"No Sweat Day"

If you're wondering about the title of today's blog, Kathy mentioned that she hates to sweat and really hoped we would have a 'no sweat day.'  We hope to make her dream possible!

Today was full of taking tours around Savannah.  The first tour we took was the Paula Dean tour.  We were signed up for the 10 am tour.  At five minutes before 9 I got a phone call from an unknown number.  It was Old Savanah Tours telling us they were waiting on us.  They had the reservations mixed up but luckily it wasn't a problem. 

Our tour guide was named Anna.  She had that true Southern Georgia accent - very similar to Paula Deen's.  I loved hearing her talk.  She told us she was gullible and believed everything people told her.  She told us a story about believing her brother when he said the city was named after her.  Supposedly when she was a young child she fell into the water and someone yelled 'Save Anna, Save Anna!'

When she found out we were on a Girls Getaway and not related to each other, she said how great that was and not a 'blond among us!'  She asked everyone on the tour if someone had a birthday or anniversary.  No one did.  Then we hear Stacy pipe up and ask "do we get anything free if it is our birthday?"  A man near us who was quick on the draw, started signing the first few bars of "Happy Birthday" to Stacy.  Everyone got a good laugh.  Anna, almost speechless, said she has been giving tours for more than 20 years and NO ONE has ever asked that question before. 

Anna drove us around different parts of Savannah showing us not only points of interest to Paula Deen but interesting sites.  We stopped at the market where Paula bought her produce when she was starting her restaurant.

They had all types of neat things besides just produce - some lucious looking tomatoes, strawberries, lima beans, microwaveable potato bag, wrought iron decor, baskets, etc.  This shop had a door greeter - the biggest cat I've ever seen.  It appeared to weigh 25 pounds plus.

Stacy was enthralled by watching this little lady breaking green beans outside the market and was worried that she probably got paid just pennies to do it.  As we were leaving the area, Stacy asked where that little lady had gone.  Mandy said she was only out front when the tour bus showed up - for appearances' sake!  I think that burst Stacy's bubble. :)

We went to the Byrd Cookie Company.  We got to try diferent samples of cookies - not the kind we bake, but more like tea cake cookies.  Our favorite was the Peach cookie - all except Kathy that doesn't like fruit in anything.  I had to get a small box, they were so good.  I doubt I'll make it home with the cookies.  They also had a triple chocolate and an apple pie that were really good. 

The end of the Paula Deen tour was lunch at Uncle Bubba's Oyster House.  Bubba is Paula's little brother.  His restaurant is between Savannah and Tybee on the marshes.  We had low country boil, chicken fingers, swai fish (type of mile white catfish from Southeast Asia), a gumbo-type rice dish, really good green beans and the best mac and cheese you've ever tasted.  The waiter told us mac and cheese was a true vegetable.  Right.  I've always like vegetables.  I was the only one that would try one of Bubba's charbroiled oysters.  I was afraid it would be slimy but it was actually pretty good.  We finished the meal with yummy baanan pudding.  Sorry I don't have any pictures but we were too anxious to eat!

We could choose to drink water, tea, or homemade lemonade.  That was THE BEST lemonade I've had in a long time.  Stacy, Mandy, and I really enjoyed it.  Stacy and I wondered if we should ask for a 'to go' cup.  Stacy pointed to her glass of lemonade and asked the waiter if she could get a 'to go' cup.  He gave her the WEIRDEST look and asked 'for your lemonade'?  What else????? She kinda laughed and said 'yes'.  After he walked away, one of the other people at the table said maybe she was going to use the to go cup to take home some mac and cheese.  Not a bad idea!  Too bad we didn't ask for another cup.

When we got done with that tour, we signed up for the Historic Savannah Tour.  The day before when we were buying our tickets, we overheard the receptionist hand a tip to a tour guide and talked about how several people had been saying great things about her.  We said we wanted to be on her tour tomorrow.  She told us her name was Angel and she would be working tomorrow.  So after the Paula tour, we hung around for a few minutes to grab Angel's tour.

 Angel was really funny.  We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with her.  She showed us all around the historic and victorian parts of Savannah.  We got to take several pics and tomorrow we get to get on the same tour and get on and off as much as we want. 

She also told us the proper way to pronounce pecan is peeeecaannnn.  I don't think so.

One of the funny things that happened on this tour was the conversation in front of us between two ladies and Angel.  One of the ladies' husband only realized she was gone on to Savannah after she had been 'missing' for 5 days.  Now how could he not have known she wasn't home.  And didn't she tell him or leave a note?  W.E.I.R.D.

After the tours we went back to Tybee and rested a little bit and decided to walk to downtown Tybee, one block over.  It's a street with little restaurants and shops.  We ate pizza and purchased a few souvenirs.

Our day has ended.  ... And it WAS a 'no sweat day.'

Rain Rain Go Away

Today was a rain day.  But we were hoping it would let up about lunch time.  So we started the morning watching surfers, ocean waves, seagulls, etc.  And GUESS what we had for breakfast?  Sausage Balls!!!!!  So very good and such a treat.

After getting ready for the day, we decided to watch a movie - The Blind Side.  Kathy hadn't seen it yet.  It IS a good movie and the rest of us enjoyed watching it again.

The rain finally cleared away for a while so we went to Savannah.  Our mission - to go to the Savannah History Museum.  Kathy had done her homework and found out that they offer discounts to seniors and her age made the cut.  When she asked for the senior discount the lady promptly told her they were about to do away with that discount.  Kathy did enquire that they still had it though so she saved a whopping 50 cents!  But being old pays... 

There were several neat things to see in the museum but it had a random variety of stuff.  Everything from low-bottom boats to a car, quilts to china.  But one of the faves was Forest Gump's bench.  We did see Johnny Mercer's Oscar and Grammy.  Pretty neat seeing those up close. 

After the museum we walked across the street to book a Paula Dean tour for the next day.  So tomorrow we get to eat well!  As if we haven't this entire trip already....

By now we were starving for lunch and there was no McDonald's in site.  We decided to go to River Street and eat at the Cotton Exchange.  We had coupons for free appetizers (yeah free stuff).  The food was good and the waiter was very helpful and nice.  That's something about Savannah and Tybee Island.  EVERYONE we have encountered has been extremely nice.  It's got to be that Southern Hospitality.  It is wonderful to see people smiling and seeming to enjoy their 'job'. 

Then we enjoyed walking up and down river street.  It's about 12 blocks altogether with shops and restaurants  on one side and the Savannah River on the other side.  We took lots of pictures of neat restaurant and shop signs, architecture, and points of interest.  It's a pretty cool place. 

Stacy's favorite place on the River Walk was the Savannah Candy Kitchen.  It was actually 4 stores wide, each with a different theme.  Almost every hard candy imaginable was in the first store.  The second sold all the baked goods like pralines (yum but a little goes a long way), all kinds of fudge and unique chocolate confections, HUGE candied apples with different toppings (I could go on and on).  The third store had different lunch box tins and showed the area where they made all the candies.  The fourth store had a special spring display made of different candied items and rice krispie treats as well as lots of different ice cream choices.  We decided we would have to come back to this store later this week. :)

Stacy had luck finding a Pandora charm for her bracelet at one of the little shops.  We helped her pick one out to remember our trip - a little suitcase with a palm tree on it.  By now our feet were really tired and we had a long way back to the car.  We decided to head back to the condo for some rest.  We watched the ocean for a while and then sat down to play a game.

Have you ever played Whoonu?  It's a Cranium game and great to play with a small number of people.  You learn a lot about each other.  At times we laughed so hard we were in tears and our sides were hurting.  (HINT:  Be sure to check out our 'top sayings of the week' blog later.) 

Whoonu that....

Kathy didn't know that "Where the Wild Things Are" is a very famous children's book and movie.

Tracy LOVES cottage cheese more than libraries.

Stacy thinks that nothing can beat Cool Whip.  Get it?  "Beat" Cool Whip.   HAHAHA

Mandy really LOVES chocolate cake - more than flip flops and haunted houses.

What a fun night.  But we actually have to set the alarm for tomorrow morning so it's time to get some sleep.  So I wonder what is in store for us the rest of our adventure????

Girls Getaway

4 laughing and relaxed, greatful to be on vacation women
car full of luggage, snacks and games
driving through some nasty thunderstorms

We've been waiting for this vacation for an entire year and it's finally here. 

We left Murray about 6:45 this morning and the only thing we forgot (I forgot) was a waffle iron.  Hey, I almost forgot to give my cats more water.  Wouldn't THAT have been awful!  We started with the trip with me driving and a few ground rules:
    (1)  Driver doesn't make all the decisions.
    (2)  Anyone in the front seats had control over the air and radio.
    (3)  Everyone was required to speak up if they got cold, hot, wanted to stop, etc.  No wallflowers please!
Everyone agreed so we were on our way.

We stopped in Cadiz for breakfast at McDonald's #1.  That's when Stacy made her #1 rule - no eating at McDonald's on the trip other than breakfast.  Ok.  No problems agreeing on that one.  Sorry Jeremy.

Went down the road quite a while and made a bathroom stop at .... McDonald's #2.  Kathy did get a drink but we did NOT eat there.

Stopped for gas and lunch at .... McDonald's #3!  Well really, we chose Subway but the stop had both in the same building and we had to walk thru McDonald's to get to Subway.  We did eat in McDonald's seating though.

We made really good time with about 5 stops.  We started getting excited when we saw Spanish Moss hanging from the trees near Savannah and some of the older houses.  It was hard for me to drive and look at the same time.  I'll get to see plenty this week though.

Sorry we don't have pics today. With the weather, it wasn't the best day for pictures.
But we counted 33 signs on I-24 leading up to Ruby Falls - even counting them in blinding rain. We laughed quite a bit and caught up with each other's lives.

We're staying in a condo on the Atlantic Ocean on Tybee Island.  Thanks Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob.  They had a timeshare we could use and we got at a REALLY good price for the week.  More to spend on fun stuff this week.  It's about 9:15 at night here and have the balcony door open listening to the ocean.  How great is that?  A beach, southern charm, old houses, ghosts, cemeteries, and Paula Deen - all in one vacation!!!!!!!

After we got settled into the condo, we went to the grocery to get some breakfast items and a few other things.  We walked to Sting Rays restaurant and ate supper outside while listening to live music and about ten 10-year olds having fun.  Mandy ate your shrimp, Susan!  I had the crab cakes, Stacy a fish po-boy sandwich, and Kathy had flounder.

Well, more tomorrow night.  We're not sure what we're doing tomorrow because we're supposed to have more thunderstorms but the rest of the week should be really nice.  We have plenty of games and snacks though.  Who knows.....