Celebrating 5 Years! – Part One…

Well, part of the reason I haven’t blogged in so long is because Dave and I were gone celebrating 5 years of marriage in the Historical District of Savannah, Georgia! This trip was a big deal for us because (1) we really haven’t been on a trip by ourselves since our honeymoon (other than a few marriage retreats here and there), and (2) this was our FIRST time leaving Cori Belle overnight.

Sunday, March 6th, we loaded up the car and headed to Tampa to drop Cori off with my parents. We originally were going to meet half way between Gainesville and Tampa, but since it was the first time leaving Cori, I decided I’d rather drive the whole way down and get her settled. So down to Tampa we went. Cori really did great! We hugged her and kissed her, told her we loved her, and that we would be back in a week. She didn’t even cry when we left. Better yet, I didn’t even cry! HA! I did get a little teary eyed thinking about not being with her for so long, but I held it together! It felt so weird driving away with out her in the backseat, but it also felt great to know that Dave and I were finally going to get some alone time – especially before we add another baby into the mix!

We headed home Sunday night to get ourselves packed up and ready to leave for Savannah the following morning. We decided that we’d better get an oil change before the long trip so I took the car down to Tires Plus early Monday morning for a “quick” oil change. 2 hours, an oil change, 3 new tires, and a lot of money spent that we didn’t expect to spend later, we were on the road! Off to a great start! :)

Our first stop was at a little drift wood place off the side of the road in Starke. David had done some research on traditional 5 year anniversary gifts and found out that “wood” was the typical gift. He thought it would be a great idea to get some piece of wood to paint on and hang it up in our room to signify our anniversary. Our style of decorating is very beachy, so I thought it was a great idea! The first piece of wood I looked at upon stepping out of our car was carved into a giant fish. I knew that was it! We really aren’t into fishing, but it’s beachy looking and we both loved it. So, we decided to take it home! David carved our names and our anniversary into the back and it is now hanging on the wall across from our bed. … The first time Cori saw it, she pointed with great amazement and said, “ish!” Melt my heart!

 

After the fish stop, we were on the road again. We arrived in Savannah around 4, just in time for check-in. Our hotel was amazing! We stayed at the Riverstreet Inn directly on River Street. It is the oldest cotton warehouse in Savannah. The history there was incredible! The first 3 floors are original to the building and the top 2 floors were added later. The entire street is filled with old cotton warehouses converted to office buildings, restaurants, and hotels. Words can’t even describe the beauty of the old stone and brick. It’s just something you have to see for yourself! Here are some pictures to help you visualize…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking up from the bottom floor, the hallway to our room, and looking down to the bottom floor. The pictures don’t even do it justice!

 

This was one of the MANY flights of stairs taking you down to River Street. These stairs used to take you down to the loading docks on the river so boats could transport cotton back and forth. Now, these stairs lead you down to all the restaurants and shops on the water. You can definitely tell they were made “back in the day” as none of the stones are even and every step varies in width and depth.

 

This picture was taken from our balcony overlooking Bay Street. You see all those walkways there? Those are the platforms cotton buyers would stand on to check out all the different kinds of cotton below. They would walk from warehouse to warehouse on those platforms before making their cotton purchase.

There is so much history in Savannah as it is one of the oldest cities, established in the 1700’s. I had no idea that it was actually a “trial” city developed by the English. The entire city was actually drawn out and named before the English even left England. A city built around squares. A certain group of people were selected to come over and start the city. It was meant to be a city without corruption, based on Christian principals. As all things in this world though, corrupt it became and the English actually determined the city to be a failure. … However, 22 of the 24 original squares that the city was built on still exist today. Most all of the buildings are still the original structure from the late 1700’s to the early 1800’s. Of course they have been restored to last. And, most say the buildings are haunted, but we didn’t get to take our ghost tour because it got rained out! Maybe next time!

This is turning out to be a much longer post than I anticipated! I hear Cori in the back ground. I guess nap time is over :) .. To be continued…