My Southern Adventure - Day 2

Today began with a delicious breakfast of fruit and pumpkin french toast with pecan praline syrup and sausage. It felt absolutely decadent. We drank lots of coffee and chatted with another couple who stayed the night too. It so happens that their son also worked in Uganda for 5 years...such a small world.

Although we had plans to go into Savannah and eat lunch at Lady and Sons restaurant, we decided it would be a better use of our time just to stick by the beach and B&B for some relaxation. I absolutely love the beach and I also wanted to pick up some shells for my students. After several hours on the beach, we headed to a little cafe recommended by the B&B owners for some lunch. I had a calzone and Steve had a shrimp po boy. The food was delicious. 

After lunch, we walked back to the B&B to take a nap before the wedding festivities. Everything looked just amazing at the wedding. The ceremony was conducted on a little dock overlooking the water by Jordan's granddaddy and father. It was picturesque and everyone seemed at ease. I love weddings like this because they are much more laid back and cozy. 

One of Paul's friends, Pius, who came all the way from LA to join in the festivities. 

We were trying to pay attention, I promise.

I loved this dog...Abby!

We enjoyed a dinner of salad and soup while sipping on lemonade and apple cider. They also had delicious cakes and used a Ugandan mat to incorporate the traditional ways that Ugandan women feed their husband. They also had music going and people were slowly getting up to dance. We departed the wedding around 8 p.m. to get back to pack since our flight leaves so early tomorrow.I did have a chance to take a long, relaxing bath before heading to bed.

I guess our adventure is over and it is time to get back to real life. All good things must come to an end. Oh well, when I get back tomorrow I get to host my best friend's baby shower. Lots of celebrating this weekend!

My Southern Adventure - Day 1

One of my former students from Uganda was getting married this weekend, so he asked me to attend his wedding in Savannah, Georgia. I booked a flight and a beautiful B&B and asked my guy to go with me on a spur of the moment adventure. I am not too familiar with the south, but I have heard a lot of good thing about Tybee Island, so we decided to stay a few blocks from the beach. I met up with one of the groom’s friends in Atlanta and we happened to be on the same flight into Savannah. Steve picked me up and our new friend Pius hitched a ride with us while he figured out his accommodations (I love Ugandans). After dropping Pius off, we headed to our place (Surf & Song Bed and Breakfast) and crashed for the night. I couldn’t see much of the house when I got here at night, but wow, I was stunned in the daylight. The house is older, built in 1898, but completely renovated and gorgeous. We rented the sand dollar room and it looked just like I saw online. The room was a bit small with a gigantic bed, but the tub was nice and large. 

Sand Dollar Room

The kitchen was overwhelmingly awesome with a large built-in breakfast area in addition to a more formal eating area. The owners told us that this area was completed renovated when they bought the foreclosed property two years ago. Although the kitchen was impressive, it was also very functional. 

We loved these cups!

Breakfast was served between 8:30-9:30, so we headed down about 8:45 after getting in so late. The table was already full, so we headed outside to enjoy breakfast while taking in the beautiful scenery. We got out coffee while Cindy and Ann prepared breakfast. They brought us some sort of fruit parfait with strawberries, blueberries, homemade granola, bananas, and whipped crème. It was divine. They also brought us orange juice, cheesy grits, toast, and an egg quiche with bacon, potatoes, cheese, and spinach. Everything was really delicious. 

After breakfast we ordered bikes to be delivered for the day and took a walk to burn off extra calories. The beach was chocked full of shells, mostly broken, but we did find some cool ones to keep as souvenirs. I love the beach and feel so peaceful when I am by it. There were several people out on the beach and the waves were up slightly. 

all these are shells

We rented bikes from Tim's Beachgear (local plug) and a guy delivered them to us around noon. My favorite part of the bike was the coozie on the center of the handlebars. We asked if you could drink while you ride and the guys told us that it was fine as long as used plastic. I also really liked the basket to hold all of our stuff. I am sure that Joseph would say that I look like a wicked witch riding that bicycle and I am sure he is right. We placed our water, phones, snacks, and a jacket in the basket and took off. It took us a minute to get used to the beach cruisers with pedal brakes and no gears. We are used to technical bikes, so these were like the bikes we rode when we were younger. We biked around the island for a few hours, stopping along the way to walk on the beach and have some drinks. 

My favorite picture of our beach walk is this one of the sign with all of the Beach Rules. Notice the rule about "nudity" and "keg" - Steve was disappointed! It is telling that these have to be included in the rules, but we have heard that things are quite different during tourist season. It was also interesting to see all of the signs about turtles hatching, but it seems we missed the season which just ended.

After biking, we came back to the house and took a relaxing nap. It was definitely a change of pace to nap on a Friday afternoon. After our nap, we got ready and headed to the rehearsal dinner for Jordan and Paul.

The rehearsal dinner and wedding is being held at the same place located on an island over from us. It was about a 15 minute drive. The house was surrounded by stunning scenery and Jordan's family decorated everything so beautifully. When we arrived, the wedding party was still rehearsing and Jordan's family were making oysters. After they were finished, we enjoyed a traditional "low country boil" which I did not know what that was, but found out it when shrimp, potatoes, corn, and sausage are cooked together with an old bay seasoning. It was delicious. They also had coleslaw, hushpuppies, and corn/blackbean salsa.

We clean up pretty nice, right? We enjoyed our evening talking with Pius and some of Jordan's family. Everyone was really friendly and we felt welcomed. 

We were welcomed back to the B&B with homemade chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake, but we resisted the temptation. We decided to instead drank a few beers on the porch while listening to the ocean and watching the moon rise. Perfect ending to an awesome day.

Arizona Trip - Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

On Thursday night (after I posted the other blog), dad and I took our sunset tour through the canyon. Our first glance at the canyon was really breathtaking. I could not get over the sheer size of it and the many layers to the landscape. It seems like something I need to conquer, but not on this trip. 

Our tour included a lot of fun stops along the way, including some with the wildlife and many different points of interest. At one point, a storm came in, so that gave us a different perspective on the canyon. The storm was so close that lightning struck within a half of a mile from us. That scared the crap out of me!

The sunset was gorgeous, although I don't think the pictures do it justice.

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. On Friday, we headed back through the canyon to take more pictures and stopped at several Navajo stands to buy some art. I love buying local art instead of going to a gift shop. You also save a lot of money and it goes directly to the artist. The drive was really beautiful. Then, we headed down to Flagstaff. We relaxed around the hotel and I did some research. 

On Saturday morning, we woke up and headed down to Tucson to visit my cousin Gary and his family. His house was gorgeous. He owns a landscaping business, so you can imagine his yard is the best in the area. 

My cousin's pool

front of the house

Dad and I in the back

mountains behind the house

On Saturday night, we went miniature golfing and relaxed at the hotel. It was a fun game of competition, but I got the highest score out of all of us, which means I lost. We enjoyed ourselves and even saw some fireworks on the way back to the hotel. On Sunday, we got up and rode a tram to the top of Sabino Canyon and then hiked part of the way back down. Although the canyon was beautiful, it was really, really dry. Apparently the canyon is much more beautiful in the spring with all of the water, but it was still breathtaking.

Gary and I

On Sunday night we went out to dinner and headed to Gary's house to chat a little more before saying our goodbyes. We talked about Africa and dad was able to look at his genealogy. Tonight we are back at the hotel and preparing to head back to Phoenix tomorrow to catch our flight super early on Tuesday morning. We have had a wonderful trip talking with family, seeing the Grand Canyon, and relaxing. All of the important things on a vacation!