Travel Challenge Month 2: Savannah, Georgia

A common question I’ve been asked after I get home from traveling is “would you go back?” Now, I’ve mentioned that I want to go allllll the places and see alllll the things, so my standards for “would I go back?” are pretty high. I can’t be going back to everywhere I loved AND be going all the places. I think there is something good in every place that I’ve traveled and hope that continues to be true. But there ARE a handful of places (literally, could count on both hands or less) that I’d love to go back to and Savannah, Georgia is one of those places. Within an hour’s drive of two major beaches (Hilton Head and Tybee) Savannah has it all… relaxation with beautiful views, great drinks from your morning coffee to happy hour mojito, a lovely downtown area that offers history, a scenic park, and plenty of shopping, and a bumpin’ night life!

It was August 21st, 2021, when my friend Erin and I landed in Savannah. Our agenda for day 1 was to meet her husband’s cousin, who lived down there at the time, for dinner and so she could give us some recommendations for the rest of our trip. Little did we know, we’d be out with her until 1:30AM. After locating the nearest adult beverage shop, which was conveniently in a mildly sketchy looking gas station just a block from our hotel, and stocking up on some Atlanta-made hard cider, we met Robyn for dinner at Hitch. Hitch was known for its unique menu items such as pancake tacos and deep friend tomatoes which we shared, and I highly recommend. They also had, what I assume, was the best ranch in Georgia. And if you read this blog long enough, you’ll realize just how important good ranch is to a Midwest gal such as myself. After Hitch, we hit a rooftop bar called Peregrin which had fancy drinks and an even better view. My FAVORITE bar of the trip was next. Mint to Be Mojito Bar and Bites had several mojito flavors to choose from, each with a sugar cane for a stir stick, AND a SCOOBY DOO LOOKING BOOKSHELF. That’s right, if you’re in your 30’s you probably watched the cartoon Scooby Doo as a child and you remember all those bookcases where Velma removed a book and the whole shelf revolved to reveal a secret hidden room. On my way to the restroom, I watched a waiter do just that and It…Was…Awesome. Whether or not it was true, the gentleman told me the room was used during prohibition and that they used to allow customers back there but weren’t at the time due to Covid restrictions. I guess there’s my excuse to go back, right? That and to order another one of those mojitos! After dropping Robyn’s car off at her apartment we walked to a game bar called Pour Larry’s. Side note: walking around downtown Savannah was one thing I loved about the city. It didn’t feel like walking around a huge downtown metropolis, it had a smaller, not as overwhelming feel. It is also an open container city which is just plain fun. Pour Larry’s had some fun games, most of which I had never seen before. After Pour Larry’s we got some apps at B & D’s and hit a city market to do a little shopping. I bought my dog Willie a bow tie and some treats which I would later end up leaving in a porta potty. Our next stop was a hoppin’ bar with a rooftop overlooking the river called Electric Moon. THIS bar had a slide that patrons could use to get between two of the levels. WHO doesn’t love a slide between floors with a great view? WHO? We decided it was probably time to call it a night, but on our walk back we passed a bar called The Rail Pub, that had an outdoor DJ. It was here that I set my Willie gift bag down, distracted by a koozie that someone else had left (every Midwesterner loves a good Koozie), and walked out. Hey, I still have that purple koozie though!

One thing you’ll learn about me is that it does not matter how late I stay up, I’m always awake early. So, I headed down to the pool area to drink some crappy hotel coffee and let Erin sleep. Once we were both up and moving, we headed to Tybee Beach where we spent day 2 of our trip. Armed with books and a speaker, we spent hours on the beach and in and out of the water. For the first time in my life, I saw dolphins swimming! At 2ish we were both ready for some food, so we had lunch at Spanky’s. I’m not really a fan of seafood, but “when in Rome” I always try it when offered, so I did try a bite of Erin’s breaded shrimp. After lunch, we walked around the stores at Tybee Island a little bit, before heading back to the beach and setting up on the opposite side of the pier from where we spent the morning. Early evening, the sky started to get dark, and I had a flashback of laying on the beach in Cleveland and knowing rain was coming. And boyyyyyyy did it rain. Luckily, we had packed up and were a short distance from the spot we had chosen for dinner. Fannies on the Beach was our chosen final destination for the day and this time I tried a bite of Erin’s coconut shrimp and thought “hey this is the least bad seafood I’ve ever tasted!”

Erin and I decided to spend our last full day in Savannah checking off items on the “to do” list that Robyn had suggested. So, we packed up our remaining Atlanta ciders and set out on foot; destination #1, Savannah Coffee Roasters. We sipped our fancy coffees outside, enjoying the warm Georgia morning, before heading to Forsyth Park. We were told Forsyth Park was the largest and oldest public park in the area. Filled with water fountain sculptures, old buildings, and a plethora of historical sites, the park contained many of the beautiful Spanish moss trees, iconic for that area. Lunch time brought us to Moon River Brewing where we sampled a flight of 12 beers and shared a plate of some amaaaaazing nachos. We spent the remainder of the afternoon walking along River Street, or as one local referred to it as, Tourist Hell. And it did indeed contain most things that tourists are looking for; shops, food and drinks, live music, and a stellar view. We checked out several gift shops, drank a slushie at Wet Willie’s slushie bar, and enjoyed our last backpack cider overlooking the scenic river. Our final destination before heading back to the hotel for a night swim was Little Duck Diner, known for putting rubber duckies in their beverages. The duck from that diner is still in my shower to this day.

Welp… our long weekend in Savannah came to an end on the morning of August 24th. We decided to take one last walk before heading to the airport. We stopped at Art’s Cafe for coffee. The cafe was designed by students at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). We sipped our coffee outside, gazing at the Spanish moss covering the live oaks before heading north to the land of the Pine trees!