Saturday we all woke up around 1 p.m. and headed over to Mike's brother's house who was having a big BBQ which included fried okra, wings, BBQ pulled pork, 3 racks of ribs, and corn muffins. All of which was homemade and all of which was amazing. We spent the day playing yard games, enjoying the sweet Florida sun, and stuffing our faces full of barbecue. On Sunday we were all still tired from our all nighter two nights before and again spent half the day in bed. We went for a late lunch at an awesome seafood restaurant called Clarke's on the waterfront, being sure to sit outside and enjoy the sun. The rest of the day was spent playing euchre and watching movies until Mike and Erin had to turn in early in order to get up for work the next morning.
On Monday we again headed north into Georgia to visit the beautiful town of Savannah. We had no real plans for visiting the city but we had heard from everyone along the east coast that Savannah was a city that we just couldn't miss. After consulting our guidebooks, we had a rough plan for the day but we were still counting on looking things up when we got into Savannah. By the time we pulled into town it was about noon and we decided to start off the day with some food at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Co before exploring the city. We couldn't find any parking that let us have more than an hour so inserted the max amount into a meter and headed off to lunch, planning to refill the meter before walking around the city. When we got back the the van, 3 minutes after the meter expired, we already noticed that we had a ticket, so we decided that are spot was good for a while and began to walk around the city. We spent most of our time in Savannah by the water on River Street, window shopping and occasionally peaking our heads
in to see what the stores had to offer. After a couple hours we went back to the car and began to
make our way toward the Atlantic ocean. On our way to the water we passed by Fort Pulaski National Monument and pulled in for a visit. While crossing the bridge onto the island we spotted a bottlenose dolphin swimming in the river which we watched for about 15 minutes before continuing on to
the fort. We were almost roped into a tour of the fort but when we heard our tour guide speak we decided to duck out instead of endure 45 minutes of his slow droning. To make up for it we watched a video about the fort then toured it on our own. The coolest thing we saw on
our whole tour was the outside walls of the fort which still bore shell marks from being attached during the start of the Civil War. After a couple hours touring the fort we finally headed to the beach. The weather was a little cold to be true beach weather but still beautiful compared to what was going on up north, and thus we felt no need to complain. We spent the rest of our daylight hours walking up and down the beach, collecting sea shells and looking at dead jellyfish that had run ashore.
Tuesday we again decided to spend our day on the beach in the sun. It's so nice to type that, sitting outside at 7 p.m. in shorts and a t-shirt, then thinking about people back home whose cars are currently covered in snow :) Anyway, Amelia Island is right on the border of Florida and Georgia and this is where we decided to spend our day. It is a stones throw away from Cumberland Island National Park which was our first choice for the day. Upon hearing that it would cost us $40 per person just to get to the island however, we decided to rethink our plans. Cumberland Island and Amelia Island are basically the exact same island except for one has been run over by humans and commercialized as a resort town while the other remains uninhibited, just as nature made it. Currently we decided to put Cumberland Island on hold until the warmer weather creeps a bit more northward, hopefully encouraging the wildlife to
perk up and come out. Therefore... Amelia Island here we come. On our way to Savannah the day before we passed the Budwieser Brewery of Jacksonville. Pressed for time and anxious to explore a new city, we passed up the brewery but today, without having to drive 3 hours to reach our destination, we had plenty of time to stop in and take the free tour. After all the walking and beer sampling we had both worked up quite an appetite so we made our way to Amelia Island in search of food. While browsing the island's one city, Ferdinadia Beach, we noticed a sign for a place called Karibrew and decided to check it out. It turned out to be an awesome, family owned, cafe that just happened to serve some homebrew on occasion! We had the rotten luck of catching them in between batches and ended up only having one option to choose from; lucky for Katie it was their stout. Our hunger now
curbed, we headed for the beach. We spent the afternoon walking for a few hours up and down the beach, just at the water line, sometimes allowing the tide to rush in over our feet. We walked with our heads bowed, intent upon the sand, ever searching for
new and different shells and creatures that were being dragged in with the tide. About an hour before sunset, as the sun dipped below the trees and left us without her friendly warmth, we headed back to the historic downtown to walk around and do some window shopping. Along the way, we came across
a bar that featured a wine tasting that night, only a few hours away. We took a mental note of this place and made it a point to come back once the tasting had begun. It started off slow and Katie and I feared that we would be the only ones in this small town that were interested in this sort of thing. But within an hour of the start of the tasting there was barely any table room and definitely no seats available. Since Katie and I were the first ones to arrive on the scene, we had a spot right up next to the serving table and we made fast friends with the pourer who we spent the night talking with and getting to know. Time flies when you're having fun, and before we knew it, it was time to leave. In the evening, once back at Mike and Erin's place, we watched the MSU - Ohio State basketball game, then played a few rounds of Fusion Frenzy before the man began to call and they had to go to bed.
Wednesday was a long awaited day for all of us. It was the last day of work for both Mike and Erin until the following Monday. It was the beginning of their mini vacation and meant that we would be visiting some of the best theme parks in the world within a few days. The day was full of anticipation. None of us could wait until the 5 o'clock bell rang and we could really start to have some fun. Mike worked from home most of the day which added to the anxious atmosphere already present. After each conference call he would hang up the phone and wish
out loud that the day was over. It reminded me of our college years, procrastinating homework, and grudgingly studying for tests when we just wanted to party. Katie and I deliberately made no plans for the day. To show our appreciation to Mike and Erin for both hosting us and taking time off work to vacation with us,
we decided to cook them dinner. After checking the cupboards for sufficient cooking utensils, we headed to the store to pick up the food. We had agreed upon one of Mom's famous recipes, beef and bean enchiladas. We spent the afternoon preparing the meal and about a half hour after everyone was home from work we were enjoying our meal. We made it an early night because of our big plans the next day to visit the newly built, Harry Potter World!
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