VACATION!

For a long time, we have wanted to go on vacation. This year it's been hard to find the time. But suddenly, on Monday morning, the possibility of getting away for a few days presented itself and we grabbed it. We left for Savannah on Wednesday morning and I can't remember the last time I was so excited and happy to go somewhere. ANYWHERE. But especially Savannah. We've wanted to go to Savannah for just about as long as we've lived in Georgia. And I have to say, it did not disappoint.

First, we drove through the city and beyond it to Tybee Island, where we snagged some lunch, walked on the beach and introduced Aiden to the ocean. It was a little chilly but spectacular. Then we drove over to the lighthouse, huffed and puffed to the top, and enjoyed the view. After all that, Aiden was pretty ready to have a nap and so we went to the Hyatt and checked in...
( thankyou Brad, the fearless Priceline Negotiator) and were totally stunned when we opened the window drapes. We had a fantastic eastern view of the river and River Street. (See Flickr pictures.) There was a trumpeter down below on the street who was playing Christmas tunes for the tourists. And City Hall was right next door, with a bell chiming the hours.

The next day we payed a small fortune to go on a trolley tour of the city. And all I can say is, thank God for Cheerios, because we probably would have gotten thrown off the trolley bus in the first five minutes without them. They kept Aiden reasonably quiet...until we really got moving, and then the jolting and bumping kind of lulled him into a happy stupor. We really enjoyed the tour; we learned a lot and were completely overwhelmed with beauty. I was afraid that going to Savannah in the winter would mean we wouldn't get to enjoy the trees in all their glory, but they still had all their leaves! I mean, to look at them, you'd think it was August or something. I am a great fan of trees in general, but these trees were magnificent. I wanted to eat them. Beautiful trees, beautiful houses, and history...What better combination could there possibly be?

That tour was one of the fastest ninety minutes ever, and we wanted to get back on the trolley bus later and jump off and on at different stops so we could walk around and take pictures etc. - b/c we'd paid extra to be able to use it all day- but it didn't really work out with Aiden's schedule. ( We learned a lot about what it means to travel with a not quite one year old. Not quite the same as vacationing as a couple. But we couldn't imagine leaving him behind.) It was a little hard to take pictures from a moving trolley bus, and the next day when we went out walking, it was cold and rainy and we didn't have a lot of time...So we need to go back in the spring and take a baby back-pack ( Brad abhors strollers) so we can walk everywhere, and take really excessive amounts of pictures of trees and houses and fountains...now that we know what's out there.

We daydreamed about buying a townhouse and moving to Savannah someday. We really didn't want to come home.

We were watching TV in the hotel and I can't even remember what we were watching but suddenly a phone rang... and it sounded like our phone at home... and instantly, my stomach just tightened. Then I realized it was just on the TV, and I turned to Brad and told him what my instant reaction was, and he said the exact same thing had happened with him. I guess we really needed this vacation!