Savannah/ Hilton Head/ Charleston

March 14, 2021

Savannah/ Hilton Head/ Charleston

In March we took a family trip to the south east. Our kids were 12, 10, and 6. We left from Grand Rapids, Mi after my husband got out of work. We ended up leaving around 4:30. We ate a packed dinner in the car and stopped one time for gas/bathrooms. We drove 6 hours and just crashed when we got to the hotel just north of Lexington, Kentucky.

Saturday- In the morning our son had a virtual battle of the books competition. My husband took our younger 2 to the pool and I stayed to coach the virtual battle team. The competition started at 9:00 and lasted until close to 12:00. He did really well. They ended up in 5th place out of 28 teams. We drove straight to Savannah and in the 8 and 1/2 hours we only stopped twice for gas. We stayed at the Hampton by Hilton in the historic district. We settled in to our room and went right to sleep. We are listening to a time share talk tomorrow so the hotel room is basically free. We have to pay for parking and taxes. We also get a $125 gift card to help compensate for the fees.

Sunday - My husband I spent the morning at the Blue Green time share presentation. When we got out we hit the town. It was a little chilly so we started at the art museum. Then we walked to Chippewa Square. They filmed the opening scene of Forrest Gump there and we are all Forrest Gump lovers. We then walked to River Street. We took the kids to River Street Sweets to get candy and sat down by the river and enjoyed our treats while we watched the boats go by. We walked back through Market street and enjoyed seeing all the horse and carriages. Savannah is such a lovely city. When we got back to the hotel room we made dinner and then played a game of Monopoly in the lobby.

Savannah Art Museum

Park where they filmed Forrest Gump

River Street Sweets

watching the boats on river street

We loved seeing all the horse and carriages in the city

The kids loved all the palm trees in the city

Monopoly in the hotel lobby at night

Monday- We started our day at Fort Pulaski. It is on the way to Tybee Island and has a moat with a draw bridge. This Fort was built at the same time as fort Sumter and is a great fort to see first if you plan on going to Charleston later. Seeing Fort Pulaski helps you get a feel for what sumter would have looked like before it's damage and additions. Fort Pulaski is a national park. The kids were free and adults were $10. The kids earned their first junior ranger badge since the pandemic so that was wonderful. The waving girl statue in Savannah has it's routes here. The waving girl was raised in the fort as her parents were the light house keepers. All boats coming into Savannah came by this fort. She hid in the stair wells of the fort during a hurricane and it saved her life. The bricks of the fort were made by enslaved people and you can still see the finger marks from them in some of the bricks.

After out visit to the fort we were ready for some lunch. We stopped at the original Crab Shack. This place was so cool. The food is fantastic. It's all outside over looking the waterway. There are trees that grow through the floor boards. They have cats that roam the property. Our kids loved the bird area. They have about 20 different birds and many of them talk. Another draw was the alligator farm

Moat around the fort

In the jail area

such a cool fort

The original Crab Shack

Gator farm

Tybee Beach

Pirate House

The Waving Girl Statue

Tuesday - My husband took our van to get new tires. While he was out we walked to this Revolutionary war memorial. One of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary war was fought here. This is also where General Pulaski (the namesake from the fort we visited yesterday) died. We then ate an early lunch and went to Wormsloe. Wormsloe is about 15 from the center of Savannah. It is a state park and there is a small entrance fee to enter. The 1 and 1/2 mile entrance is just stunning. It is lined with 500 live oaks covered in Spanish moss.

Inside the park there is a small museum and you can learn about the first settlement in Georgia. The founders of Georgia originally wanted slavery to be illegal. Over time people complained to King George and eventually slavery won out. There are remains from the first home built and there is a colonial area where you can interact with time period actors. They also have miles of beautiful hiking trails on the property.

After spending time at Wormsloe we went to get ice cream at Leopold's. We waited 20 minutes to get our ice cream. This is normal. They always have a line but it is the best place to buy ice cream in the city. After our ice cream we spent the remainder of the day hanging out at the pool. The kids enjoyed swimming and husband and I enjoyed relaxing.

Revolutionary War memorial

Wormsloe

Wormsloe hiking trails

Wormsloe colonial area

Wormsloe

Wormsloe tabby home remains

Leopold's Ice Cream

pool day

Wednesday - Today we are checking out of our Savannah hotel and checking into our Hilton Head hotel. We stopped at Forsyth Park for the kids to do some drawing and to enjoy the play ground there. We ate a picnic lunch at the park then drove to the ocean for ice cream and some beach time. At 4:00 we were able to check into our hotel. We didn't bring any sand toys so we stopped at the dollar store and let the kids each pick out some things for the beach.

Forsyth Park

Drawing at Forsyth Park

Coligny Park

Coligny beach

Coligny Beach

Thursday- We started the day with donuts and let me tell you my life will NEVER be then same. You have to do to Duck Donuts if you are on the island! They make each donut fresh and custom made. They are so good when they are hot and fresh! My husband and I listened to a time share presentation from Spinnaker Resorts. They were great and we were done in an hour and 1/2. When then rented bikes. It was so fun riding around the island on bikes. In the evening we played mini golf.

Duck Donuts

Coligny Beach

Riding bikes on beach

mini golf

Friday - We had a slow morning. Then we rode our bikes to the Sea Pines nature preserve. We saw lots of Alligators in the wild and a 4,000 year old native American shell ring. We then rode our bikes to harbor town and enjoyed seeing the light house, marina, playground, and got ice cream. We cooked dinner in our hotel and then played Monopoly outside.

slow mornings

Sea Pines Nature Preserve

Harbor Town

Monopoly outside

Saturday - We checked out of our hotel and drove to Charleston. The kids were obsessed about trying a Waffle House. So let them try this southern gem. They all liked it and enjoyed a fun new experience. From there we arrived to Patriot Harbor. We got tickets to board the USS Yorktown. It was an aircraft carrier from World War 2. Your ticket also gets you access to a WW2 destroyer, a Vietnam camp recreation, and a submarine. We only had a little time to explore this area and could have used a lot more. Aircraft carriers are so cool to see.

The dock to take the boat to Fort Sumter leaves at the same spot that we got our tickets for the USS Yorktown. It takes a 30 minute boat ride to get to Fort Sumter. The Fort is where the civil war began. It's owned by the national park system but the ferry boat that takes you there is locally owned. The fort is very cool to see. The kids earned a Junior Ranger badge and we saw dolphins on the way back to the dock. We enjoyed our day in Charleston harbor area and then headed home.