Southern Road Trip

Well, this post has been a long time coming. But a couple months ago, my boyfriend and I loaded the Bailey dog into the car and took ourselves on a sweet southern road trip. Our main destination was St. Augustine, FL because the yoga studio where I teach here just opened up a new location down there. We aimed to do some yoga, surf, and enjoy the warmer weather, and that’s exactly what we did.

St. Augustine was very charming. I can see why Katie, our beloved Yoga Bohemia studio owner, couldn’t resist signing a lease down there. The streets were quiet during the week we stayed (they would pick up for the Night of Lights right after we left.) There were plenty of great restaurants with delicious food, and some quirky little bars, like Tini Martini, which was fully decked out for the light show.

We enjoyed a week of working from our Airbnb (with a couple days off of course), and learning more about the history of the U.S.’s oldest city. One of the highlights was touring Ft. Matanzas National Monument. Other highlights include eating a million biscuits and surfing under a sunset rainbow… the mental pictures are unbeatable!

St. Augustine favorites:

• The Floridian for dinner

• The Kookaburra for coffee and aussie pies

• Ice Plant Bar for dinner and drinks

• Beachside Diner for breakfast

• Island Donuts for donuts, of course

• Surf Station for all the surf stuff

On the way back, we spent a couple nights in Jacksonville Beach. It wasn’t my favorite since the main busy highway bumps right up to the beach. I didn’t find it to be a very enjoyable walking city, but it had it’s charms—like this barbecue board.

Jacksonville Beach favorites:

• The Bearded Pig for barbecue

• Jax Beach Brunch Haus (worth the wait for breakfast)

The biscuit fest would continue on as we kept driving north and stopped in Savannah briefly to visit my mom and stepdad. The weather was surprisingly cold for the south in November. I was hoping for summer and definitely didn’t pack the right clothing items for this trip!

We had a nice time staying at the pet-friendly Thunderbird Inn. This surely won’t be a comprehensive list of all my Savannah favorites, but these are the ones we made it to this time.

Savannah favorites:

• The Olde Pink House is a classic

• Zunzis has changed so much since its food truck days (and maybe not for the best), but the sandwiches still amaze

• The Thunderbird Inn was a fun, pet-friendly hotel

• Moodrights was casual and quirky for Bingo night

I love a good road trip and was so happy to have some company this time!

Some Stillness in Savannah

This might not the most properly titled blog post, since I was working and running around and still felt like I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked in Savannah, but it was a nice chance to spend three nights in one place after a few days on the road. Savannah gets its own post, obviously, because of the nature:

See that little raccoon popping out to say hello from behind the tree?

I arrived just in time for a walk around the neighborhood:

Followed by a perfect sunset view:

I tried to get my steps in every morning by walking or running on the walking paths down to the marina:

I was working remotely during the day, so there wasn’t as much time for exploring, but we made time for some downtown fun at night.

It’s a beautiful city full of lush green squares:

And Savannah always has the best food:

We loved the flavors, the design, and the service at Common Thread. That’ll be a new favorite. And I got lucky with no lines at Maple Street Biscuit Company on my way out.

My visit was over almost as soon as it had begun! Until next time, sweet Savannah.

My Favorite Things About Savannah, GA

1. My mom lives there

   We just passed Mother’s Day, so this has to be a big one! If Savannah didn’t already have enough to offer, this makes it an easy choice for a favorite city. I missed posting on the actual Mom’s day (has it really been almost a month since the last post? Yikes, sorry about that!), but I spent Easter Weekend in Georgia with my mom... and at the community clubhouse eating all the shrimp cocktail at the brunch buffet.

2. It’s green everywhere

Savannah is known for its lush garden squares and Spanish moss hanging from all the trees. It’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil brought to life; a little spooky and mysterious at night, but perfectly enchanting during the day. I haven’t taken a ghost tour yet, but it’s sure to be on the list someday.

3. Food in all forms

Since my mom and stepdad started living down here, over ten years ago, the food scene seems to have evolved a bit. Of course, we can and do still find our favorites—southern fried chicken and mashed potatoes at the Pink House, classic sandwiches from Zunzi’s (though I miss the old food truck), or mini chocolate chip cookies from Byrd. This time, we added some new kids on the block. Grilled cheese with curried tomato soup served in a Warhol-esque Campbell’s can at Atlantic—they were playing Dark Side of the Moon to accompany Wizard of Oz on a projector screen. Very hip; very youthful! Aussie fare from Collin’s Quarters that took me back to two months earlier at Bondi Beach. And one of the tastiest vegan restaurants I’ve tried yet. In the middle of Georgia! Can you believe it?! I guess it’s not that surprising when you consider the fact that Savannah’s also home to SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design), one of the country’s best art schools, which brings me to #4…

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4. The arts

It turns out, Savannah is not only a city for brunching, drinking, visiting my mom, and walking around fancy squares, though you could occupy quite a bit of your time with all of that. It also has a very fulfilling cultural scene and a continuous supply of youthful energy from incoming college students. Every year, there’s the huge Savannah Music Festival and the Savannah Book Festival featuring well-known artists and authors from all around. In day-to-day life, there is an impressive amount of museums, galleries, and artsy shops to keep you inspired and your creative well full.

5. Nature

Believe it or not, some of my wildest natural sightings have occurred while visiting my mom in Savannah. There’s usually an alligator or two sunning themselves along the banks of the ponds or the edges of golf courses. And there are often cute little turtles basking on the rocks nearby. I’ve seen a few owls up in the trees while out on my trail runs. One time, I even saw the biggest snake of my life sneaking around the outside of the house! My mom lives a bit outside of downtown, so I never know what to expect.

Can’t wait for the next visit back down here.

40 Hours

If you're going to drive from Texas to Georgia, you'd better make sure you've got some entertaining traveling companions on the road and an amazing hostess of a mom waiting for you when you get there. Lucky for me, I was blessed with both, so I was miraculously able to survive the longest car trip of my life. Waking up for school on Tuesday morning was a bit grueling, but enjoying a Spring weekend in Savannah is always worth any amount of hours spent traveling.

A stopover in New Orleans more than satisfied our party requirements for the trip. Apparently the bars never close there? And the next few days in Savannah brought us back to nature. We trapped a snake, viewed alligators from afar, and watched dolphins swim in the sea.

It's hard to beat the beauty of Spanish moss, southern hospitality, and fried chicken paired with mac and cheese. I'm so glad my mom has chosen to make a little home down here.