt you. How convenient.
A ghost 100% tripped Bri going down the stairs at the second-to-last stop.

Skidaway Island State Park

We stayed here on our second visit, which was super pretty, and had a pretty cool trail that felt like we were right in the middle of Jurassic Park.

Including a symphony of frogs.

Details, details, details

We’re starting to see more Spanish moss and lots of marshes.

Apparently on high tide, the water can rise up over the road in between Savannah and Tybee Island.

Took Duna to the dog park a few times in 2021, where she had quite a lovely time trying to get the other doggos to chase her. Proceeded to sit right in the puddle at one.

And then this happened…

Excited about no open container laws, we jumped the gun and bought Bud Light tall boys about two miles before it was technically allowed.

Now we know

We visited Chippewa Square in search of the bench from the bus scene of Forrest Gump only to realize the bench had been moved to the Savannah history museum. That didn’t stop us from trying to recreate the scene anyway.

Road food

The best biscuits, maybe ever, at Back in the Day Bakery. And hot pepper jelly. And bacon.

The pork rinds arrived audibly crackling at B’s Cracklin.

Tybee Island’s hidden gem, The Wyld offers panoramic marsh views with rum-based painkillers, fresh shrimp rolls, corn crab chowder and tangy key lime pie.