Day five in Savannah, GA

On Friday we went down to River Street which was right behind our hotel and walked to breakfast at Huey’s.

We specifically went there so that we could have beignets with breakfast.

Originally, the plan for the day was to walk around the city following this tour of all the squares. When I was looking for things to do in Savannah I had come across a tour that got great reviews.  And then our concierge in Charleston also recommended the same tour. So last minute, we booked Savannah Dan‘s tour of the city.

This tour was excellent.  Dan had a great personality and took us to places we wouldn’t have found ourselves.

Houses with things like these stars on their walls likely suffered damage in an earthquake and it holds the walls up.

He explained the moss that hung from the trees and how it was once used to pad furniture.

This is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  We went inside and learned about the renovations and checked out the beautiful stained glass.

We visited many squares and learned about the people they were named for.

This is the Andrew Low house where the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low once lived.  Her birthplace is nearby and the first headquarters of the Girl Scouts is behind this house.

This is James Ogelthorpe, the founder of Georgia.

He told us great stories from history and about life in Savannah at various times.  We were with a small group and it was just a lot of fun.  He made recommendations for other things to do in Savannah and he was a great ambassador for the city.

On his recommendation, we decided to take the our of the Owens-Thomas House.

The house was very elaborate and especially modern for it’s time including a complicated indoor plumbing system.  It was filled with artwork and furniture from the various periods the house was in use.

After this tour, we decided to go to Leopold’s Ice Cream.  I enjoyed a cone and Mike had a chocolate milkshake.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading at the rooftop bar at our hotel which overlooked the river.  And that night we had our last dinner at The Olde Pink House. The food was excellent but I forgot to take pictures.

The next day we flew home.

I loved this trip.  There were so many interesting things to see and learn about and I’m glad we could take the time to go there.

Day four in Wadmalaw Island, SC and Savannah, GA

We woke up on Thursday and drove for about half hour to get to Wadmalaw Island. Our day started at the Charleston Tea Plantation.

We watched a fifteen minute video in the factory that gave a brief overview of the tea growing, harvesting and manufacturing process.

Then we got on a trolley for a tour of the plantation. This is the only tea plantation in the country and they are starting to distribute more widely.

We sampled some tea and bought some to bring home before we made our way to our next stop on the island the Firefly Distillery.

The distillery is at Irvin House Vineyards, the only winery in South Carolina. But we decided to bypass the wine in favor of checking out the distillery since they use tea from the plantation we’d just visited.

They offer a tasting for just $6 a person and you get to keep your shot glass.  We got to try six different products from a list of various vodkas, rums, bourbon and liquor. Since I was the driver, I really only had super small tastes but a lot of it was really good.  Some of the flavors were a little too sweet for me. We left with a bottle of sweet tea vodka and sweet tea bourbon.

We arrived in Savannah in the late afternoon and relaxed at our hotel before heading out to dinner at 17hundred90.

This restaurant came recommended from one of the people we met earlier in the week and it had a cozy tavern feel.  Unfortunately, I didn’t remember to take pictures of any of our dinners in Savannah.

As I had mentioned before, when researching for the trip, I found that both Charleston and Savannah have a lot of night tours.  Savannah is especially big on ghost tours so we booked one for this night.  We finally had decided to go with the Boos and Brews tour since it was rated the city’s best ghost tour by Southern Living.

Savannah doesn’t have an open container law, so we were to meet the group at McDonough’s Irish Pub & Restaurant to grab drinks and go.  It ended up that Mike and I were the only people on the tour.  I think it could have been so fun if we were part of a group.  But instead, we toured the city in the dark with a woman who told us ghost stories and encouraged us to keep taking pictures to try and capture a ghost.

We were good sports about it and we passed many other tours that also looked lightly attended.  But it was fun to talk with this woman who was born in Savannah.

We saw a cemetery.

Old police cars.

Passed through many of the squares.

And in reviewing our pictures, I think we maybe got a ghost in Wright Square? Do you see it?  In the tree?  It’s an orb!  I don’t know if it is a real ghost though.  She did tell us a story about people being hung in these trees so I guess anything is possible.

We passed by City Hall.

And we ended up at Moon River Brewing Company where we went into the basement and upper levels to hear the history of the space and learn about it’s ghosts.

I’d totally do a ghost tour like this again but I’d definitely make sure we’re with a group.

Day three in Charleston, SC

On our last full day in Charleston, we started with breakfast at Hominy Grill.

Mike got the big nasty biscuit which had fried chicken and cheddar on it with sausage gravy.

I had huevos rancheros which was two poached eggs, black beans, rice and salsa on a tortilla.

And because all that savory clearly needed to be followed by something sweet, we got the ginger pumpkin bread to share.  It must have been broiled or toasted or something.  It was perfect.

After breakfast we drove to Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum. The biggest attraction here is the USS Yorktown, a decommissioned aircraft carrier.

Mike was in the Navy and was on a submarine so checking out the USS Clamagore was the first place we stopped. Although this was a diesel sub, a lot of it the equipment, the layout and the accommodations were similar to Mike’s sub. We spent at least an hour inside as he explained things to me both in terms of his job and what life was like living underwater.

The first thing he explained was the Steinke Hood, a device used to save yourself from a sinking submarine. As if the thought of sinking isn’t bad enough, imagine this scary looking thing being your savior.

We started in the torpedo room and made our way through the sub.

They had these recruitment posters on the wall.

I learned how the bathrooms worked.

They named their engines.

It’s been a while since these instruments were calibrated.

This was the center line of the sub hung over the doorway.

Then we boarded the USS Yorktown and visited the Medal of Honor Museum before going all over the aircraft carrier.

Finally, we visited the USS Laffey, a destroyer which had been attacked by Japanese bombers and kamikazes in WWII.

We drove back to Charleston and spent the afternoon walking through various alleys and streets checking out the homes and gardens.

And we stopped along the way for some drinks and something to eat at the Southend Brewery.

That night we had dinner at Poogan’s Porch.

Mike started with the fried alligator salad with pickled sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and honey jalapeno dressing.

I think my spinach salad was a special that night.  It had brie, apple and tomatoes with a bacon vinaigrette.

I chose the plantation fried chicken stuffed with smoked gouda, spicy collards and country ham for my entree. It came with whipped potatoes, green beans and a Texas Pete jus.

Mike got the hand cut pork chop which was grilled with apple butter and served with brussels sprouts and smoked bacon sweet potato hash.

For dessert, Mike got the chocolate pecan pie.

Day two in Charleston, SC

On Tuesday, we had plans to visit Fort Sumter.

It was a twenty minute or so boat ride out to the island where the Civil War officially began. We passed by Charleston on the ride down the Cooper River.

The park ranger gave us a history of the fort and explained the beginning of the war before we could just wander around and check out the fort.

It was nice to ride on the boat and I guess it was cool to see Fort Sumter but this was probably my least favorite part of the trip.

After we returned to shore, we were really hungry and ready to get lunch. Mike had mentioned that since we were in South Carolina he’d really like to have some barbecue so we walked over to Nick’s Bar-B-Q on King Street.

I got the Beef Brisket sandwich with a side of mac and cheese.

Mike got the Double Decker which was pulled pork and beef brisket with a side of fries. We each got a corn biscuit which was sweet and cheesy.

During lunch it had started to rain so we wandered around town stopping in various places. We walked through the Charleston City Market.

And when the rain got heavier, we decided to stop in the Confederate Museum.  This place was packed with memorabilia from the Civil War and everyday life.  It was almost overwhelming to look at all the stuff they filled the walls and cabinets with like scraps of material and buttons and papers.

Earlier that day, Mike had also mentioned a desire to get chicken and waffles so it was very appropriate that the concierge at our hotel recommended Lowcountry Bistro for dinner that night.

I started with she crab soup.

Mike got a special which was a pumpkin and sweet potato salad with a side of greens and blue cheese.

Mike had the chicken and waffles – a sweet potato bacon corn bread waffle, crispy half bone-in chicken, pecan butter, bourbon reduction – which was fantastic.

And I decided to get their shrimp and grits which also had fried green tomatoes.  The portion was huge and I maybe got through half. It was good but I am definitely not a shrimp and grits girl.

Mike got chocolate pie for dessert and the few bites I had were rich and delicious.  I totally want to get marshmallow fluff now and serve it like this on all desserts.

While I was researching stuff to do on our trip, I learned that both Charleston and Savannah have a lot of different tour companies and a lot of them have night tours. Many of them are ghost tours, which I’ll get to later in the week, but on this night, we decided to do The Dark Side of Charleston tour.

Our tour guide was Stephen and he took us and four other people around telling us stories of grave robberies, drunken sailors, brothels and corruption. We had a really great group and we all had a lot of fun despite the rain.

Here’s St. Michael’s Church at night.

And this building used to house a very high end brothel.

 

Day one in Charleston, SC

Last week, Mike and I took off from work so that we could go explore Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA.  We had so much fun and fit so much into the week.  It was the perfect time of year to visit these cities as the temperatures were mostly in the sixties and there weren’t many crowds due to it being a lighter time of year for tourists.

We flew to Charleston for the first three nights of our trip.  When we arrived we went to Drayton Hall.

When I started to plan our trip, I knew we had to visit one plantation. I chose this one because of it’s proximity to the airport and because it was not restored but preserved. There isn’t fancy furniture or really anything but rooms that show their age but maintain their originality.

We had a great tour of the house and then wandered around the grounds which are right on the Ashley River.

Before we left, we stopped at the African American Cemetery on the property.

That night we had dinner reservations at Trattoria Luca.

We picked this restaurant because on Mondays they have a family supper with a prix fixe menu that got great reviews on Yelp.  I think this was my favorite dinner of the trip.

The four course meal was served family style at the table for us to share. It started with an amazing appetizer course.

Salad with apples, walnuts, shaved parmesan and a delicious dressing.

A charcuterie plate with prosciutto, capicola, salami and pickled vegetables.

Marinated mushrooms with crispy onions.

And delicious brussel sprouts.

And that was just the first course.  After that was the pasta course which was fresh with tomato, onion and a smoked cheese (I can’t remember what kind but it was so good).

The next course was pork which was served with roasted vegetables and a pesto on top.

And finally there was dessert.  Even our waitress said she didn’t know how to describe this.  Calling it a mousse would imply it was lighter and airy but calling it a pudding doesn’t seem special enough.  It was chocolatey without being too rich and the touch of sea salt on top was the perfect compliment.

This was the perfect end to a great first day.

Yarn from Alaska

Last year, at this time we were in Alaska!

While we were in Skagway, we went to Changing Threads so I could get some yarn. I ended up with two skeins of sock yarn from Rabbit Ridge.

In November I took a great toe up sock class at Stitch Your Art Out.  And I started two pairs of socks that have been sitting for a bit.  The first pair is with the Fire skein.

The pattern is really easy to follow and it was great having the help of the instructor and my classmates. I feel confident that I can continue on my own.  And, they knit up pretty quickly (for me).

The only reason that I haven’t finished either pair of socks is that I got too eager and started a few other projects at the same time. I think that once it gets cool again, there will be more of an incentive to actually finish them. Until then, they are a work in progress.

I doubt the skein of Camo will become socks. But it will be a bit before I get to it.

North Carolina Local Yarn Store Visits

One of the best parts of traveling regularly is getting to visit new places, see new things and meet new people. If I am somewhere and find myself with some free time, I try a new local yarn store.

I’ve made it to Great Yarns in Raleigh twice in a little over a year. Last year’s yarn turned into a bunch of baby bibs for the 2010 babies.  The buttons are from my local yarn store Stitch Your Art Out.

This past trip to Great Yarns yielded one skein of Malabrigo Lace in Amoroso (157). I’ve already purchased a pattern for this yarn and it’s a few projects down in the queue.

Malabrigo Lace

What is awesome about Great Yarns is they wound the skein for me!  I don’t know if this is a really common thing as I really haven’t visited that many stores but this is only the second store (the other was Knitting to Know Ewe in Bucks County, PA) that I’ve been to where they offered to wind it for me and it is such a treat.  I don’t have a swift or anything fancy.  I either have a reluctant volunteer hold up their hands (although my reluctant volunteer has gotten really good at saying know now that he knows how long it can take) or I sit with the skein around my knees and roll a ball.  So it is such a treat to get to work immediately.

I also had some time while I was heading out of Asheville to stop by Yarn Paradise.

One of the things I like to do when I get to visit a local yarn store is see if they have a selection of local yarns.  This store had a small selection (the Raleigh store didn’t have any but said their sister store in Chapel Hill had some) but as I wasn’t a huge fan of the yarn, I ended up with a pretty skein of Ella Rae Lace Merino.  I am in love with the colors as they are a rainbow but not so bright.  I am sure I’ll find some kind of scarf for it.

Ella Rae Lace Merino