I arrived at the Visitors Center in downtown Savannah on Wednesday, 2/26 in a heavy rain storm. After chatting with a woman filled with southern hospitality, I decided to walk around despite the weather. Before this adventure, I never stopped at Welcome Centers, but not only are they a great information resource but there are also a great place to park big rigs for free. Trooper and I were among the few tourists walking around, but managed to scope out our activities for the next day.
On Thursday, 2/27 we went downtown early because I found out that Becky took Friday off and wanted to get there that night to kick off our weekend. Trooper and I walked around for three hours making sure we stopped at places I highlighted the night before: The Herb House, which is said to be the oldest standing building in GA; The Sweet Shop voted Savannah’s best candy store eight years in a row; The Salt Table voted #1 place to shop by TripAdvisor; and Forsyth Park, the largest park in the historic district with 30 acres.
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| Starting the morning off with a delicious (and pretty) mocha from Foxy Coffee |
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| River Walk boats |
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| Talmadge Memorial Bridge over the Savannah River |
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| River Walk shops opening up (The Sweet Shop is bottom left... famous for their pralines) |
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| The Herb House constructed in 1734 |
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| Bull Street... one of the prettiest streets that runs through the district to Forsyth Park |
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| Forsyth Park Fountain |
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| Blooming Magnolia Tree in Forsyth Park |
Savannah is famous for its Squares; it was founded by General Oglethorpe in 1733 and he designed the city to provide space for military exercises. Each “ward” was laid out with a square in the center surrounded by four residential blocks and four civic blocks. I counted 21 squares in the historic district which is less than 1/2 square mile. As we walked through many of them, people were sitting on the benches, chatting with friends, or reading about the particular square. It adds a natural beauty to an already beautiful town. I thoroughly enjoyed the Savannah accents and the friendliness of the local merchants (Trooper never received so many treats in one place!).
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| Beautiful Reynold's Square... one of my favorites |
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| John Wesley statue (founder of Methodism) in Reynolds Square |
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| General Oglethorpe statue in Chippewa Square |
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| Trooper chillin' in front of City Market |
A few locals recommended the beach community of Tybee Island. Since I had a couple of hours left before heading to Becky’s, I drove out to the island to share lunch with Trooper on the beach. I wasn’t sure if I would get back to the ocean for a while, so we sat on the sand and soaked up the warmth and sounds before making the 5-hour trip to Becky’s.
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| Tybee Beach |
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| T enjoying the waves |
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| Rough Day |
I met Becky in 1995 after moving to south-central Ohio post college to work at a Uranium Enrichment Facility. Becky, our friend Helen, and I became great friends and spent most of our time hiking, climbing, camping and mountain biking. Those years and friendships forever made me the outdoor enthusiast that I am today. Even though our paths kept us apart for a while, seeing Becky Thursday evening erased all that time.
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| Still the same! |
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| Love |
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| Beautiful evening, great fire, delicious wine and awesome friends! |
Not surprising, we spent a lot of time outside. On Friday, we took a long walk next to the Savannah River and canal just catching up on our lives. Saturday, she took me mountain biking which felt great since it had been a long time that my bike saw the woods. And Sunday, we launched the kayaks next to her house on Betty’s Branch then floated down the Savannah. It was the most active I had been since being on the East Coast and it felt great!
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| Playing in the Savannah rapids |
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| Spanish moss along the canal |
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| Bec & T heading down the path |
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| Me & T having a talk |
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| The Beautiful Bec deep in thought |
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| The Beautiful Beast deep in thought |
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| SO good to be together! |
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| Happy boy! |
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| One bad ass biker chick and another just trying to keep up! |
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| Turnaround point and a little breather (which I needed!) |
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| Focused on not falling |
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| Paddling up Betty's Branch |
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| Perfect day on the river |
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| Right at home |
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| Bec's awesome tattoo |
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| Clearly working hard |
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| Turtles have the right idea |
Bec and her husband Nevin have built a wonderful life and live in a great location to match their outdoor obsession. Nevin cooked delicious meals and humored my ridiculous questions; he is a neuroscientist so I couldn’t resist contemplating the origin of mankind after a couple glasses of wine. The two of them spoiled me silly and I enjoyed EVERY minute of it! Becky is one of the most dedicated and driven people I know. We sat on the deck talking about how great our 40's are because finally, we accept and love ourselves for everything that we are. I cherished every minute with her and didn’t know how much I missed her until spending 4 days together. She inspired me to pick up the guitar and do my daily exercises in the RV, and more importantly, introduced me to Guinness. Thank you Bec for once again being an inspiration. I am a better person with you in my life. Becky & Nevin, THANK YOU for so many great moments! xoxo
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| The Prius, The Camper and countless bikes = The Lambert Garage |
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| Guinness... who knew??? |
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| The great neuroscientist creating perfect risotto! |
Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Being in a routine like going to the same office in the same building in the same city day after day becomes easy and comfortable. Before I left Seattle, I had anxiety about the year ahead. The idea of not knowing where I would spent the night or what may or may not happen along the way was unsettling. But at the same time, I was excited about pushing outside my comfort zone everyday and how that could change me. I can already see a difference in the way I look at the day ahead; the anxiety and fear has submitted to excitement and an ability to go with the flow and let the path reveal itself. Being uncomfortable is a great thing.
