All great things must come to an end. . . .Thus, our trip to HHI had to come to an end. . .
We checked out of the hotel and headed for a day trip to Savannah. The drive to Savannah is absolutely gorgeous! Enjoy the trip! But then you see it. . . This GORGEOUS high bridge leading to the city of Savannah. Breathtaking!
We dropped my DW off to get in line for the Paula Deen restaurant. In case you've been living under a rock for the past 10 years, in addition to excellent historical sights and squares, Savannah is the home to Paula Deen. Her restaurant downtown, The Lady & Sons, is a mecca for those who love southern cooking, butter, and the phrase "Y'All". They do NOT take reservations in advance. To get a seat for that day, you have to line-up outside the restaurant. They begin taking these reservations at 9:30 AM. You can choose between a lunch slot (11:00 - 3:00) or a dinner slot (5:00 - closing, no exact time is given on the door, just a "?"). DW got in line at 9:30 and the line was already wrapped around the corner. As you got close to the front of the line and the podium, they split the group into two lines, lunch and dinner. We wanted lunch so DW got into that line. By the time she made her way to the podium at 10:15 for lunch reservations, she had her choice of an 11:00 or any time between 2:15 - 3:00. She snagged the 2:15 time. Not quite sure when they officially "sold out" for the day, but it was before noon. Bottom line, if you want your choice of times, line-up early. If you can go with the flow, you can probably skip the early line-up, show up at 9:30 and you SHOULD be fine. As with all things in life, your experience and mileage may differ. . . .More about lunch in a bit.
My DW and I decided that the best way to see the city is to do one of those touristy "bus tour." We chose "Old Savannah Tours" simply because they had a booth set-up right across the street from Paula Deen's restaurant. So while DW stood in line, DS and I purchased our tickets for the bus tour. They sent a "bus" to come pick us up and send us to the main "depot" for the departures. We boarded our open booth and began our tour. I have to say, it was great! For a total of $51, we got a day of on/off privileges, and a FANTASTIC way to see the city.
Some of the great sites we saw: The square where Forrest Gump filmed the infamous Park Bench scenes. Our tour included a special guest! Check out who boarded our bus at that square!
He was looking for Jenny's house and wondered if we knew where we could find her. It was somewhat cheesy, yet great at the same time. Here are more pictures from around the town:
This is the actual Forrest Gump square:
A great pub used in a Julia Roberts movie. . .
The line for Ms. Wilkes. There is a huge fight in Savannah over who makes the best fried chicken. Mrs. Wilkes seems to be the favorite. I think the battle is kind of like the whole "soda" and "pop" fight between Maryland and Western PA residents. My relatives are still angry that I have joined the "soda" team. . . .So here's a picture for the line outside Mrs. Wilkes. Next time, we'll try it. . . .
Do we look like tourists or what?
Typical GORGEOUS Savannah home:
A trip to Savannah HAS to include the riverfront. You have not LIVED until you try a fresh candied praline from a candy shop on the riverfront!
DS2 thanking his mom for the tour!
And DS12 loving the tour as well!
Needless to say, we loved the tour. Our guide was extremely informative and worth every penny we paid for the tour. I would suggest you start at stop #1 and go through all 15 stops (it takes about 90 minutes). Then you can decide what "area" of Savannah interests you and get off at that stop next time around. Here is a scan of the tour map. Sorry for the size, but I figured you would want to see the details:
We made our reservation at 2:15 at Paula Deen's place. She was there that day as was her sons! There was a blood drive going on that she was a sponsor for! Anyhow, the question everyone wants to know. . . .How was the food? In a word A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!! Do yourself a favor, and do the buffet. This has the "best of" Paula including Fried Chicken, fried catfish, baked chicken, red rice, REAL cream corn, baked zucchini, macaroni and cheese, grits, green beans, and hoe cakes (stop giggling guys. . .). Are you drooling yet??? You should be! Price was $13.95 and a GREAT bargain for the quality of the food! Tip for you: Get the HOMEMADE Lemonade. Be prepared for your knees to buckle! And it's the kind of lemonade that gets better as the ice melts. . . Truly amazing! And don't even get me started on the OOEY GOOEY CAKE! I'm going into butter shock just thinking about it!
Even DS2 had to dip his binky in this liquid gold!
Thank you mommy for this!
After lunch, we headed back out into to the town and did some more sightseeing and walking. We left at 5:00 to head back to our hotel in Florence, SC. Thus, the end of the trip. . .
*****Final thoughts*******
I could go on and on about how much we hated checking out of HHI. Those who are worried or on the fence about going to something non-WDW. . . All I can say is reread this trip report. I'm hoping that my love of HHI comes through my words and pictures.
I went to HHI worried about my ability to "slow down". . . HHI reminded me WHY I need to slow down and relax on a vacation. It's so easy to get hooked on the "frantic" of WDW. Let's face it, WDW is a BLAST (we're heading to SSR tomorrow for a week vacation). But every now and then you need to be reminded that sometimes the best vacations are the ones where you truly just "let go" and breathe. More importantly, I think it's places like HHI that help us teach our children that it's okay to truly. . . . relax!
Thank goodness I have an amazing wife who really pushed for this vacation. It's why I love her. This was her idea and I am so glad that her inner-radar was right (as always).
Thank goodness for places like HHI! HHI keeps the "Disney Magic" while subtly reminding you to "relax" and to let the stresses of life go away. The ocean, of course, helps to relax you. But so does the easy going manner of B'Lou and his stories; the smiles and calmness of the cast members; the sights of Spanish Moss hanging off an old oak while you are involved in a great book; the smell of salt water and the marsh; and the way the sun sets over that marsh as two dolphins play in the shimmer of the water.
I still love my WDW, but I will always have a special place in my heart for our first trip to Hilton Head, Y'all!
. Am trying to plan what we will do next summer vacation and am currently torn between HHI or a Yosemite trip (and driving down to DL, of course!). After your report I am leaning towards HHI, but DH and kids still want CA. I think I will make your trip report required reading before a decision is made!
