We were grateful for the use of the washing machine at Rich's house. After washing laundry and repacking our bags for the next stage of the trip, we were off. We drove to Macon, Georgia and met up with Bryan's uncle Rodney for lunch at a place called "The Smokin' Pig". In the 23 years that we have been married, I had never met Uncle Rodney so it was wonderful to get to meet him. Unfortunately, we were so preoccupied with eating and talking that we completely forgot to take a picture with him until we were in the car and gone our separate ways. So let me just say, he looked good. He is kind and has a nice smile. It was wonderful of him to take the time to meet us for lunch! We only wish his son Jake was back from his honeymoon so he could have come too. Bryan was hoping to go golfing with Jake in Savannah but his priorities were in the right place being on a honeymoon with his wife. Hopefully they will come at west and we can meet up then.
We also took advantage of our time in Macon to drop into Best Buy and pick up a new Verizon JetPack. We have been mucking along without one since we lost ours somewhere in/out of the car between Galveston and New Orleans. It is a nifty gadget (Bryan loves gadgets) that gives you internet service almost anywhere. It allows us to work while driving and once you get used to having one, being without one is painful. Bryan was NOT happy to spend the money for something we already owned, but very happy to have the internet back in our car!! We honestly don't know what the heck happened to ours. We even pulled into a gas station and unloaded the entire trunk searching for the darn thing. It is little and black so it is easy to miss, but we couldn't find it anywhere. Our only guess is that it was sitting in the handle of the door and got knocked out in New Orleans when we pulled in late that night and unloaded in the dark. Oh well, the new one works great, so all is well in Equusville. Except for the fact that we have had to listen to "Muppet or Man" sung about a dozen times by Abygail from the backseat. Of course Annie tops that by listening to "Peace, be Still" by Nate Noble nonstop. If you haven't heard that song--it really is worth the listen....go to YouTube and you can thank me later. You can also probably listen to "Muppet or Man" on You Tube, but you won't thank me for that.
Savannah is Beautiful! We drove into town in a rain shower. But the trees and parks are beautiful and the misty rain just made it all the more romantic. This is the first stop on the trip where I wish we didn't have the kids with us. Maybe Bryan and I will have to return his some time just the two of us. Before the trip began Bryan assigned each child a city so that they would feel a sense of ownership in the vacation. They needed to find places to stay, places to eat, and things to do. Savannah was assigned to Abygail. The hotel she picked for us is great. We are at the Holiday Inn Express on the River. She picked it for 3 reasons. First, it is right on the river in the downtown area which is where we wanted to be, second it was within her allotted budget amount, and third, it has a rooftop pool. I think reason #3 was her deciding factor. (Thanks tripadvisor.com for all the help with plans for this trip.) The first thing the kids wanted to do was go swimming, but we told them they had to wait and we all set off on foot in the drizzling rain to inspect the quaint town. The stores are fun and I know we will be adding another ornament to the tree from this location. There is so much history here in Savannah both from the Revolutionary war time period and the civil war.
Bryan and I went to dinner at a place called Vic's on the River for a date away from the kids while they swam on the roof. It was romantic and the food was great so I would recommend it for anyone looking for a place to eat here. Also cool was the fact that in 1901 when they renovated the building in which the restaurant was located they found a map drawn on the wall by the soldiers of General Sherman's army from the famous March to the Sea in December of 1864 when the Union Army burned Atlanta and took Savannah. It was a tremendous victory for the north. And to see the map and think of the men from so long ago standing in that same building drawing a map of their route was incredible. It is protected by glass and it was cool to see it in person. We also saw where George Washington had been and the church where John Wesley preached (the founding father of Methodism). This is also the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, who founded the girl scouts. Bet you didn't know that here in Savannah at the girl scout headquarters you can buy girl scout cookies 10 months out of the year, AND they are only $2 a box. So much great history here in this beautiful city.
We returned from dinner to find the kids had finished swimming and gone out exploring together. I love when the three of them are together away from everything else in life and they are so good to each other. Of course I found out when they returned that they had "borrowed" a $20 from my wallet and gone to get ice cream at the famous Leopold's without me! What the what?? Those dirty rotten scoundrels knew we were going for ice cream tomorrow! We seem to be keeping fairly close to our AZ schedule. Which means that out here we are going to bed about midnight and getting up about 8 am. So roughly a 9 pm and 5 am schedule from home.