ya'll come back now.

So...I'm having a little bit of culture shock. Mom and I just got back from a 10-day trip to the Southeast and the return home has been a doozy for me. Let's just say I really got into the South. Which you wouldn't think, knowing me, since I'm all about rain and cooler weather and am not about humidity, mosquitos, et. al. But lately I've been all about the South and can't get enough of it. Go figure, I guess. The city of Savannah got to me and spoke to something that went beyond tourism. To see some photos of the trip, go to my flickr photostream.

I'm not sure where to start because it's all a little jumbled in my mind, but I'll do my best.

The trip was initially planned as a girls' trip for me, mom and Cara to Savannah, Georgia. Along came Rhetty baby and it became a girls' trip for me and mom with a little bit of work thrown in the mix. You see, mom's this high-powered boss lady in charge of about 50 apartment properties or so scattered across the United States, most of them located in the Southeast and Texas. The trip coincided with some business she needed to oversee in the Carolinas anyway, so we added it to the beginning of the trip before the annual Savannah Tour of Homes & Gardens.

We flew in to Columbia, South Carolina, specifically to one of the properties mom had to visit where we stayed in the corporate suite. That night we ate dinner at Bonefish Grill (Bang Bang Shrimp all the way, baby), picked up some fruit at Piggly Wiggly, an ice cream at Baskins, and headed back to the property. On the way we detoured through a neighborhood and I got some great shots of a winding road under a street light. (I have a thing for neighborhood street lights hidden in trees, illuminated at night.)

The next day we met a regional property manager and her family and two other property managers for breakfast at Le Peep. (I am joking about the name.)(For real, though.) I had Monte Cristo crepes and we sat and talked for a long time. It was extremely relaxing and I really enjoyed getting to know other people that work for Cottonwood at the operations level. Plus they're hilarious and awesome and I can't wait to see them again.

After breakfast mom and I headed out to the Columbia Temple, which was hidden away in a forest neighborhood (even though basically the entire area is a forest to my desert-trained eyes). We almost missed it because it was so tucked away. The grounds were closed and we didn't feel like going back to our room because we knew we'd both just work, so we decided spur of the moment to drive the two hours south to Charleston.

The weather was great until we hit about 5 minutes out of the city when it started pouring. We worked this to our advantage though and ate a nice dinner at a Southern bistro in the historic district. By the time we finished the rain had cleared up and we walked around the district for awhile. It was extremely charming and the houses amazing. I'm a sucker for a huge porch and full-blown garden, and every house had just that in spades. Once we got our fill of Charleston we headed home and went to bed.

The next day I spent working in our room (I'm lucky enough to have a job that can mostly be done remotely) while mom visited some properties in the area. The property manager Delores was nice enough to bring me back lunch from Lillian's, which included a piece of maple pound cake. I think my mom knows me a little too well...

That night after work we drove to Charlotte, North Carolina for the next leg of our trip. But before we got there we stopped at BOB EVANS. This restaurant is a huge deal for our family. I can't remember which trip we discovered it on (I think Missouri) but every time we've been back east we've eaten there at least once. Or twice. Florida was twice (ew, Florida...you need to two trips to Bob Evans in that state, trust me). Anyway, we ate way too much since we were starving, and the staff was so nice to let us in and feed us delicious biscuits and crepes and potatoes and eggs and hot chocolate even though it was past closing. I felt so bad that we kept them there so late I called the manager the next day to let him know how much we appreciated it, since not many other places would have done the same that late at night.

That night in Charlotte we stayed at the Hilton and basically crashed into bed. Tres fatiguee.

The next day was another long work day for both of us. The only worthwhile event for me was having to talk down three separate housekeepers from servicing our room for checkout. I had to call downstairs and reassure them we were indeed staying in the room. Helloooo. Anyway.

For our next adventure we drove to Raleigh, stopping along the way to see more properties. Sometime during the day I decided that I hated every single article of clothing I had packed for the trip and would rather swim through snake infested waters than have to look at them anymore. It was very dramatic. So on the way to our hotel we stopped at the mall in Raleigh to alleviate my suffering. In the process mom forgets her WALLET in the shoe department and since we left right at closing, there was no way to get it back until morning. (Sorry Mom--cat's out of the bag.) Of course we don't realize said wallet is missing until we're 30 minutes away from the mall at our "4-star" hotel in Chapel Hill. :| Insert panic followed by eating an entire Domino's medium pizza between the two of us. Sleep. Morning: We drive to the mall and there is the little rapscallion sitting all cozy in the chair in the shoe department. Whatever. Seriously thanks for giving us a heart attack. The feeling of losing your wallet while traveling is akin only to realizing you've thrown away a winning lottery ticket. Do not want. Lots of praying, that's for sure.

BACK TO THE STORY

So it's about 6 hours driving from Raleigh to Savannah. Lots of trees in between the two points and not much else. Swampy areas interspersed with thickets surrounded by grassy knolls. Greenery abounds, is what I'm getting at.

Finally at about 3:30 in the afternoon we arrived at Savannah. I about died at the first sight of Spanish moss hanging from live oaks. We stayed in the heart of the historic district on the side of Oglethorpe Square at The President's Quarters Inn. Each of the 16 rooms is named after a U.S. president. We chose Teddy Roosevelt. I felt this was diplomatic of us. Although upon entering the room we found hints of Richard Nixon. Still not sure what to make of that. So the inn is two houses built in 1855 that were joined together to create one big house. It was a great place to stay because it retained the historical elements of the building but still had modern, updated features (i.e. the bathroom didn't get all 1860 chamber pot-y on you, ya know?).

After checking in and settling down, we walked down to the riverfront for dinner. On the way there we passed the Savannah College of Art and Design, one of the colleges I considered going to back in the day, and a couple theaters advertising events for the musical festival that was going on the same week we were there (saw a sign for Neon Trees and thought it was crazy that just five years ago I saw them play at Southworth Hall in Provo). We ate at Vic's on the River, where I had the most delicious Southern meatloaf. Since we weren't yet familiar with the city and were pretty tired from the day, we walked back to the inn and got into bed--a king-sized four poster. I need to get me one of those. I was in awe the whole time of the city at night; haunted energy describes it best.

The next day we were up bright and early for the homes tour. During the day we toured 9 different homes that were of historical and architectural importance. I loved walking around the neighborhoods and getting a glimpse of what life is like in such a historic city. Once we had seen all the homes, we headed over to the DeSoto Hilton for a Tall Tea. Yes, they served the little cucumber sandwiches, and yes, the tea was decaffeinated (judgers). The view from the 14th floor was awesome and made for some great pictures.

After the tea we headed back to the inn to rest a little for that night. What was happening that night, you ask? A ghost tour! Yayy. NO BUT REALLY YAYYYYYY. How could we not do this tour in America's most haunted city? I had researched a few online and found one that offered good ghost stories and accurate history at the same time. Since mom is scared easily (::cough::) I didn't want something that was going to focus on evil (voodoo/exorcisms, etc) or super disturbing aspects of the city, so in the end I chose the candlelight haunted history tour. You want to know the best part? One of the stops on the tour was the 17hundred90 Inn, just across the street from where we were staying. Aww yeah. I have a story about that if you want to know ever. Mom does too. Too weird to talk about right now.

Since the tour didn't start until 9 pm, we took our time with dinner and actually decided to eat at the 17hundred90 Inn restaurant. The best part of the meal were the biscuits. OH. YES. These biscuits need to given to me on a daily basis for my life happiness to be assured. I'm definitely learning how to make these.

After dinner we headed out for the Colonial Cemetery to start the tour. And it started lightning and thundering. :| I was beyond blissful. Haunted, historic city. Spanish moss. Ghost tour. Thunder and lightning. It was almost too much. Edgar Allan Poe much. Shortly after the tour started (there were only 8 of us on the tour) it started raining. But luckily the weather was warm and we carried on. 90 minutes later mom and I splashed through the rain laughing as we ran back to the inn. I absolutely loved it.

The next day we were a bit tired. And torn between wanting to see more of the city but also not wanting to get caught in the rain again. We decided to venture further out and ended up at this gigantic house filled with antiques. Heaven has 17 rooms, apparently, and they're all filled with old unique stuff. There's nothing to match it in Utah, and I only wish I had the funds to ship it all home. That evening I was getting a little bratty because I had 15 mosquito bites on my legs and one arm and I was done walking around. Mom suggested we go see The Hunger Games movie. I thought it was ok; the book just had so much more. The movie felt very...watery. Pale in comparison. It did a lot of things right, but there just wasn't enough. After the movie we headed to dinner (Bonefish Grill. I'm not kidding about the Bang Bang Shrimp, people) and then home. Mom and I both got creeped out on the way home, driving through the old neighborhoods late at night, thinking about everything that has happened in those homes.

To put this into perspective and give you a little insight into our creeped-out state, you should know that Savannah has mass graves all over the city, the locations of which are unknown. Yellow fever epidemics, the American Revolution and Civil War all played their part in creating these. As I mentioned before, our ghost tour started at the Colonial Cemetery, parts of which extended in past times to what is now the paved road. There are roughly 200 headstones in the cemetery but it's estimated that over 9,000 people are actually buried there. SO YEAH, WE WERE FREAKED OUT A LITTLE. Add to the mix the low overhanging trees, the fact that none of these houses have any lights on, and yeah, you're gonna be a little creeped out at the thought of living in one of the creaking old buildings alone. It's one of those things where we came to the conclusion that you just have to assume every building is haunted. Not in a bad or scary way, necessarily, it's just that too much has happened for there to not be some sort of energy or strong echo of the past. That's all I'm trying to say.

That being said, it's a history I respect and has made an impression on me. The best way I can describe it is that you have "the Halloween feeling" 24/7 in Savannah. At times it's the happy go lucky, chains in the attic feeling when you were little. And other times it's the creepy, graveyard at night under a full moon sense that something supernatural could be around the corner. In any case, I loved it. Historic charm, atmosphere, and incredible people made for a memorable and fantastic first trip to the South. Now if I can only find a way to actually be there ON Halloween...