After the cold and rain in Charleston we were desperate for some sun so headed south to Savannah although our first day there was just as cold!
We warmed up at a local cafe/restaurant called Sweet Potato Kitchen, with some typical Southern food; meatloaf, grits, collard greens, biscuits and peach glazed chicken with carrot cake and frozen banana pudding to finish. Yum!
We then headed to Fort Jackson for some more history and were lucky enough to time it just right to see a cannon being fired. We got the full history speech which was fascinating, although she didn’t seem to notice the cold and biting winds! Finally she loaded the cannon. She warned us that it would be loud and for such a small cannon it was!
It was my first time in Savannah and I fell in love with the pretty squares and gorgeous houses. We met some of Dan’s friends in a typical American bar Molly McPherson’s before heading to the Ordinary Pub for dinner. Very definitely not ordinary! Delicious gumbo and grits and shrimp mac ‘n’ cheese.
The following day we walked down the the river which was lovely before walking back through the squares – such a beautiful city. Dan’s beloved Minnesota Vikings were playing so we popped into a bar so he could watch the last half of the game (they lost :-()
Back out for very expensive but lovely cocktails at the Rocks on the River bar which were worth it to see the stunning sunset over Savannah River – the photos really don’t do it justice.
Then onto dinner at a Savannah institution – The Olde Pink House. Green fried tomatoes, she-crab soup, baked flounder and pork shank which were delicious and in a gorgeous historic yet homely setting. Would recommend.
Then it was finally down to Florida to get the long awaited sunshine. St Augustine was our first stop (after a lunch stop at another US institution – Chick fil-a!!!) with it’s historic old town and Spanish links. A long walk on the never ending St Augustine beach was first which was heaven after a long drive. We grabbed a coffee at a fantastic little Aussie coffee shop called Kookaburra and enjoyed watching the birds energetically yet carefully running in and out of the surf. Then onto the main town. It was beautifully lit up with Christmas lights and decorations and the main square was quite stunning. A very quaint, historical place. More shrimp and grits for dinner (I’m loving the grits!) followed by a gorgeous cherry bread and butter pudding, and we were done.
The following day we had decided to break up the long drive to Miami with a stop near Cape Canaveral, as luck would have it a rocket was launching that day! Excitedly we found the recommended free place to watch, Space View Park in Titusville and wondered why there weren’t many people there. Sure enough someone checked the website and the launch had been delayed by a day 😦 Very very disappointing.
So we continued the long drive down through Florida before hitting north Miami and getting stuck in heavy traffic. Eventually we arrived at our very nice hotel/apartment and just managed to catch the sunset on the beach. The warmth and sunshine was glorious! Unfortunately we had not left much time to explore Miami but we stumbled across a taco place and an Argentinian Bake House which did nicely for dinner.
Next stop: Colombia!
Tiredbuthappytravels 