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.

Christmas and New Year Trip - Dec 2020

NC Gang in FL

Our 2020 end of year trip was to be a two-week trip around New Zealand with John and Joanna.  Since Covid-19 put a stop to that, we opted to try a five-week, 4,000 mile road trip around the east coast!  With that much time on the road and a lot of room in the 4Runner, we decided to pack heavy.  And heavy we did.  To the point that we started getting nervous we'd actually fit everything in the car:  not only the large suitcases, but a folding table, Keith's large work monitor, herbs and spices, board games, a cooler, weights, and even steamed pudding pots!  But we loaded it all up on the morning of Thursday Dec 10...and we were off...

Kentucky

We left home at about 3 in the afternoon and drove the ~5 hours down to Louisville.  Dinner was veggies and hummus on the road.  We arrived at the Hotel Distil and used two valet carts to get our stuff to the room.  The next morning Keith left to visit three communities in the market, and on the way back to the hotel, he stopped by where he used to live during his pre-Shawna years, Mallgate Apartments (now Halsey Flats) by Mall St Matthews.  Dinner that night was takeout from Merle's Whiskey Kitchen with a bottle of wine from the hotel (after we bought that we remembered that we had ~20 bottles with us!).

Dining Covid style - take-out in our room

Carolinas

After a quick visit in Kentucky we drove the 8 hours to Raleigh - the last time Keith did this drive was when he was moving to Durham to go to grad school.  While we used much of the drive to listen to the beginning of Obama's audio book, we were lucky to spend 2 hours listening to Phoebe's bat mitzvah over Zoom in the morning!  It was great to listen to and Phoebe was incredible - very poised and confident.  Lunch was cheese and crackers: we had stopped by Whole Foods in the morning for a gorgeous spread that Shawna "served" as Keith was driving.  As a result, we made fantastic time and arrived at Chez Douglas on the Saturday night just after 5pm.  We unloaded the car and Keith set up his mobile office in John's spare room and had a few beers with sushi for dinner.  We stayed for a week with Shawna working out of John's house and Keith spent a couple of days down in Charlotte visiting properties.  While in Raleigh, we:

• Went for a walk around the Washington Duke Golf course - Keith with Stephanie and Shawna going for a run
• Ate lunch at Fosters
• Cooked gumbo and made a few meals out of it
• Had a socially distant Asian dinner at Keith and Kates (with Phoebe and Ruby) around their outdoor fireplace
• Did a few more walks: around John's neighborhood and to the mall and back

It was great seeing some of the Raleigh gang and when we departed we knew we'd see John and Joanna in less than a week.

Socially distanced dinner at the Artins

Georgia

The drive down to Atlanta was easy - more audiobook and cheese and crackers.  We planned the trip to arrive by 2pm so Keith could secret shop a property on the Sunday afternoon.  We checked into the Westin Perimeter North.  We got a larger suite so that there was more room after the smaller space we had in Louisville.  We had mediterranean for dinner than night (delivered to our hotel).  On the Monday, Keith toured properties all day while Shawna worked out of the hotel.  After property tours, Keith returned to the hotel, changed, and drove Shawna to a dinner in the private dining room of Ray's on the River where we had yummy steaks, joined by Kelly, JP, and Shuyi.  

Louisiana

After the brief stay in Atlanta, it was time for the 8-hour drive to Shawna's mom's house so that we could be with her for a few days over Christmas!  Keith drove half the way and was on conference calls much of the day.  We arrived at the house early evening.  While at Shawna's mom's we:

• Cooked and ate gumbo for Christmas Eve and several meals after...with enough leftovers to take to the beach house and have TWO full meals there!
• Ate fried turkey courtesy of Chet for Christmas day with some delicious sides
• Opened gifts on Christmas morning and gave Shawna's mom the Christmas gift of Shawna returning to the house for two weeks and being there to celebrate her 80th birthday
• Baked ginger cookies
• Ate pineapple cake that Shawna's mom made for Keith - we managed to eat the entire cake over four days!
• Went for walks along the bayou every day
• Watched cheesy Christmas movies at night

Celebrating Xmas Covid style

Panama City Florida

We rented a house on the beach for the week over New Year's with the Raleigh gang (Joyce/Phil, Kim/Jonathan, and John/JoAnna). We left Moreauville on the Sunday morning with a lunch stop in Slidell for Keith to meet his colleague Tami for lunch.   We made it to the beach house at 5pm: the rest of the crew were already there and had selected rooms which made things easier.  The gang helped us unload the car, Keith set up his "office" for the week, and we warned up the gumbo for the first dinner. The house was great - it had 7 bedrooms with plenty of bathrooms and a nice sized kitchen / dining / living room area.  It was located directly not the beach with great views of the water from each floor.

House Rental

The week was quite lazy:

• In the morning, people either went for walks, read, or slept in.
• Every day was focused on cooking, eating, cleaning up, and of course a few drinks were had - including Shawna's cocktails of the day,  Each couple had a day of cooking.  Shawna's day was New Years Eve and included an amazing kale salad for lunch and roast lamb for dinner with two steamed puddings for dessert.
• The house had a pool that was heated.  While it was a bit cool outside, it was warm enough to have a dip in the pool and drink a beer or five. It sunny the first few days of the week so we could sit outside and soak up a few rays during the day.
• Keith took out his kite once: since he brought it he had to use it!
• We played a few games around the kitchen table each day.

Hanging out at the pool

We packed up the last morning and all departed at about 7:45.  Keith drove Shawna to the airport where she picked up a rental car to drive back to Louisiana while Keith continued visiting properties.

Playing games

Louisiana (Shawna)

It was ~7 hours back to Moreauville for Shawna, then two weeks with her mom where she:

• Worked out of her house during the week
• Cooked lots of healthy food for mom to try and give her ideas
• Went for walks/run along the bayou
• Watched more cheesy Christmas movies
• Baked cookies and a pineapple cake for Shawna's mom's birthday
• Chatted with some of her friends who Shawna had texted to come by individually and wish her mom a socially distanced birthday
• Looked at old photos and reminisced about old memories

Tampa / Orlando / Jacksonville / Nashville (Keith)

Keith's job the next two weeks was to haul all the stuff in the car as he visited properties and met some of his teammates.  The next two weeks were all work, but he arrived home safely on Saturday Jan 16th, with Shawna flying home on the 17th. 

JoAnna, Joyce, Kim and Shawna in FL