Honeymoon in the Garden of Good and Evil

Monday 06-04-2018

We left at 7am, 3 hours later than we had planned. We rolled in to Jackson MS with growling stomachs. Pulled in to the Pig and Pint for lunch. 

Jamison had the fried green tomatoes and a pulled pork sandwich. I enjoyed the smoked Mac and cheese and a bacon melt. Absolutely recommend it! More driving. 

Macon Georgia, we let the pup out to stretch his legs. We found a cute pub named The Rookery. Patio area is cuddle bug friendly. We shared fried mushrooms and The Big O Burger. Pretty pretty good.

More driving. We cruised into Savannah Georgia 17 hours after we embarked on our journey. Since it was 1am we checked in right away and took Blitz on a walk so he would sleep hard and for us to get a feel for the city. Ten steps out of the Hotel Indigo door, Blitz jumped into a hedge row and came out with a half eaten chicken thigh. He was already enjoying Savannah and it spoils, until his bounty was reprimanded by Dad.

Tuesday 06-05-2018

Walked around town with the Cuddle Bug seeing the sights, smelling the smells... marijuana or a similar smelling plant must be native to Savannah. We smelled it everyyywhere. Anyways, we walked through lots of Squares, making sure to visit Wright Square of course. 

Wright square named after Sir James Wright, the last Royal Governor of Georgia, has two impressive monuments. One is an enormous boulder and the other a tower statue. 

One of the corners is a beautiful Lutheran church. Across from the church is the most beautiful Courthouse / Post Office I have ever seen. The square is also home of Wright Square cafe and Chocolatier. 

We always seemed to time it wrong and never made it inside. Next door at The Olfactory Co. Jamison found a dreamy shaving cream. The scent is called luxury and I’m promising you now, I will never let him run out. Taylor of old bond street the St James collection. One of my favorite places which I discovered it all over Savannah is Woof Gang Bakery. 

We picked up some cute in house made treats and Jamison slipped in a little sign for the house that reads “beware of the dog...he loves cuddles.” We walked down Bull St. through Chippewa and Madison Squares until we got to Jones St. which is THE scenic home street. These houses are so beautiful. Unfortunately, we must have caught them during construction season because the streets were busy. 

After our detour we made our way back to Bull St which led us to Forsyth Park. A couple was getting married!!! It was simply beautiful. Live oaks draped by spanish moss line the sidewalks leading from all directions to the beautiful white fountain in the center of the park. 

We walked our way back up to Bay St. where we found a restaurant with a shady patio, Moon River Brewing Co. Blitz was welcomed, they brought him ice cubes for his water. He was exhausted from our 5-mile trek. Jamison tried the Swamp Fox Microbrew with a bratwurst with too much slaw for his taste. I had the crab melt with Texas Caviar. Crab melt wasn’t impressive but the Texas Caviar isn’t anything to overlook. Cuddle Bug couldn’t manage to cool off so after lunch we took him back to the hotel room so he could take a break. He was wheezing a bit so he had me worried more than I probably needed to be. But you know, mom life. We went to the Savannah Bee Company for honey  and mead tastings.

It was divine. They have all of their honey flavors out for tasting along with BBQ sauce, honeycomb, whipped honeys. We wanted to come home with at least one of each. J really fell for the Rosemary honey. Next, The Paris Market. 

Fancy decorations, Coffee, macarons. The shop itself was set up super cute. We should have bought the Savannah Candle they had right up front. I really regret it now. The smell is so unique. This is the type of business I imagine owning. All the merchandise is uncommon and interesting.

We strolled through a gemstone/fossil store. So many sparklers, so little time. Now the Spice Exchange!!! Jamison found his version of heaven in a Lime Frost Spice. The aroma of this shop will make you buy all the things. Jamison left with Pickling Spice, Wild Game Spice, Lime Frost, and Bloody Mary Spice. We tasted the Iron Goddess of Mercy Tea hot and the Blue Raspberry crush tea chilled. Both so very good and full of flavor. I don’t think we will buy spice or tea from anywhere else. We browsed e24 which really is the most interesting store in Savannah. 

Full of custom furniture and intricate home decor. We floated in and out of a few thrift shops and in to a soda shop. They had the WEIRDEST flavors of soda I have ever seen. Such as Pimple Popper, creamed corn...yeahhh. I opted for a classic Boylan Black Cherry. Which I have discovered is the best soda company. I’m a suckerrrrr for the Root Beer as well. Jamison played a funky quarter game to try to win a free soda but no luck. 

We took our loot back to the hotel, took a little break, and got ready for dinner at The Lady and Sons. J had the largest bowl of Shrimp and Grits anyone could ever want, with a piece of fried chicken. He loved the whole meal. I should include that the cheesy biscuits put Red Lobster to shame. I had the crab cakes which I thought were just so so. We bolted out the door to make it to Rocks on the Roof for the sunset but it was so overcast the view wasn’t much to look out. We didn’t even sit down. We took the elevator all the way down to River St. We explored the stores hand in hand. I don’t think we bought anything except a cigar. We found the Waving Girl Statue then headed back to the hotel to grab the K9 and strap him up with the GoPro. 1.1 miles and 1 Acid cigar later we are waiting in line at Leopold’s. 

I am a connoisseur of Strawberry Ice cream so believe me when I tell you this was the best strawberry ice cream of my life! Jamison had the butter pecan, and Blitz had his own complimentary puppy sundae. 

Obviously, nothing could top that so we called it a night.

Wednesday

We walked back down to River Street on our last morning  Picked up our Savannah Bee mead Berry Savage, Tupelo honey,  Rosemary honey (which is already gone), and Tupelo honey flavored chapstick!  I was determined for us to have brunch at Bernie’s. Everyone raved  about their Bloody Mary’s and from my extensive online research they appeared to be dog friendly but THEY ARE NOT.  Which was very disappointing. Our lunch on the balcony at Tubby’s was not bad at all and probably better than I had planned for Bernie’s. We watched the boats come and go and made sure Blitz didn’t actually catch a bird on the patio. Checkout the hardware with that crab dip! 

Our Bloody Marys and Boiled shrimp were excellent. Highly recommend. After stuffing ourselves we packed up and rolled out towards South Carolina.

On our way I had Jamison stop at Wormsloe Plantation.

We arrived at The Inn at Middleton Place around 5pm which was perfect for us to take a little walk to check out the grounds.
Within minutes of us beginning our walk I spot a gator crossing the Ashley River. Jamison quickly changed his tune about kayaking. I will admit he was especially bummed when I told him that I forgot Blitz’ life jacket. On our first inspection of the pool, Blitz and Jamison almost walked over a 6 foot snake. Coming from a family where it is known that the only good snake is a dead snake but not wanting to ruin our welcome, Jamison coaxed the serpent back towards the riverbank with a very long branch. You know, gotta keep your distance.

We had dinner reservations for 8pm, we spent the remainder of our time in the pool. Our dinner was held in the formal garden area of the grounds at The Middleton Place Restaurant, which is near the house museum which was only a short walk from our room. The walk is completely worth it. We shared Pork Cheek Ravioli and a cup of She-crab soup. Jamison enjoyed the Lamb burger with fingerling potatoes. I had Fried Chicken over Low Country style rice. Our dessert of choice was a divine Honey Mascarpone Tart (red wine reduction, fresh blackberries and Honey Mascarpone, and vanilla ice cream) It was beautiful. We finished with a nightcap, Basil Hayden neat for Jamison’s and mine a cappuccino.