Wait! Wait! Wait!

March 19, 2017

Checkout was at 11:00. Jason and I dressed, packed, and made our way to the lobby exactly at 11. We hit the button for the elevator and waited... and waited... and waited. Soon more people arrived and a large line began to form. The hotel was open in the middle, which allowed you to see other guests also waiting for elevators on different floors. Guests were becoming restless. Finally word spread that only one elevator was working. A few people left to find stairs, but weren't successful. Finally, the elevator arrived--it was packed with people. The guests inside the elevator nervously laughed and pretended to make room even though there clearly wasn't any. Every floor had hit the button for the elevator, so it stopped on each floor as they worked their way to the lobby. We had to wait for all guests on the top floors to make it down before the elevator would have room for us. Finally, our elevator arrived. We got in and went to the checkout counter. We asked if we could leave our car a little longer in order to get lunch. They agreed and told us how to put our luggage in our car so we wouldn't have to take it to lunch. We were instructed to go to yet another elevator (luckily one that worked and was only for the parking garage). We informed them that we needed our key in order to put our luggage away and that we'd be back later to pick it up. They agreed and told us where they parked our car. We put the luggage up and then made our way to West Bay Street to find food. 

We ended up at Moon River Brewing Company, a restaurant we had eaten at numerous times before. Below are pictures of food:

Garlic and cheese fries:

After lunch, we walked back to the hotel for our car. We took the elevator to the garage once more and informed them we would be leaving. The person at the counter was someone different than before, so she wasn't aware we already had our car key. As she was about to get our key, we explained the situation and she opened the door for us to find our car ourselves--yes for no valet! 

Soon we were on the open road again and heading home. Since everyone was leaving Savannah at the same time, traffic was rather busy. It was a long drive back but we made it home safe and sound, and just in time to cuddle two loving, adorable cats. 

Hair of the Dog

March 18th, 2017 (Written by Jason)

    The next morning was like recovering from one particular scene in the exorcist (you know the one). I forgot that taking Lexapro cuts my alcohol tolerance in half. It was a day full of working, driving, eating very little, drinking, and staying up very late. I was so hung over that the light burned me like garlic on a vampire. We sat up in our bed and ate some more of the soda bread that I had made for the trip. I had countless glasses of water and we both took our showers and got ready to head out for lunch.We walked down to River Street. We were greeted by the horn of a river boat.

    We had decided that we wanted to go to the Cotton Exchange on this trip as we do most times we visit Savannah. We walked into the door and were greeted by the hostess. A waiter led us upstairs where we had a nice view of the water and the street outside. We however do not have a photo of this... deal with it. I ordered some fried chicken with potato salad and DaNae ordered a grilled chicken salad.

    If you like fried chicken and you are in Savannah, you would be doing a disservice to yourself if you don't try it at the Cotton Exchange. While we were eating, the waiter told us how annoyed he was with all of the completely trashed people coming into the restaurant. He explained that it wasn't even the customers, it was a particular co-worker that he was really frustrated by. It was precisely at that moment, a very familiar face walked up the stairs. I noticed that this person was wearing an apron and carrying a notepad to take orders on. It was the very sketchy guy before that we had seen at a number of bars and on the streets. I have to admit, I was impressed that this guy was able to peel himself off his mattress and make it in to work the next day. As we finished our meal, we decided to do a bit of people watching. The crowds slowly began to thicken and we noticed a stark contrast to the composition of this group. These were all working class people, they must have been working and unable to make the trip last night. It was probably wise of them to wait and not exhaust themselves trying to make it the same day. Our waiter came back and brought the check and with a wink he warned us not to get into too much trouble. We handed him our card and after all of the business was taken care of, we headed downstairs and out into the fray. One of our favorite things to do in Savannah is to go look at all of the antique shops to see the interesting things that they have. There is one store there that has sort of a hidden door on the floor. If you know me then you know, I have a problem with doors that are closed. The last time we were there however I think I glimpsed some water through a crack in the door. After we left I wasn't really sure if that was totally accurate so during this trip I just had to find out. We walked up to bay street and we soon found out that not a single antique store in town was open. I was heart broken, but after thinking for a moment I realized that I would never have let a mass amount of drunken jackasses in my store either. After this we decided to go back down to river street and try some free candy samples at River Street Sweets. The candy was amazing as usual, but we ended up not buying anything. We decided to head back up to bay street to see what sort of trouble we could *not* get into.

    The weather was that shade of perfect that you can only get around Saint Patrick's day in Georgia. It is the pleasant time in between the damp cold snap and the humid and sticky heat. We walked around to a few shops that were selling assorted items. I found this little guy that I really liked.

    After browsing shops for a little bit we decided to walk around the town. Savannah has a number of squares in the area so we set out to see them. It was a nice breezy walk and the further away we got from River Street, the more the peaceful and serene features of the city started to stand out. There were a number of fountains, all of which had been "greened" for the season. There were also quite a few SCAD students chilling out in hammocks and either relaxing or reading. We decided to sit down in a park where some art students were painting and enjoy the day. While we were sitting a small dog ran over to me and jumped into my lap. I petted him and his family apologized and got him down. I told them that it was fine and that they have a very cute dog. We snapped a picture of the dog as they walked away.

    While we were enjoying the sound of the wind in the trees and the sights of families and friends playing in the park we heard some growling and barking off to the side. We looked and there were about four people with two pit-bulls. The pitbulls were going at it. One would attack the other and then a counter attack would mount. The four people were just laughing at the dogs. Everyone was visibly angry and a few people ran over to them to tell them to break up the fight. They were very mad that not only were they letting these dogs attack each other but they were presenting a bad image for pit-bulls. Everyone thinks of them as such violent dogs because of displays like this. They shouted at the people to make them get control of the fight and finally they did.

    After a bit we decided that we wanted to go back to the action and see how Day 2 of the festival was going. On the way back we couldn't help but to stop in Colonial Park Cemetery. We have mentioned this place before, so I won't go into all of the details but it was nice to get one last moment of peace before jumping back into the chaos.

    Upon retuning we noted that there was a little coffee shop on Bay street and my head was still a little fuzzy from the night before. We agreed to go in and get a cup of coffee for me and a couple of pastries that caught our attention from the glass. We ended up with an almond pastry and a macaron. We have a wonderful macaron shop in midtown so I was a little curious how this place would measure up. I ordered a black Americano and the pastries and we sat down.

After our late day snack we decided to walk along the water front and feel the cool air brush across our skin. We waded through the throngs of people and made our way to the edge. Right or left? That was the question. We decided to take a left and walk as far as we could. That turned out not to be very far so we turned around and walked the rest of the way. After a bit we decided that with the crowds it would be best to put in a reservation because we knew that there was a good chance that we would want to go eat in the next hour and a half. We walked over to Huey's on the River and placed a reservation for two. We felt completely justified when we heard that our wait time was going to be an hour and fourty-five minutes. We decided that any place around the area was likely to be just as long so we confirmed the reservation. We went out into the bay area to sit and wait. There was a lot of fun people watching for sure.

I much preferred waiting with this group of people, they were there to have a good time but not to start shit like so many other people the night before. You could tell that these people had families and responsibilities and they just needed a break. We sat there for almost an hour and fourty-five minutes exactly when my phone went off and we were alerted that a tables was ready. We made our way in and there was quite possibly the loudest table in the history of restaurants diagonal to us. We kept waiting on them to finish eating and leave but we had no such luck. Occasionally the women at the table would flash some of the other women at the table to mess with them. I guess that is some kind of game they had going on. The waitress came over and  took our order and we both ordered gumbo. Mine came with grits and DaNae ordered hers with rice. She also got some sort of lemon sorbet mixed drink. The food was fantastic, in fact the food was so great that we decided to get an order of beignets with praline sauce. They were fluffy and delicious. It was like eating a sugary cloud.

 

 

 

 

    While we were eating the other table grew more and more obnoxious and our waitress came over and said "I am so tired of this fucking shit." we agreed. She then went on to say that it is always those kinds of people who will dine and dash. At first we agreed, but then we realized what she had meant. She was talking about the fact that they were Black. It was very uncomfortable for the rest of the time we were there and I am ashamed to admit that I didn't say anything to her about it. It is honestly one of those moments of weakness that will likely haunt me forever...

  After dinner, we walked around a little more and decided to go back to the room. DaNae put up some photos on facebook and not too long after that she got a response that one of her old friends was staying in Savannah at the same time and they were there for her birthday. We eventually found out that we were literally staying in the same hotel and they asked if we wanted to meet up for drinks. We were both into it so we relaxed for a bit and got ready to head out again. We met them in the lobby and headed across the street to Churchill's. We got a couple of drinks and waited for some room on the balcony. We talked about random cool things and just kind of hung out. Finally some space opened up and we headed upstairs. We traded off buying rounds of drinks and generally having a good time. We mentioned on more than one occasion how unlikely it was that we were all there at the same time and how well it turned out. After the night started winding down, we were exhausted and decided to head back to our room at 12:30 a.m.

A Door Marked Pirate

March 17, 2017

St Patrick's Day! Jason and I love going on vacation around this time of year. Early spring brings warmth and new beginnings, a perfect time for exploring and escaping the monotony of life. However, up until the week of St. Patrick's Day, we weren't planning a trip at all. Life was suddenly becoming stale and heavy, so a few days before the holiday, we made the adventurous decision to make our way to Savannah, Ga. We've been many times before but never during the busiest time of the year. We were very excited. We booked a hotel. Surprisingly, we would be staying in the center of town, within walking distance of all the local attractions.

The night before our trip, Jason made his delicious Irish Soda Bread, which we would eat on the way down and throughout the entire weekend. Below is a picture (it was his best one yet):

St. Patrick's Day was on a Friday this year. Jason and I still had to work, but we planned to leave the moment we were both home. I began packing my belongings and loaded up the car with our luggage as soon as work ended. Just an hour or two later, Jason and I were saying goodbye to our kitty cats and heading toward the green fountains of Savannah! Below is a picture of us about to head out on the open road:

In honor of the holiday, Jason and I made corned beef sandwiches for dinner, which we would eat on the way. Deliciously simple! We also stopped by quick trip for some sodas, as we are usually want to do.

Here is a picture of the sun setting as we made our way closer to our destination:

Finally, we arrived. The streets were packed with drunk college students from nearby universities. Police surrounded every corner. We even stumbled across the army blocking off numerous streets. "What have we gotten ourselves into?!" we said to each other as we passed some paramedics helping a man who was either dead or passed out in the middle of the sidewalk. What should have taken roughly 5 minutes to get to our hotel, took half an hour. The streets and roads were packed with people. Finally, we turned into the hotel. We couldn't see any parking available upon arrival. I parked in an area reserved for a horse and buggy while Jason ran into the hotel to borrow their restroom. Although gone for only a moment, Jason returned with a rather strange story of his experience. "I went into the hotel to try and find the bathroom, and there was a woman standing on a corner by the bathrooms. She looked at me and said 'are you coming to kick me out?' Then she started crying. I said 'No, I don't work here. I'm just trying to find the bathroom.' Then I went to the bathroom and came out. She was still there. Then she told me she was lost and started crying even more and then she sat down on the floor. I didn't know what to do and I just walked off." Savannah sure is different around this holiday! I was thankful Jason came back quickly, as I was parked in an illegal zone with no idea where to go. Luckily, Jason found the valet parking and was able to get them to park our car for us. We thanked them and made our way into check-in. Jason looked for the woman by the hotel, but she was gone. Hopefully she's okay and no longer lost.

Upon checking in, a woman told us we could be upgraded to a suite for free. We happily accepted. We got the keys and made our way to the new room. The moment we opened the door, our mouths dropped. It was the most luxurious, Fraiser-like hotel we've ever stayed. Below are pictures:

We even had a balcony!

After settling in a little, we made our way to the bars. We only had a couple of hours left of St. Paddy's day, as it was 9:30 when we checked in. Jason made a list of things he wishes to accomplish before his 30th birthday, and one of them is a pub crawl. He decided he could cross this off his list tonight, if we could make it to 3-4 bars. We succeeded. Below are pictures:

The first bar was Kevin Barry's. We waited in a long line outside the bar. They even brought Jason's beer to him while he finished paying in the line. We stepped aside, crossing a very drunk military man. We enjoyed ourselves by people watching, as Jason finished his first beer.

The next bar was Churchill's. Jason got two beers here. He drank his first beer downstairs, but the second one we were able to enjoy in a much quieter location. We soon realized there was an upstairs patio. We sat in the open air and enjoyed the people watching. A man walked in wearing a costume. It was one of those costumes, where the bottom half was a leprechaun. It gave us the impression he was sitting on the leprechaun's shoulders. It was hilarious! Below are pictures of us in the downstairs and upstairs:

After Churchill's, we went to Tondee's. Upon opening the door, a strong smell of vomit reached our nostrils. Clearly the drunk college students had made there way here. Jason quickly grabbed a beer, drank it, and then we got the hell out of there. I guess there are more drunk people than there are employees to clean up the mess they make. Below is a picture of Jason right before downing that beer:

Now, the big one: Abe's On Lincoln.

We've heard about this one before and we saved it for last. We walked around the corner and found a long line of people. We joined them. We stood right behind a man who looked exactly--and I mean exactly--like Johnny Bravo! He had the cut-off black shirt, the combed back blond hair, and the body type of the cartoon himself. It was kind of impressive how much he matched him. He was extremely friendly and very funny. He asked if we had ever been here before. We said 'no.' He then told us, 'it's cool! They have napkins with Abraham Lincoln stapled all over the ceiling--that's the only cool thing about it!" We laughed pretty hard.

Johnny Bravo continually made comments about the people around us, particularly the ones that were clearly on cocaine. At one point a young girl and a strange man walked up to talk to us. The girl was speaking 200 miles and hour and the guy was moving .001 miles an hour. Soon they broke open the fence to the patio of the bar and sneaked in without having to wait in line. Johnny Bravo said "Oh hell no!" Then he jumped the fence and disappeared into the night. We, being by-the-book type of people, waited in line. The new guy in front of us was clearly on some form of downer (my guess would be Xanax and lots of alcohol). Finally, after another long wait, we made it into the bar. The small room was packed with people and smelled of beer and sweat. In the middle of the room, everyone was dancing as purple lights flickered between the silhouettes. We carefully walked through the room and made our way to a safe corner, where Jason was able to order his last beer. They only took cash, so we got worried we wouldn't be able to get anything. We only had $3. Luckily, they sold PBR for exactly $2 (we gave him a $1 tip). Jason and I stood in the corner quietly, hoping to go unnoticed.

 
A man walked by us, as we were right by the hallway to another room, with a beer in his hand. He slightly tripped and spilled a little of the beer close to Jason's shoe. He looked up at Jason terrified, as though the expected response would be for Jason to slug him. "I'm so so sorry!" He said as he tightly grabbed his beer and secured it. Jason reassured him it was fine. The guy gave a full-body sigh of relief and walked down the hall. We laughed. Only moments later, another guy walked beside us. He was holding a beer in each hand. He looked at us and said in excitement, "I got my Guinness!!" We laughed and decided to follow him into the other room, where it appeared all the nice and non-party people were headed.

As we walked into the room, we saw a mid 30-year-old woman playing darts with a middle aged guy. They were pretty good. We watched them trash talk each other as we stood quietly in the corner. Soon a guy walked up, looked at us, and just stood there. He said nothing. We gave a weird look of confusion in response, not knowing what to do or what he wanted. Finally he said, "This is the line for the bathroom, right?" We laughed and shook our heads no. Jason said, "No, we're just standing by this door marked Pirate." The guy looked at the door in astonishment (it actually said "private." Then he said, "All right Charlie!" Guess he knows It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. We all laughed and then he peered through a whole in the door, where the doorknob should be.  below are pictures of what we saw:

Guess this is where they hide all the beer! After we all had a nice little laugh, the guy left. While Jason was finishing his beer, we enjoyed people watching some more. After about 10 minutes, the Pirate door guy showed back up. He just walked right up to Jason, tightly grabbed his shoulder, gave a nod of approval, and left. We never saw him again. After Jason checked to make sure his wallet was still in his pocket, he finished off his beer and we left.

We made our way back to the hotel. We were instructed upon check-in to make sure we kept these orange wrist bands on throughout the weekend. Apparently this was how they knew if you were a legitimate hotel guest. We made our way to an elevator where a police officer stood guarding it. We then headed to our rooms, only to find ourselves surprised once again by a complete stranger. As we walked down the hallway, a tall-bearded man peered around the corner. He then played peek-a-boo with us as we slowly walked toward his direction. We all started laughing. He then told us he was waiting for his friend Cody. He then yelled "CODY!" He said, "I swear I'm talking to someone. It's not just me." Then he giggled. We told him we believed him and then quickly made our way to our room. We never saw Cody...