Georgia Road Trip w/Janice - Middle Georgia & Savannah

Our friend Janice came to visit for a long weekend for the first time since the pandemic. Janice has visited Atlanta multiple times before, so for this visit we decided to leave Atlanta and do a road trip to Savannah. After hanging out in Atlanta for an evening, Paul had to work in the morning on Friday, then we hit the road. Our first stop was a quick swing through Macon, viewing the historic architecture downtown before a stop at Fall Line brewing for a beer and snack.

Our next stop is one of our favorites - Lane Southern Orchards. It's basically a roadside agri-tourist attraction with a little shop and a cafeteria. They have seasonal things like strawberry picking and a peach packing facility. For us, the main reason for going is the home-made soft serve ice cream. Yum! We made a quick stop at Buc-ee's so Janice could bask in American consumer culture, then continued on to David's parent's house in Warner Robins. We hung out with David's sister Christina and nephew David (yes, there are a lot of Davids) and had a Greek dinner made by David's Mom.

Sharing a flight of beers at Fall Line.

Janice and David with a big ol' peach.

Ice cream and rocking chairs on the porch of Lane's.

Everyone loves Buc-ee!

Baby David playing with bubbles.

David and David going on a little walk.

Saturday morning we set off toward Savannah, which was about a 2.5 hour drive. Since our AirBnB wouldn't be ready for check-in until the afternoon, we drove right past Savannah and continued east to 

Fort Pulaski National Monument. This large brick fort was originally a US coastal fortification, then became confederate, before being recaptured by the Union. We continued east to Tybee Island, which is essentially Savannah's beach town. After lunch at Fannie's we walked on the pier and saw some jellyfish before heading back to the car.

Great weather at the fort.

The moat around the fort is impressive.

The walls have civil war damage including some cannon balls still lodged in the brick.

Giant fish sandwich!

Typical touristy beach restaurant!

Yes we got frozen drinks. :)

Tybee views from the pier.

We drove back to Savannah to check in to our AirBnB, which was on the southwest side of the historic district, easy walking distance from all of the tourist attractions. The afternoon turned drizzly with more rain forecasted, but Janice and Paul grabbed umbrellas for a walk through Forsyth park and a quick grocery store stop. Luckily the full thunderstorm didn't hit until after we returned to the AirBnB. After waiting out the storm, we took a casual walk around the neighborhood, got some cocktails at the Wayward, then had dinner at Fire Street Food.

Janice hanging out on our cute 2nd floor balcony.

Classic view of Forsyth Park with the fountain.

Did I mention our neighborhood was cute?

We love the huge moss-draped trees in Savannah.

Uh-oh, here comes the thunderstorm.

Most of Savannah's squares have a monument or fountain.

Post-rain vibes.

A hearse ghost tour went by us!

Lots of charm in every nook and cranny of the city.

The Savannah theatre sign reflecting in a puddle.

Forsyth Park selfie!

We started the next day, our full Savannah tourist day, with a walk to the nearby Origin Coffee Bar, which was great. After finishing getting ready at our AirBnB, we headed up toward the river, walking through the historic squares. Our first stop was the new JW Marriott, which opened in 2021. It might sound odd to visit a hotel you're not staying at, but the JW Marriott is in a retrofitted early 20th century power plant, and has museum-quality rock and fossil displays in the lobby. It also includes a fantastic new Riverwalk expansion. Worth a stop! We walked along the riverfront for a bit, which included a craft fair, and made a quick stop at The Pirate's House.

A cold brew with orange. Different and delicious.

More amazing trees.

Savannah just oozes charm.

The main part of downtown.

We watched the river for a bit, with a couple of huge container ships passing by.

Janice and David on the riverfront.

Savannah's oldest buildings are along the river.

Watch your step on the stairs!

Maybe pirates lived here once?

Our next stop was the Graveface Museum, right when it opened at noon. We weren't exactly sure what this would be, but it had good reviews and looked weird. It was indeed weird! It had exhibits about traveling sideshows with fake mermaids, serial killers, and a horror-themed pinball machine room.

Janice entering the museum through Satan's mouth.

A "real" mermaid!

We had a late lunch at Treylor Park, which was really good. That afternoon we decided to hit up the Telfair museums, which have a combined ticket. After booking times for a house tour, we started at the Telfair academy, which has a lot of mostly middling European art in a historic building. Our next stop was about a block away - the Jepson Center, which focuses on modern art. Finally, we walked to the Owens-Thomas House for a self-guided audio tour, which also included the former slave house. This three museum combo is a good choice when visiting Savannah.

David at Treylor Park.

Stay away, rain!

Lots of great details around the city.

Museum time!

The interior of the museum.

The famous statue from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

David participating in modern art.

The slave house.

The garden of the Owens-Thomas house.

We made a few stops on our leisurely walk back to the AirBnB, first passing through Colonial Park Cemetery, then shopSCAD, where we accidentally got locked out because we went through a door to the restrooms. We had to exit and walk back to the main entrance, still with unpaid merchandise in hand! We went to nearby E Shaver Booksellers - complete with cats - then a quick stop at Franklin's  coffee shop where we sat outside for a bit.

Old graves in the cemetery.

The Cathedral of St. John seen from Lafayette Square.

Resident cat on the couch!

We also walked by the original girl scout headquarters.

It had been a long day of walking, so we relaxed for a bit at our AirBnb before walking to dinner at Zunzi's. We later found out Zunzi's has expanded and opened an Atlanta location. David and Janice liked the loaded nachos. That wrapped up our full day in Savannah. We love this city and hope to visit again soon.

Grand Teton and Jackson, Wyoming

After spending three days in Yellowstone we left via the south entrance through Grand Teton National Park. Grand Teton is very different than Yellowstone, and is known for majestic views and pretty alpine lakes. We only had a half day there, but managed to take a boat ride, do a hike, and see some historic barns.

We started at the Colter Bay Visitor Center right when it opened, then drove along the east side of the park (Teton Park Rd) for panoramic views. The best view was from Lower Schwabacher Landing, with the mountains rising over the river and meadows. Grand Teton has probably the most impressive mountain views in the US, with jagged snowy mountains rising straight up from flat meadows and lakes.

Bonus national park!

The mountains in Grand Teton are impressive.

They're particularly impressive because there aren't many foothills. Just plains and then a huge mountain range.

Views for days.

Us, mountains, water.

Grand Teton National Park is unique because it has a national historic district within the park - "Mormon row," a few barns and houses from the early 1900s. It's a great place to stop for photos, and the view with a barn and the Tetons is an iconic image of the west.

Barn and mountains.

It would have been a rough life living here in the 1800s.

Classic scenes.

The overcast skies gave the barns an almost creepy look.

Next we drove around to the more western side of the park, closer to the mountains, stopping at the Jenny Lake area. This is the busiest area of the park, with services and several hiking trails. We bought tickets to ride a boat across Jenny Lake, then did the short hike to Hidden Falls and Lower Inspiration Point before heading back across the lake. It was really cold on the boat, and there was still a lot of snow near the trails. We would have hiked a little further, but the trail was closed due to heavy snow. Along the way we saw plenty of marmots and a waterfall. The weather was drizzly so the views weren't great, but it was still a good little hike.

Chilly morning on Lake Jenny.

We should have had warmer clothes for this boat ride! It was fun though.

Paul in the VIP seat.

View from the boat.

A weird little plant on the trail.

Still so much snow!

Marmot meeting a tourist on a bridge over a stream.

The views from lower inspiration point were still good despite the cloudy weather.

Paul on the hike.

David is king of the mountain.

Next we drove south to Jackson, a cute tourist town. It was still a bit rainy, but we walked around downtown for a bit, and had lunch at Snake River Brewing before going to Snow King ski resort to ride the Cowboy Coaster (an alpine coaster). Jackson is a nice town and it would be fun to spend more time there. We wrapped up the day by driving the final few hours to Salt Lake City, and flew out the next morning. We didn't as much time as we would have liked in Grand Teton and Jackson, and hope to return some day to explore some more.

Beer sampler for the table at Snake River brewing.

Finally, some real food!

Yum!

Paul with the famous elk antler arch in downtown Jackson.

Too bad the weather was still bad, or we would have walked around more in Jackson.

If there's a coaster near by, of course we had to stop!

A fun little ride.

Beautiful scenery as we drove through Wyoming and Idaho on the way back to Salt Lake City.

We drove through Afton, a small town with a cute stretch of downtown.

The open road!

The weather cleared up a bit and we had amazing views of reflected blue skies.

This area was particularly beautiful.