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.

St Lucia - Chocolate Making & Beach Day

The second half of our St. Lucia family vacation started with a lazy morning and breakfast at the Mango Tree Restaurant. Breakfast was included with our stay and was very hearty (pancakes or french toast, assorted breads/muffins, fruit, fresh juice, etc). It was a nice way to start each morning.

Can't beat these morning views!

There were lots of fruit trees at the resort, here's a banana.

A cat that hung around the restaurant.

Breakfast time!

Great morning views.

For later that morning, we had booked an 11:30am chocolate making class at the nearby Hotel Chocolate/Project Chocolate. St Lucia has a few large cocoa farms and there were also tours that took you back into the jungle on an hour hike to look through the plantation... we opted to just make the chocolate bars. 😉 The class was fun and pretty short. We learned how to grind the cocoa beans, add the cocoa butter and sweeten to taste. Afterwards, we put them in a mold and our instructor took the bars off to chill for a while so we could easily take them on our way.

After the class, we wandered around the Project Chocolate grounds overlooking the farms. They had a pretty newly renovated "food hall" of a few quick service vendors selling lunch foods, drinks and deserts as well as a bar. Many of these featured cocoa or chocolate in some way or another.

Paul and Betsy emulsifying their chocolate.

Views from the chocolate tent.

David grinding the nibs.

Everybody hard at work.

Family chocolate time!

Paul is shocked by the variety and quality of lunch at the Chocolate Project.

Back at the hotel, we opted to just hang out at the resort for the rest of the day while Paul's family went on an ATV tour of the south part of the island. We took advantage of some pool time and took a little stroll around the grounds, and also to the nearby UNESCO viewpoint and back to the Soufriere viewpoint. It was a nice relaxing afternoon.

Afternoon pool break.

The view of Petit Piton from the viewpoint just up the road from our hotel.

Later that evening, the resort had a "Caribbean buffet" planned for dinner, so we made our way down to the restaurant to check that out. The cost was a bit of a surprise at $50/person, but it was a good experience and it was nice to try lots of different small dishes. 

Which is it, resort pool? No Diving or Dive at your Own Risk?!

Sunset vibes from the Mango Tree Restaurant.

Not a bad way to end the day.

For our last full day in St Lucia, we again grabbed breakfast from the resort restaurant and then opted for a trip down to the nearby beach (Malgretoute Beach, AKA Paradise Beach). The little spit of sand was just about a quarter mile from our resort, but on a very steep road with no sidewalks, so we had to have a car take us. The beach itself was nice, if a little rocky. The water was warm and very clear. We probably should have brought or borrowed some snorkeling gear, but maybe another time.

After hanging out by the water for a bit, we wandered over to the beachside bar for a drink and lunch. Apparently, our resort has a deal with the bar and they were able to just charge everything to our hotel up the hill. It was here that Chad discovered how literal some St Lucians can be when he asked for a "cheeseburger with just lettuce, mustard and tomato" and received no meat. It was easy enough to sort out, but was a funny experience.

Morning dew with the Piton in the background.

Malgretoute Beach on a nice sunny day.

David chilling in the Caribbean.

We saw a number of shells on the rocky beach.

Tropical vibes.

Daquiri #[insert large number]

After the beach be went back to our villa, and of course the pool again. Later that afternoon we made our way back to the Mango Tree Restaurant for snacks and a drink before heading back to the villa for the evening. All-in-all a couple of chill/relaxing days.

Beer and views.

Beer from the Chocolate Hotel on our patio.

Fine, we'll have another drink.

David is too cool.

Sunset time.

The following morning we got up, grabbed our last breakfast and started packing/prepping for our return to Atlanta. Our transfer to the airport was planned at noon. On the drive we were able to see the nearby St Vincent (the next major island in the Caribbean chain to the south) about 90 miles away, which was pretty cool.

Little hand to help up the hill.

The resorts little shop.

Flowers for days around here.

St Lucia is a pretty solid vacation destination. You don't have to go the resort route, either. We ran into a family (from Michigan no less) that had rented a car and was staying at an Airbnb, so that's definitely a possibility here. If we had rented a car, we likely would have driven around and seen more of the island, including a trip up to the capital city of Castries... but that would have been logistically difficult with five people. We'd recommend if you're looking for a lounge-around trip that the area of St Lucia we stayed at (near Soufriere) is a good option. It's just about 45 minutes from the airport and easy to access. There were lots of other resorts/hotels either on the coast or up in the mountains and a variety of tours/excursions to keep you busy in-between relaxation time. At only a few hours from Atlanta by air, we've probably been slouching on the Caribbean, so maybe we'll be back to visit some of the other islands in the coming years!