Georgia / South Carolina - Jan to Feb 2024

On to our next leg of our roadtrip, we spent two weeks in Georgia and South Carolina.

St Simons, GA

We stayed at Hotel Simone on St Simons Island for three nights - just the two of us.  The boutique hotel was great - nice large king sized bed with a separate sitting area/kitchen.  The hotel also had free breakfast and a small but decent gym.  There was a rooftop pool but it was too chilly to use it.

Bedroom at Hotel Simone

Both St Simons and neighboring Jekyll Islands are very serene and pretty with lots of marshland and beautiful mature trees with Spanish moss.  St Simons is more built up than Jekyll which is mostly a state park.  

While here, we did the following activities:

• Kayaking - We did a two hour kayak tour through the marshland waterways.  Saw some pelicans diving for fish and lots of oyster pods along the banks.

Kayaking on St Simons

• Trolley Tour - We did a one hour trolley tour of the historic part of Jekyll Island, learning about the history of the private club/hotel that was built in the early 1900s.  We then walked around a bit, seeing a few of the sights such as the Mosaic Museum and Faith Chapel.

Hotel on Jekyll 

• Ranger Walk - We also did a one hour rager walk on Jekyll where we learned about the plants and trees and saw a bald eagle in the nest with two young ones.

• Driftwood Beach - Located on Jekyll Island, we walked here for a few minutes to see the large driftwood trees.

Driftwood Beach

• We were supposed to do a trolley tour on St Simons but it was canceled so instead we toured the following sights:

• WWII Home Front Museum - Built in 1936, this is a coast guard station that is now a museum featuring the role that the Golden Isles played during WWII.

WWII Home Front Museum

• St Simons Island Lighthouse Museum - Built in late 1800s, you can climb to the top of the lighthouse.

St Simons Lighthouse Museum

• Fort Frederica National Monument - Build in 1700s and used to defeat the Spanish which then made St Simons a British colony.  It was also a town with houses (now you can only see where the houses once stood).  It is set on a beautiful property with lots of live oak trees with moss.

Fort Frederica National Monument

• Christ Church - The church was closed so we only walked around the grounds.

And ate at the following places:

• The Half Shell - We had dinner here on St Simons close to the wharf.  We shared some sautéed oysters in garlic sauce and a crab encrusted redfish.  Very tasty.
• Crabdaddy's - We had dinner here on St Simons across the street from our hotel.  We had mussels for an appetizer and blackened redfish with crawfish for our entree - both were very good.
• Georgia Sea Grill - We had dinner here on St Simons.  Nice restaurant.  We shared the mussels and a fish dish - both very tasty.

Greenville, SC

We drove five hours to Greenville where we stayed two nights at Todd and Denise's lovely Tudor home.  Keith worked with Todd at Aimco.  On Friday evening, Denise made a yummy pot roast with mashed potatoes and mini apple crisps for dessert.  

On Saturday, Shawna went for a run with Todd around downtown and then we went kayaking on Lake Jocassee.  We first stopped at a Jersey Mike's to grab some subs and then drove about 45 minute to the lake.  Their daughter, Nan, joined us as we kayaked 10 miles for about 4 hours.  It was a beautiful day on the lake. Which is fortunate because Keith was a moron and flipped the kayak, resulting in him getting drenched in the cold water!  He was holding Todd's phone to take a picture and dropped that in the lake - but fortunately in the shallow so Todd was able to rescue it.  Shawna was going to cook that evening but we got home too late so instead, we got takeout pizza from Pizza City and also ice cream from the grocery store.  Back at the house, we ate that and played a few rounds of Monopoly Deal - getting yet another family hooked on the game.  The next morning, we left after having coffee as we needed to get to our next location. 

Kayaking on Lake Jocossee

Charleston, SC

We drove three house to Charleston where we stayed two nights at the Courtyard Marriott.  Our room was small but it was clean and you can't beat free (we used points).  While here, we did the following activities:

• Horse Carriage Tour - We did a one hour tour of the city with Old South Carriage Company, learning mostly about the beautiful homes in the area.  Our guide was really good and entertaining.

Carriage Tour - It was chilly

• Nathaniel Russell House - Built in 1700s and owned by one of the wealthiest men in Charleston who was active in the slave trade. House is decorated with furniture to represent that time period.  We did the self guided audio tour.

Nathaniel Russell House

• Food Walking Tour - We did a 2.5 hour tour with Charleston Culinary Tours.  Our tour guide was informative about the history of Charleston but we both wished she shared more about the food history.  We stopped at four places - all great:
• Rudy Royale - tasted fried chicken slider, roasted brussel sprouts and smashed potatoes
• Charleston Crab House - tasted the shrimp and sausage boil with corn and potatoes
• Well Hung - tasted the short ribs with mashed potatoes at this city winery
• Benne's Dessert Bar - tasted the famous coconut cake  

Coconut cake at Benne's Dessert Bar

And ate at the following places:

• Prohibition - We had a cocktail and a beer here before dinner.  Really nice bar.

Drinks at Prohibition

• The Ordinary - Located in an old bank building, we had dinner here.  Really cool place and the food was amazing.  We shared several small plates - the best being the chicory salad, roasted squash and roasted sweet potatoes.
• See food tour above.
• The Gin Joint - We stopped here for a drink and a charcuterie board.  Cool place.  You can provide the bartender with two words (like refreshing and fruit) and they will make a drink based on that. 

Savannah, GA

Since we had not spent much time in Savannah in the past, we decided to spend three nights here - we got a room for free at the Courtyard Marriott - room was great and hotel was convenient to all the major sights and historic district.  While here, we did the following:

• Prohibition Museum - Kitschy but fun one hour tour about prohibition that ended with a cocktail in their speakeasy.  

Prohibition Museum

• Food Tour - We did a three hour Port City Tour with Savannah Taste Experience that stopped at six locations.  This tour was not as good as the one in Charleston but still fun.  We tasted food at the following places:
• Zunzi's - This restaurant is known for their Conquistador sandwich - pretty good.
• Parker's Market - This place is a gourmet market and gas station.  We tried the fried pork chop - very tasty.
• Capital Bee Honey Boutique - We got to try several different types of honey - all good.
• Java Burrito Company - We tried the taco with beef, corn, potato and peach salsa - it was OK.
• 22 Square Restaurant - This is located in the Andaz hotel.  We tried the shrimp and grits which was the best dish of the tour.
• Savannah Taste Experience office - Last stop was the tour operators office where we had Leopold's ice cream - it was just OK.

• Land and Sea Combo Tour - We started with a 90 minute trolley tour and then did a 90 minute boat tour on the river with Grey Line Savannah.  Both tours were OK - we learned a bit and got to see most of the sights but the guides were not very engaging.  

Boat Tour

And ate at the following places:

• Common Thread - Really cool restaurant located in an old home.  We had dinner here and everything was really good.  We shared a salad, Carolina gold rice and swordfish.
• Rocks on the Roof - Rooftop bar located at the Bohemian Hotel right on the river.  We stopped for a drink.
• Husk - Great restaurant located in an old home.  Everything was very good. We shared the charcuterie and pork with rice. 

Dinner at Husk

Atlanta, GA

Our last part of this leg of the trip was two nights in Sugar Hill which is about an hour north of Atlanta - we stayed at JP and Lara's house.  Keith worked with JP at Livcor.  Before we arrived at their house, we stopped in Atlanta and toured the Coke and Civil Rights Museums both located next to each other.  The Civil Rights Museum was very interesting and we wished we had more time there.

Coke Museum

We arrived at JP's house around 6pm and after we unloaded and chatted for a bit, we went to dinner with them and Eric (another colleague of Keith's) at Frontera Mexican near their house. We shared some chips and salsa for the table and then we split a chicken enchilada for our entree.

The next day was testosterone day.  We first stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast - we each got a biscuit with egg and bacon and split a hash brown.  With our veins appropriately filled with cholesterol, we then went to the River Bend Gun Club where JP and Eric taught us how to shoot.  We started out with some pistols and then Keith tried some of the larger guns which were too heavy for Shawna.  It was a lot of fun but we won't be running out to buy our own!!  That afternoon, we did axe throwing at Freedom Mill - Lara and Beth (JP and Eric's wives) joined us.  We had a few beers here as well.  On our way to dinner, we stopped by to see Eric's house which is located on a lake.  We then all had dinner at Tacomac where we celebrated the day with yummy wings and several apps.

Axe throwing with JP, Lara, Eric and Beth

The next morning, we grabbed a quick breakfast with JP and Lara at Reveille Cafe and then said our goodbyes before we headed to the next leg of our journey - North Carolina.