Southern Trip Part 3

Tuesday: Said our goodbye’s to the Shelton’s and headed on our way to Savannah. The drive it about 3-4ish hours but we decided to take it slow and take the back roads through the southern towns to get more of the southern experience. I am glad we did! We saw lots of cool farms and sleepy little southern towns. If we would have had time I would have stopped in every town along the way. When we got to Savannah we didn’t really have a “game plan” so we just went with the flow and we ended up down at the river perusing the shops and watching the boats sail in and out. We ate at Tavern Exchange and then enjoyed the beautiful weather with a stroll through the streets of Savannah. We enjoyed some quality picture-taking time, although most didn’t turn out fabulous we still enjoyed our time.

Savannah Riverboat

The Church that is in Forest Gump

Fountain in the Middle of Downtown Savannah

Wednesday: We took a bus tour of Savannah and learned all sorts of stuff about people who have lived in Savannah and why the city is so beautiful. I can’t recall anything special that we learned but it was fun to learn at the time. We had Ice Cream at the famous Leopold’s and it was good. We grabbed ourselves a few slices of pizza from Mr Pizza and headed on our way to Charleston. We found our way to the Riverwalk in Charleston and ate at Griffon Pub. After dinner we walked the river and enjoyed the sea breeze for awhile. We walked down Market St and did some shop-hopping at the various shops. Charleston is a quaint southern town – the charm in the streets and the houses made it easy to understand why people of all walks of life are drawn to the charm. We did stay in a hostel this night – it was Brett’s first experience with a hostel and he was not impressed. I would have to say that it was definitely the best hostel that I have ever stayed in. I don’t think Brett will be returning to a hostel any time soon.

One of the 26 squares that are in Savannah

A church

This is a monument in the main park where most things happen in Savannah

Charming homes

Charleston Riverwalk

Pineapple Fountain in Charleston

Park along the river

Thursday: I really wanted to go to the beach at least one day and it just happened to be this day that we were supposed to go. We woke up to it pouring rain! L It was starting and stopping and it looked like we might be in luck so as we waited out the storm we walked through the charming downtown streets of Charleston and enjoyed all of the charm and beautiful houses. Then we made our way to the Isle of Palms Beach and were able to spend about an hour swimming in the water, laying on the beach and enjoying ourselves. While we were swimming we saw some dolphins about 50 yards away from us. It was pretty cool to see them so close. We dried off and headed to Middleton Place Plantation. We spent several hours touring the plantation, the gardens, the house, learning about life on a plantation. We learned that the Middleton’s had a lot to do with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and are signers of one or both of the documents. The son or daughter (I forget which one) then married someone whose father was also a signer, making them the only couple in history with both a father and father-in-law who signed the Constitution. What a legacy! That night we retired to the hotel early and Brett watch the Seahawks vs Chargers football game.

um....

Pottery Worker at Middleton

Beautiful gardens at Middleton

Brett's favorite part of the Middleton Plantation - the water buffaloes

Charming Charleston Homes

Playing in the park

Friday: We spent the day making our way towards Virginia, with our final destination being Williamsburg. We drove the most of South Carolina, all of North Carolina, making a final stop for Zaxby’s in North Carolina before entering into Virginia, who doesn’t have Zaxby’s in convenient locations. We made it to Williamsburg about 430ish that afternoon and spent the afternoon walking around Williamsburg. We didn’t pay to go in any of the shops or anything but it was cool to be able to see the town and for Brett be able to experience a little bit of Williamsburg. We walked through the College of William and Mary, which just happens to be the oldest college/university in the US.  We ate at the Cheese shop, as recommended by Zach and Megan and then headed to our hotel, which was literally one block away from Williamsburg. We hung out there for the night, watching shark week and football.

Govern's Mansion

Court House

I finally caught him! 

The Wren Building - the oldest educational building in the US.

Saturday: We slept in again and took our time getting ready before we headed out to Jamestown. We saw the Jamestown settlement and where able to see several artifacts that have been preserved through archaeological digs. We spent some time at the glass blowing shop and enjoyed watching the artisans make various things out of glass. It started to downpour a true southern rainstorm. We headed to Richmond and drove down monument ave, seeing several statues of famous people from Virginia. We were also able to see the confederate capitol building but there was not convenient parking so we opted to forgo going inside. One of Brett’s favorite bands and mine was playing Richmond that night so we were able to catch a concert of Jimmy Eat World to finish out our trip. The concert was in an old historic theater that had been restored and it was really cool to be able to see them – Brett was able to fulfill a life-long dream. They were very good in concert and we enjoyed it.

The Glassblower

A house at Jamestown Settlement

Robert E Lee's statue in Richmond on Monument Ave

Sunday: We traveled the 7ish hours home and were able to make it home by about 230 pm. We didn’t hit a lot of traffic, which we were very worried about and it was smooth sailing. We were able to get home in just enough time to do a few loads of laundry and make it to a youth fireside at Bishop’s house.

We enjoyed our trip and we are very glad that we were able to get down to the Atlanta area and enjoyed some really awesome time together before we won’t get to travel like that for quite a few years. It was a good last hoo-rah before starting the next chapter of parenting and “family trips” take on a whole new meaning! 

Southern Trip Part 2

Wednesday: We had a big drive this day – we drove about 9 ½ hours from DC to Louisville, KY. We got to Churchill Downs just after closing time and nothing was open except for the betting bars. We walked around for a minute but then headed to our campground for the night. The highlight of the day was finally being in ZAXBY’S territory. Brett fell in love with Zaxby’s when he was in Atlanta and often craves their chicken and sauce. We found one just outside of Louisville in a little town called Shelbyville. I would have to say that Zaxby’s does have the best fast food chicken I have ever had. Not sure that I will crave it as Brett does but it was good.

Thursday: We toured Churchill Downs and it was awesome! It is such a beautiful track and the surrounding buildings are quite something. The thing that surprised me the most was the location of the track. I expected it to be in a fairly nice neighborhood but it is in quite the opposite. It’s quite “ghetto-ish”. But it was very cool to be able to be at the track and know that lots of really awesome race horses/owners/trainers/jockeys/ sports stories have happened right there. I loved it! We didn’t stay too long in Louisville before we headed out of town about 3 ½ - 4 hours  to Nashville, TN. We spent the evening in Nashville, drove around Vanderbilt Campus and music row, walked around “the District” scoping things out, and ate the most amazing burger we have ever eaten at a place called “The Pharmacy”. YUM!

Friday: We had a very relaxing morning, took our time getting up and even did a load of laundry. We toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, ate some AMAZING BBQ at Jack’s BBQ and then headed to the Grand Ol’ Opry to watch a show. James Otto was the headliner for the night but I really liked Holly Williams, who is the granddaughter of Hank Williams. She performed with her husband and they did a really good job. Nashville wasn’t filled with lots of tours and hustle and bustle but was probably one of our favorite spots along our journey. It was such a fun city, didn’t feel dirty, and the people were unbelievably friendly. Both of us very much enjoyed our time in Nashville.

Saturday: We got up that morning and drove about 4 hours to Atlanta. We took our time getting into the city and meandered our way through some of the areas that Brett served in. We ate at “the original” Zaxby’s where Brett’s true love was first formed and arrived at the Shelton’s at about 530 pm. We ate dinner with them, played with their kids, and just spent the evening catching up on life.

Sunday: We attended church in the Conyer’s ward with the Sanderson’s. They were a couple that was baptized about a week or two before Brett was moved into their area. He spent a lot of time at their house and did a lot of things with them. He loves them very much and they are very dear to him. I remember talking to Mother Teresa (as he calls her) on the phone when Brett and I were dating. She is the sweetest person and loves Brett and Elder Harry (Brad Harris) to pieces. She is always checking up on them and making sure they are doing what they should. James was a true Southerner. He is hilarious and has a very think southern accent. We spent several hours after church with them just catching up and having some very good dinner. We found out that Bishop Scott Johnson (my mom’s friend from high school) who was a Bishop in an area where Brett served, has since been called the Stake President. We told the Sanderson’s about the connection with Bp Johnson and James said he would have to ‘raze ol’ Prez about a certain Ms. Gale from his youth…. We drove back to the Shelton’s stopping at a few of the church houses and other areas that Brett served. We spent another late night catching up with Shelton’s and speaking of “days gone by”.

 Monday: Spent the morning playing with Braelyn and Dane and then drove to the Sugar Hill area and drove around Lake Lanier. Brett had heard that the town of Dahlonega was a great place and he always wanted to go while he was there but never had the chance. So we headed that direction. We discovered that Dahlonega was the site of the first American Gold Rush and was a Boomtown just before the California Gold Rush. It is also the start of the Appalachian Mountains/trail. I fell in love with this sleepy little town. There are antique shops on every corner and a true southern country feel to the town. I told Brett that I could see us living there someday – doubt it will happen but a girl can dream right?!? We had dinner at the Shelton’s and they had some friends over. They had two kids and the husband is actually a PT student at Emory University, who will graduate in May 2014. They were very nice and it was fun to visit with them. 

Southern Trip Part 1

At the end of July, first part of August Brett and I took a trip to the South. We had decided that when we moved out to the East Coast a few years ago that when we travel home we would go the Southern way and visit the South, particularly Atlanta, Georgia where Brett served an LDS Mission for two years. Since the news of a baby joining our family and the uncertainty of not know where we will be in 6 months from now, we decided we better ‘just do it’. So we did. We spent 16 days total traveling and saw lots and lots and lots of awesome country and lots and lots and lots of history.

Route of our trip 

We started on Saturday, July 27, 2013 and made our way down to Washington DC, which is about 5 ½ to 6 hours away from Connecticut. We arrived at Mount Vernon that afternoon at around 230 pm and toured the great George Washington’s homestead for about 3 hours before venturing into the Nation’s Capitol. We stayed at a Hilton one block from the White House. We walked to the White House after resting at the hotel for little bit at about 10 pm that night. There were still lots of people milling around out front and we could even see the shadows of some guards standing on the rooftop.

Mount Vernon

The White House

Brett and the White House

Sunday: We started out with a bus tour through Georgetown, followed by a harbor tour of downtown. We saw the Lincoln Memorial and Korean War Memorial in the day but didn’t want to spend too much time there because we wanted to do all of the monuments at night when they are all lit up all pretty. So we headed across the river to Arlington and saw Robert E Lee’s home, the changing of the guards, JFK’s headstone/memorial, the Pentagon and Air Force Memorial. We ventured to the “the castle” to get some information on the different Smithsonian’s and decided to check out the museum of Natural History. We headed back to our hotel around 8 or 830 that night and we were pooped!

A little more on the changing of the guard: it is so meticulous and it’s very humbling to think that this has been done for nearly 100 years, starting in the year 1921 the EXACT same way. It’s the one thing that has been constant in our nation’s history and is today, performed the exact same way that it would have been in 1921. And for those of you who haven’t seen this it is incredible. Such a peaceful feeling resides there and as I said a meticulous way and order to how things are done. Everything is done by the count of 21, the solider taking 21 steps from one end to the other, turning one way for 21 seconds, then the other for 21 seconds and then places the fun between the crowd/amphitheater and the tomb representing guarding against any possible threats.

Natural History Museum

Changing of the Guard

Monday: We started with a tour of the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress. We caught the bus up to the Ford Theater. The tour for the theater lasted about an hour and Brett decided he didn’t really care to see it, so I stayed and did the tour and Brett went to the American Indian Museum. We both enjoyed what we saw. The theater is very beautiful and still operates as a theater today. We met back at the National Archives and were able to see the originals of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and Declaration of Independence. We visited the American History Museum until it closed and made our way back to the hotel, stopping along the way at a hole in the way pub for some grub. When we got back to the hotel we grabbed the car and were off again to visit the monuments at night, visiting the Jefferson, FDR, WWII, and Iwo Jima monuments. Getting to the Iwo Jima memorial was very interesting and we had a few tense moments but luckily there were very few cars out and about and everything worked out in the end.

Ford's Theater

Iwo Jima

Jefferson Memorial

FDR Memorial (just part of it)

Tuesday: We toured the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is the giant airplane hanger that is in movie the Transformers. It houses all sorts of aircraft and space stuff. It was amazing the amount of planes that were in one place and it was very cool to be able to see the space shuttle right up close. It’s not as ‘put together’ as they appear to be on TV. That afternoon we split up again and I headed to the holocaust museum and Brett spent the afternoon wondering around the Air and Space Museum. When we rejoined each other we headed back to the hotel. We took a little break until dark and then headed back out to visit the rest of the monuments that we didn’t get to see the night before. The Washington Monument had scaffolding surrounding it due to the repairs they are making since the earthquake in Aug 2011 did some structural damage. Unfortunately, it made it look a little weird but it was still cool. We saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, Washington Monument, and The Capitol Building. We hit the hay earlier that night so we could rest up for our long drive ahead of us the next day.