savannah

My Savannah weekend was wonderful! I am so glad my mom and I decided to do this race and spend the weekend away in Savannah. It was a quick trip (we got in late Friday afternoon and left early Sunday morning), but it was really the perfect amount of time. Let’s recap! (And sorry… this post is going to be insanely long!)

Our drive to Savannah was easy-peasy! We hit a few slow-downs, but nothing major. We arrived around 3:30, checked in to the hotel (Hilton Savannah Desoto in the historic district.) The above picture was the view from our hotel room – pretty sweet!

After checking in and dropping our stuff in our room, we immediately headed downstairs to the expo. We were given some incredible swag – my favorite being the New Balance tote bag! It is roomy and made of really great material, so I can’t wait to put it to use! We also got a drawstring backpack and a pretty magnet. At the expo, Publix was there handing out free gifts: a strainer, earbuds, sunglasses, and an infuser water bottle. Fleet Feet was also there, and they had a fun wheel you could spin for some awesome prizes. My mom won a 20% off coupon and I won a 10% off shoes coupon. I’m hoping I can just go online and use it because what a great prize, yeah?!

After checking out the expo, we headed back to the hotel room with our loot and then relaxed for about an hour before heading out for dinner. I remembered Crystal Beer Parlor from the list of recommendations Jess had given me last year, and when I realized it was just half a mile from the hotel, I jumped at the chance to go! This place has so much history. It opened in 1933, making it Savannah’s second oldest restaurant. But this place first started operating in early 1900’s as a family grocery store.

For my dinner, I ordered the Classic Crystal Burger with a side of fries and a cider. All were fantastic! The burger was juicy and delicious, the fries were crisp, and the cider was yummy! (Cider, fun fact, is the only “beer” I will drink, and that is because it is not really beer. At least, that’s what all my beer-loving friends tell me, haha. It’s more like sparkling apple juice than beer.)

After dinner, we walked over to Forsyth Park, since it wasn’t too far from the restaurant. It was beautiful as the sun was getting ready to set and the park was pretty empty. We found the finish line of the race (!), which was pretty fun. And we walked around the park – with me sighing in delight about how pretty this park is and how much I love being in Savannah – until deciding to call it a night and go back to the hotel.

From there, I took a shower, read for a bit, and then fell asleep at 9:15. Because I know how to party.

And then it was race day! It was cooooold Saturday morning. Florida had been having straight-up summerlike temperatures the past few weeks, so I’d been feeling a wee bit spoiled. It was 40 degrees on Saturday morning and I was not prepared. I’m glad I had my long-sleeved pullover, but it definitely was not warm. Luckily, we only had a 10-minute walk to the race site, so we didn’t leave the hotel until about 7:10 and the race started at 7:30. By the time we got down there, took a few pictures, and got in place, it was time to go!

The race itself? It was okay. I knew I was going to have a tough time when I was struggling barely half a mile in. Eventually, I decided to adopt a run .1 mile, walk .1 mile interval. This worked quite well for me! I managed to hit all the intervals and it allowed me to walk slowly and recover since I could catch up my pace with my runs. It also made the race go by at warp speed, which was nice.

The course measured long (3.22 miles) and I wound up with a finish time of 47:30, which is not the >45:00 I wanted, but I am still happy with that time. It puts me under 15-min/miles (all throughout training, I was averaging 16-17-min/miles), and I honestly cannot be mad at myself for not finishing in what I might deem a “better time.” And that’s all that matters… the fact that I feel good about how I finished.

After the race, I met up with my mom who finished way before me and we found mimosas! The perfect way to end a race, if I do say so myself.

Races that give you a medal for completing a 5k are my favorite kind of races. 🙂

We didn’t stay long in the park after the race because it was still super cold and we are Florida girls with thin skin! We can’t handle it! So, we walked back to the hotel and decided to eat in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We just didn’t feel like venturing back out in the cold. Their breakfast was… okay. Nothing special. Just meh.

After breakfast, Mom and I went back to our hotel room where we took the most deliciously pleasing naps. Postrace naps are the best kind of naps, yes?

(We actually planned to just nap until housekeeping came in to clean our room and give us new towels. Except at 1:45, we were still waiting on housekeeping. We finally had to call the front desk to have them bring us towels so we could take showers! I would never recommend this Hilton location in Savannah – it’s a rundown hotel with walls so thin you can hear your neighbors talking. Definitely not worth the price at all.)

Eventually, we were able to procure towels, take showers, and get ready for the day! Saturday afternoon was beautiful! We checked out an adorable bookstore, had ice cream at Leopold’s, and walked down River Street.

Around 5:30, we wandered up to Rocks on the Roof for some pre-dinner drinks. My mom got a beer and I ordered a Savannah Tea, which was good but a bit too strong for my liking.

For dinner, we decided on Huey’s on the River (another Jess recommendation!) I know this is the go-to brunch spot that I must try the next time I’m in Savannah, but I did enjoy their dinner menu! We actually decided to sit at the bar rather than wait for a table in the restaurant, which was an A+ decision. The bartenders are phenomenal and made me immediately feel at home. (Also, one of them bore a striking resemblance to Sam Jaeger, or Joel from Parenthood. For a second, I though it was Sam!) (I wish I had the courage to mention this to him!) (Safe to say, he was very, very, VERY cute.)

For dinner, I got a simple burger and fries meal, though I wish I had tried their red beans and rice. I was just in a mood for a burger, even though I had had one the night before. (I rarely eat burgers nowadays, so it felt like such a treat!)

And that caps off our trip to Savannah! After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and I took a bubble bath, read, and then fell asleep at 9:30. I want to feel lame for being 27 and on vacation and falling asleep before 10pm… but I just can’t. That’s just the perfect epitome of who I am – a girl who has one drink and doesn’t want anything else, who fancies a good meal with fun conversation, and who just wants to take a bubble bath and read at the end of the day more than anything else.

We left Savannah early (around 8am), and got back in town around 3pm. And this guy was super happy to see us! He went to “camp” while we were away, and he had a blast (they texted my mom three pictures of him having fun – I love that they do that now!) He spent most of Sunday night in a deep sleep. Poor guy was tuckered out from all his camp adventures! 😉

And that was Savannah! Such a wonderful weekend, such a wonderful city. I still feel deeply that I will move there someday. I’m not sure when, but Savannah is where my heart is. Simple as that.

How was your weekend?

Last weekend, my mom and I took a quick trip to Savannah for my birthday. We drove up there on Friday and came back on Monday, so we had about three nights and two full days there.

I think I could have stayed there forever.

I titled this post “I left my heart in Savannah” because it’s true. Savannah stole a tiny piece of me.

I don’t know about you, but when I go on vacation, I always feel a little off-balance. I love exploring and traveling, but there is really nothing like home. Home is familiarity. Home is your own space and your regular grocery store and your favorite coffee shop and your local library and the Target where you know exactly what lays in every single aisle. So when I leave my city to go somewhere else, I feel like a foreigner. I feel out of place, as if I’m shouting from the rooftops that “I am a visitor to your city! I am new! I do not know the streets. Or the best brunch spots. Or where the library is. I couldn’t give someone directions if you gave me a map to look off of.”

And then I come back home and I breathe a bit easier. Ahh. This is home. This is my spot. This is familiar and comfortable and right.

Savannah was different. Savannah felt familiar. It felt comfortable. It felt right from the moment I drove into the city. Sure, I had to use Google Maps every single time I wanted to explore a new part of town, but it just felt like I was learning my way around my city. I felt connected to Savannah. To the picturesque tree-lined streets and the beautifully historic buildings and the sweet, gracious people and the charming historic squares. Savannah felt like home.

My mom and I are similar in many ways, and one way is that we’re both low-key introverts. We like to be busy and do things, but we also need time to recuperate. So I knew we didn’t want a jam-packed vacation. We wanted to eat good food, go on some tours, and just mosey around the city at our pace. And that’s what we did.

We went on two different tours: a walking tour of the city and a ghost tour. Both Lisa and Jess had recommended Savannah Dan’s walking tour, so I booked a tour with him. I remember the first time I saw him walking up to the meeting square and I got this strange fluttering in my belly, like I was meeting a celebrity! He was dressed in a powder blue suit and white hat, and he was friendly and personable and funny from the get-go. The whole tour was amazing and I’m so happy we did it, even if I did want to chop my feet off at the end (I am not used to walking and standing around for two hours!) I would recommend him to anyone. Hey, even my mom, who gets bored by history, liked it. So, if that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

(The ghost tour was okay. I booked a cheap one – $13 for both my mom and me! – because I was trying to be conscious of our budget. It was interesting, and our host was quite the character, but nothing to write home about.)

We visited the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, which was one of the best parts of my trip. Being in that cathedral, walking down the aisle and gazing at the stained glass paintings and stations of the cross… just… awe-inspiring. It was peaceful, serene, holy, and sacred. And so, so, so, so, so gorgeous.

The only house tour we did was Juliette Gordon Low’s house tour, the founder of the Girl Scouts. I wasn’t a Girl Scout, but I wanted to walk through the house because I just adore history and I wanted the chance to view such a historic landmark of Savannah. And it was so beautiful. Goodness. I can’t remember, but I think all the furniture is original to Juliette’s family and it was staged like it was when Juliette lived in this house. I loved walking through the rooms and trying to imagine people living in this place and having conversations and eating meals and sleeping and just… life. It was pretty incredible.

In any event, my trip was fantastic. Honestly, I knew I would most likely love Savannah. After all, I named it one of the top three cities I would move to, if I ever wanted to leave Florida. I didn’t know I would fall in love with this adorable town. I didn’t know I would leave a piece of me when I left. I’m not saying I’m moving to Savannah anytime soon. The thought of the cost of such a move, starting over with a new job and new friends, and being far away from family makes my stomach knot up in anxiety. What I am saying is that Savannah will forever hold a special place in my heart. And that I’ll be back to visit this charming city very soon.

A Weekend in Pictures: Savannah

I Left My Heart in Savannah