A couple weeks ago my boyfriend and I took a spontaneous trip from our apartment in Jacksonville, FL up to Savannah, GA. (It’s only about two hours away.) Austin only had a couple days of paid time off and I managed to give up my shift at work so we could spend the day together.
We’ve been to the city several times, although never just the two of us. We really enjoyed ourselves… Here’s a little breakdown of our day:
We started off at the Bonaventure Cemetery which is a part of the national registry of historical places. We popped into the visitors center and grabbed a map. I also made a small donation and received a proper booklet on the cemetery with historical information and specific plot numbers of the more famous people buried within Bonaventure. The cemetery itself is beautifully taken care of; the historical society does a great job of maintaining all one-hundred acres of land. We did not fuss with a tour, although I think I would have enjoyed one. Lots of local and state history between each of those gravestones… wish I knew more about it all.
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Then we visited Savannah’s Visitor’s Center (the main headquarters, so to say, for Tricentennial Park) to get a map of Savannah and some pamphlets on points of interest and recommendations for food/drink. We parked in the Georgia State Railroad Museum parking lot and then walked over to the Visitor’s Center, where the Savannah History Museum is located. To get to the Visitor’s Center you walk through the main building and down a hallway decorated with some basic Savannah history (a taste of the museum located on the other side of the wall). We decided to skip the history museum, and after we had collected our informational papers, we headed back over to the Railroad Museum. Austin loves trains, and still has a model set from his childhood. While the Bonaventure Cemetery was the main place I wanted to visit, the Railroad Museum was definitely the highlight of our trip for him.
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After the Railroad Museum, we left our car parked and wandered across the street to the Distillery Ale House. I found this place via a pamphlet from the Visitor’s Center. It was established in 1904 and resurrected in 2008. It is a pub with a definite speakeasy feel. Very cool! We sat at the bar and enjoyed a round of Eagle Creek Brewery‘s Spot Tail, a wonderful blonde ale brewed in Statesboro, GA (about an hour from Savannah).
From the Distillery, we drove down to the Riverside area. We scored a great parking space and walked down to the River. We walked up and down the main strip for a little while, stopping in the Savannah Candy Kitchen for a sample of their pralines, a favorite of Austin’s (too sweet for me). For a meal, we decided on the Cotton Exchange. We planned to try something new, but ended up somewhere we knew we liked. We ordered a couple beers: I had a local Belgian Wit, Scattered Sun (brewed in Savannah at Southbound Brewery). And Austin tried a Peach Wheat Ale from Spartanburg, South Carolina (RJ Rocker’s Son of a Peach).
I wasn’t the biggest fan of mine, and Austin’s was a little too sweet for me. I ordered a second round, this time another brew from Eagle Creek called Tea Party, an amber ale they served in a mason jar glass with a lemon, just like a good ol’ southern iced tea. I really liked it. As for our food, we started off with an amazing crab dip, served with pita wedges. It was so so so incredibly good. While I had a simple chicken caesar salad, and Austin enjoyed a fried shrimp basket with sweet potato waffle fries. The fish dip and Tea Party ale certainly stole the show for me.
After our meal, we walked along the river some more, purchased a Florida Simply Southern shirt for myself and of course, we picked up some sweets to bring home… glazed pecans for me and a couple of pecan clusters covered in milk chocolate for Austin.
Afterwards, at the suggestion of a friend, we headed up to Rocks on the Roof, a rooftop bar above the riverfront Bohemian Hotel. Our server, Grant, took good care of us and our seats provided great views of the river below.
Austin had a margarita, and I had what they called a “Modern Bellini.” It consisted of peach vodka, Aperol (YUM!), fresh lemon juice, topped with sparkling wine. It really reminded me of the simple afternoon Aperol (or Campari) spritzes that were so common in Italy during the summer. Enjoying a cocktail on the rooftop was my favorite part of the trip.
After our rooftop drinks, we headed back to the jeep. One thing I had really wanted to do was wander around all the parks Savannah is know for. (Twenty-something green spaces in the city!) Austin, as sweet as he is, took me the scenic way out of town, passing by several of the parks, just for me. I’m one lucky girl. Savannah was a real treat for us.
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