HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA CAFFREY!

We knew when we were planning our trip that one of Aly's great friends from SVU, Rainey, lived here in Savannah. We were excited to be able to meet her and go to her ward for church.  Testimony meeting was fabulous and we appreciated the spirit that was felt as the members shared their testimonies.  Right after church we hurried over to The Lady and Sons restaurant (Paula Deen's place) for our reservations. (thanks again Abby).  It is a 3 story restaurant, and once again, a cash cow.  Sundays are buffet all day, so that was what we ate.  Fried chicken, roast beef, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans, black eyed peas, collard greens, creamed corn, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, and a salad bar. also biscuits and a corn pancake Choices for dessert included banana pudding, peach cobbler, and butter cake.  We all tried and liked everything but favorites are listed:  Annie:  fried chicken and mashed potatoes, James: banana pudding and meat loaf and potatoes, Bryans; corn bread with sweet potato syrup on top (he got hooked up by a server) and homemade croutons, Abby:  biscuits, butter cake, and mashed potatoes,  Kristin:  chicken and banana pudding.  

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to talk with the concierge about tours.  Petya was fabulous and hooked us up with an all day trolley tour with on/off privileges and also a night tour of ghost and graveyards which annie was begging to do since Savannah claims to be the most haunted city in America.  She gave us a great deal and booked all 3 kids at the children's rate for us.  The trolley tour took us all through downtown Savannah and told about the history and homes and other fun and random facts.  It took about an hour and a half and it was warm outside, but at least we weren't walking, because we sure covered a lot of ground.  Our guide was a fast talker and you had to concentrate to understand him.  He kept mocking Bryan because he had made the mistake of calling the trolley a bus and that apparently is a no no.  Having said all that, I don't know that I would recommend the trolley.  I guess it all really depends upon who your driver is.  Bryan's complaint was that he wanted MORE.  More details and he always has so many questions he wants answered, and it wasn't that kind of format.  Also, it wasn't really great for on/off privileges because of how long it took. So if you take it and you see something you want to investigate, get off right then.  We just rode the whole ride straight and then decided to back to things by ourselves in our car.  

One other bit of advice.  Wormsloe--Definite MUST SEE!  Having said that--we didn't get to see it.  UGH!  Since there is no plantation there anymore, just the driveway (which is what you have to see--check out our photo) we figured you could go anytime.  And it stays light forever out here, so we headed there about 6 pm.  Yep. They lock the gates at 5 pm.  AND the kicker.....it is closed on Monday.  Which meant we also couldn't go in the morning before we left town.  So sadly, we were only able to take photos over a locked gate and couldn't drive the road.  (Now we have to come back).

We also drove over to Tybee Island to see it and the lighthouse there. It was great but also closed on a Sunday evening.  At least we got pictures.
We went back into downtown Savannah and walked the river front shops.  We purchased some great Christmas presents and souvenirs--I got another set of money earrings (I have found them on multiple family trips and that is my go to souvenir). Our final event was the ghost and graveyard tour.  We boarded an all black trolley down by the river and had a fun tour guide.  We then drove through town for  1 1/2 hours while she told us stories of death and murder. Much of downtown is built right on top of the old cemetaries and ghosts apparently haunt many houses there.  She took us into an abandoned warehouse where she gave everyone ghost detecting devices they could use and take photos of the dark room to see if any ghosts appeared when we looked at the photos.  Surprisingly there were none :)  But the kids thought it was fun.  The final story was in a warehouse room with an actor, but at least that room was cold, so it was fantastic.  Bryan and I wouldn't have done it on our own, and I wouldn't recommend it for adults, but the kids had fun and it was something to do late at night and we got to see the town again.

It ended at 10:30 pm and I had half an hour to make it back to Leopold's for my ice cream. It was heaven!  They claim that they are ranked #5 in the world for ice cream.  It is all made right on site.  They make about 20 flavors each month and those change monthly.  Annie and I both got the chocolate chocolate chip and it was great!!  Dark chocolate, rich, creamy--Leopold's is a MUST DO!  James ordered mint chocolate chip (his favorite) Abby got coconut (her favorite) and Bryan got a strawberry shake (runny--per his request, because that is how he likes them).