Savannah, Georgia

I was most excited to visit a couple of southern cities on our trip. Savannah was right up there at the top.

Our original itinerary included a stop after St. Augustine in Naples, Florida. A few things fell through, the weather wasn’t looking great, the tragedies in Orlando had just happened and we were not super excited about the long drive all the way down Florida and then all the way back up. So Naples got nixed.

Instead, we shifted our schedule and drove straight to Savannah. Surprisingly, this was only the second time we strayed from our pre-planned stops (the first was an overnight in Waco). And just like that first adjustment, we were happy with the decision to tack on a few extra days in Savannah.

We stayed at a campground about 20 minutes outside of Savannah. There was lots of grass, pretty grounds, a pool, horses and a clubhouse with a big tv for watching movies and a pool table.

For most of our stops we’ve hardly had time to hang out around the campground. This time, we moved a little slower and there was more downtime which was perfect for our family.

We spent two full days in Savannah. The first started with brunch at Soho South Cafe.

The two younger boys tried chicken + waffles for the first time (and fell in love), I had the most amazing fried green tomato sandwich with a fried egg on top. It was such a great meal.

From there, we walked from square to square, looking at houses, popping into shops and getting a feel for the city.

This was the first time in Savannah for all of us and we were not exactly sure where to go and what to do. We went off of the suggestions from this book and my dear instagram friends who left helpful comments. 

We visited The Paris Market – a really pretty shop with fun displays and interesting mix of vintage and new.

A few doors down was Ryan’s favorite shop called 24e. First of all, the warehouse they are in is amazing and we all wanted to move right in. Second, the selection of furniture and lighting is well-made and unique.

After a stop into Anthropologie for a new top we moved on to Forsyth Park and the iconic fountain.

The park has a great playground where the kids played for a bit, a huge field where we threw a football until we were too sweaty and the Confederate Memorial Statue. 

We made our way down to the river and walked along the old cobblestone roads along River Street. There were mainly bars along the street so we didn’t spend much time down there.

After a long, hot day with lots and lots of walking, we finished off the day at another really, really good restaurant called The Public Kitchen + Bar. Again, our food was so good, the service was great and I loved the atmosphere.

I snapped this photo at the table and got a little teary-eyed. These kids have been such great travel companions. We drag them all over the place and they just go along with it. We take them to restaurants where they have to stretch their tastes and use their manners and they take it like champs. We’re so proud of these four. 

The next day was Father’s Day and we decided to have a hang-out-at-the-campsite day.

The kids made Ryan a surprise breakfast – a yogurt and fruit pyramid :)

Speaking of fruit, while in Georgia we ate a lot of fresh peaches.

So very juicy and delicious.

Our second full day in Savannah started at another fantastic restaurant: The Collins Quarter.

This restaurant was my favorite of all we’ve been in during these travels. The lavender latte was amazing as was the avocado toast, the braised short rib hash, the brioche french toast … it was all so wonderful.

We spent the first day doing our own sightseeing, but we were anxious to learn more of the history of the city and so we booked a trolley tour that took us around for about an hour while our driver narrated along the way.

The kids were not as into it as Ryan and I were, but they did great.

I loved hearing about how the city was established, what all the squares contain, seeing old, gracious homes, gorgeous churches, learning about the dripping Spanish moss (it’s not actually moss!) and some of the city’s most famous residents.

After the trolley tour, there were a couple of spots we wanted to go back to and visit. One was this striking church:

I didn’t realize that we could go inside, but Ryan opened the door and we all followed. 

When I walked in, I gasped. And then cried.

Never have I seen a more beautiful building. 

Another stop we wanted to make it to was Leopold’s Ice Cream. Everyone told us it was a must-visit. We skipped it the first day because the line was super long and we figured the ice cream couldn’t be that great.

On day two, after hearing about it over and over again, we stood in the line and gave it a try.

Mmm. Very much worth it. 

One last little stop … Calhoun Square. This is the only square that has all of its original buildings intact and we wanted just a few more minutes to walk around and appreciate the architecture.

We really enjoyed Savannah. The food was so good. We loved the old homes and buildings. The trees are big and covered in that strange, romantic Spanish moss.

If we were to do it again, we would have taken the trolley tour on day one just to give us a good overview of the city before exploring on our own. Learning the history of the city made us appreciate it all the more and we would have missed so much if we didn’t have our trolley tour guide. Lesson learned.

P.S. If you’d like to learn more about the history of Savannah, this is a great resource.