Anniversary 10.0

My anniversary surprise trip in detail.  Husbands, take note, this is the way to a woman's heart.  A completely planned and arranged for vacation.  If you really want to take the easy way out, just plan on Savannah and Jason will have done all the leg work for you.

1.27.2011

7:00am. Wake to Eli demanding chocolate milk and discover a surprise box on my night stand. It is filled cards revealing a getaway trip with all the details handled, but I am not privey too.  Quickly determine my husband is the best and I am the luckiest lady having a tenth anniversary out there. 

8:00pm. Bring sleepy children to Gammy and Grin's house for the drop off. They couldn't be more happy to be rid of us.

1.28.2011

5:30am. The alarm sounds to begin the day's adventure.

10:15am. Arrive in Atlanta for a short lay-over and promise each other that we will never wait until 10:15 again before having a cup of coffee. We drink 2 cups while watching planes land and we both agree that Seattle's Best regular ole cup o'coffee is better than Starbucks.

4:30pm We arrive in Savannah after a bit of a delayed flight. We flew in on a completely full flight. The poor business guy next to me put on his headphones and closed his eyes after just a few minutes of me crying though Ann Voskamps book.  

5:00pm arrive at Hotel Avia. It is the bomb diggity, y'all. Most defintiley the nicest room we have ever stayed in. I discover we have the "romance package" complete with a suite, chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne. Appropriate, yes?

7:00pm. Dinner at The Olde Pink House. Amazing. The setting is perfect. The food is amazing and the company is even better. Our waiter is very personable and likes to use the word "tremendous."

The fried green tomato BLT salad really is the best salad I have ever eaten.

9:30pm. We crawl into bed go to sleep early! This is how folks with 3 kids and who are self-employed vacation...rest! No laundry, deadlines, dishes, help tickets....

1.29.2011

7:30am. This appears to be as late as I can sleep, but still 10 hours of sleep is about double the norm, so I'm feeling pretty good.

9:00am. Breakfast at the hotel. Everywhere in Savannah serves shrimp and grits, morning, noon and night. It is Savannah's 'thing'.

9:30am. Our self-guided, exploring tour of Savannah. We discover that the shops on the river are the typical tourist places. As we move inland every 3 blocks there is a park square. Each one has some rich historical significance and is georgeous. The shops become more refined and unique. We pick out several homes that would be sufficient for us. The weather is perfect. The scenery is amazing. There might not be a more beautiful town and there has never been a better walk.

 (cream soda for me and a cherry coke for him)

After lunch at Leopold's, where the ice cream is the star of the meal, we make it to the most amazing park I have ever seen, Forsyth Park. It seems impossible that this is a public place. There is much activity, mostly locals and everyone of them has a dog.

3:00pm. We take the ferry across the river to the Westin...for a trip to the spa, yes please! We have our first ever couples massage and come out all relaxed and smelling good.

8:00pm. Dinner at Elizabeth's on 37th. Y'all, eat here. The Captain took our order and recommended the wine, take his recommendations folks.

 (picture in the hotel mirror, all fancy before dinner)

10:30pm. Another early night...love it.

1.30.2011

8:15am.  I finally give in and get out of bed.  In room coffee and reading this morning.

10:15am.  We put our name on the Lady and Sons wait list.

11:00am.  We hear the "Come and get it" triangle ring outside Lady and Sons and within 15 minutes the entire three floor restaurant is filled.  Mind you, this is a very low tourists time.  Wow.  We enjoy the fried chicken, green beans and lima beans the most.  Gammy makes Paula Deen's banana pudding better than Paula Deen's restaurant. (Second "best thing I ever ate" experience with the hoecakes, and honestly I'm a bit let down)

12:00pm.  We head to Tybee Island to enjoy the gorgeous weather.  The beach is beautiful, but still a bit cool in the wind.  {I know, I know, it is January so we are doing pretty well to be out there at all}

2:00pm.  We climb the steps to the lighthouse and tour the grounds.

{we made it to the top!}

3:30pm.  Grown up nap time.  Don't be jealous.

5:00pm.  Coffee and walking.  If we could do this for an hour everyday I think we could conquer anything.

8:00pm. It is Sunday night and things are much calmer than they were the previous two evenings in the town.  We head to Jazz'd for a low key dinner of tapas.

10:30pm.  Jason admits he feels lousy and just needs to rest.  Poor guy, gets a stomach problem to end the vacation.

1.31.2011

8:00am.  Jason is definitely feeling puny, but puts on a happy face for the last day of our journey.

9:00am.  A short walk in the rain to grab some breakfast.  The quiche and the stuffed crousiants are fantastic at Goose Feathers.

10:00am.  Jason indulges me in some last minute shopping to pick up a things we really liked along the way.  There were lots of unique shops with great shop owners.  The shopping right on the river is touristy and leaves something to be desired, but the shops along the squares and historic streets are great.

1:00pm.  Airport bound.  So sad to be leaving the dream, but so refreshed from our time.

6:30pm.  Home and able to wrap our arms around our sweet babies.

It was the perfect balance of scheduled events and relaxed down time.  We could not have enjoyed our time more.  Thank you, Jesus, for this amazing time of restoration and encouragement together.

{Resolve to do something this amazing at least once every 10 years.}