Quick Stop in Greenville, SC

After hearing some rave reviews, we decided to add an impromptu visit to Greenville, SC.  It's not a place on our relocation list, but we decided to check it out because of the buzz.  We left Savannah Wednesday morning and stopped for lunch with my mom's sister in Columbia en route.  From there, we headed north to Greenville.  I've never associated South Carolina with anything besides flat land, but as we neared Greenville, the flat roads slowly turned to rolling hills, and once we got to the city, we realized it was aptly named.  Not only does South Carolina have it's share of elevation changes, Greenville's main street is lined with rows of lush trees, and a giant park with a river runs through its center.  We were amazed at how cool and green it was!  About 30 years ago, the city started a downtown renovation project, and it really shows.  The area is polished and inviting and is very easy for tourists to navigate.

We walked down main street for about 10 blocks before we came to Reedy River and Falls Park.  This area is incredibly cool - it's too bad Raleigh isn't this far along in their downtown makeover (there are tentative plans to introduce a "central park" to downtown Raleigh in the next 10 years).   Falls Park has natural and man-made water features and a suspension bridge in the middle.

After we explored downtown for a few hours, we checked into the nicest and cheapest Quality Inn I have ever seen.  $46/night - with taxes included!?!?!  Amazing.  We may just be able to complete this trip without exhausting our savings...

There were threats of major thunderstorms just southeast of us that night, but the skies in Greenville didn't look too menacing, so we decided to catch a minor league baseball game.  The Greenville Drive is a farm team of the Red Sox, so Tom was happy.  They have a super-nice stadium that is modeled after Fenway Park, and we got first row seats behind home plate for $9 each.  Can't beat that.  The Drive was playing the Greensboro Grasshoppers and won by four runs.

Up next: Asheville, NC

Southern Sites of Savannah

Monday we arrived in Savannah, GA, and we had some time to explore the city during the afternoon.  (Side note: Savannah was actually built and established to protect Charleston from the Spanish living in Florida.  Interesting bit of trivia!)

The first two things we did were get lunch at Jimmy John's and then cancel our hotel reservation - not because we didn't want to stay in Savannah, but because we realized our "historic downtown" Comfort Inn was on the outskirts and not within walking distance of much.  We found a four-star boutique hotel right in the heart of everything that was about $100 cheaper, so we of course jumped on the upgrade and savings.  If you ever go to Savannah, you can't go wrong with Planter's Inn - right next to the Olde Pink House restaurant.  They have happy hour with free wine & cheese, warm freshly-baked cookies in the evening, and a delicious complimentary breakfast.  Oh yeah, and the rooms are really nice, too!

Planter's Inn

We spent the first afternoon exploring River Street - a touristy area right on the water - and some of the northernmost squares and streets.

We had dinner at the Olde Pink House Monday night.  This is one of the oldest buildings still standing in Savannah and one of the few to survive a major fire in the area many years ago.  Apparently, it used to be painted white over brick, and the heat from the fire caused brick coloring to seep through the paint and turn it pink.  The food is incredibly delicious.

Historic downtown Savannah is much smaller than it looks on a map, so we were able to cover a good deal of distance on foot the first day.  There's a lot of small town southern charm, and the trees are absolutely gorgeous.  If there's one thing they did right in Savannah, it's preserving all of those incredible "live oaks" and the numerous squares (which were apparently just a precaution against the spread of fires when the city was being built).

Savannah has everything we are looking for in a city - walkable downtown, beautiful, lush neighborhoods closeby, water, a giant park, and a warmer climate.  But as much as we enjoyed visiting, there was something about it that just didn't feel like it could be home.  Perhaps knowing in the back of our minds that the crime rate is above the national average?  Not sure, but so far Charleston and Raleigh feel the best for relocation, and that is the main reason for this leg of our trip.

However, we did have a blast in Savannah and loved touring it!  Tuesday morning, we bought tickets for a trolley tour around the historic district.  It felt a tad strange to be on the other side of this - we'd been so used to seeing the red NYC tour bus riders gawk at us as we lived our daily lives on the Upper West Side, and now we were gawking at the native Savannah folk. :-)

Forsyth Park

City Market

Sweet Melissa's!

The feather in Forrest Gump departed from this church's steeple at the beginning of the movie...

...and landed here where Forrest was sitting on a bench waiting for the bus to Jenny's.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Among other landmarks, we also saw the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, and southern writer Flannery O'Connor's childhood home. After the trolley tour was over, we took a drive out to Tybee beach.  It's a quick 15-20 minutes to the gorgeous, low-key waterfront.  We took a long walk on the beach and then headed back to town.

Tuesday night we had dinner at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady & Sons.  I can't put my finger on why I love her so much, but I do.  I was a tad ridiculous in her gift shop, y'all.  Unfortunately the food was disappointing... guess that's what happens when you're not the one actually making it anymore and your little place has expanded to a three-story Times-Square-esque restaurant.  Sigh... I still love her.

Next post: Greenville, SC

...and I swear Tom is on this trip with me, too.  Now that he's feeling almost 100%, he should be picture-ready soon!

Beautiful Sites in Charleston, SC

After our rainy Wilmington stay, we headed south to Charleston with Tom's brothers in tow.  The drive took us through traffic-laden Myrtle beach - why anyone still enjoys going there is beyond me.

Our friends Brad & Jodie just bought a new house in old Mt. Pleasant - right over the bridge from Charleston - so they took us in for Easter weekend. 

After a quick tour of their place (awesome!), Brad took us over to a BBQ place called Home Team on Sullivan's Island for lunch.  Sullivan's Island was a cool, laid back beach area with lots of open air restaurants.  In a lot of ways, the vibe was similar to college spring break... except that the crowd was 10-15 years older (ie - more our style).  Lunch was great - especially the mac 'n cheese which won a best-in-Charleston award recently.  

 After lunch, Brad took us to the waterfront right next to Fort Moultrie on the island.  This fort was the site of an American victory against the British a few days before Independence Day, 1776.  Pretty cool.  We could see Charleston and Fort Sumter from the beach.  After only a few hours here (and not even in Charleston proper), we knew we liked the vibe.

After re-grouping at the house, we headed downtown to Charleston.  We parked down at the Battery and walked all over: down Rainbow Row, by the famous market, through College of Charleston, up King Street, and more.  We can all really see this as a potential place to relocate.  We had dinner at King Street Grill and called it a night... at least until Tom realized he had food poisoning.  :-/

College of Charleston entrance

Brad & Jodie went to an Easter Sunday service at Boone Hall Plantation, which we were also contemplating a bit until Tom got sick.  He spent the entire day in bed on Sunday, but by the evening was able to eat a few saltines... not the ideal way to spend one's time in Charleston.  While he was sick, the rest of us went back into the city to walk around the more residential areas.  The gardens and intricate, unique details of every house are just mindblowing.  Unfortunately, so are the prices.  Most of what we saw today was in the million-dollar range, but many of the houses will rent out a floor for a reasonable amount, and lots of the businesses in the commercial area will rent out 2nd/3rd floor apartments just like in New York (but with much lower price tags).  There are definitely options here!  And it doesn't take long to get down to the waterfront for a run.  Aside from the charm, the walkability is one of the greatest things about Charleston.

We took a quick tour by the Charleston Water Dogs minor league stadium, and then since Tom was still sick and his youngest brother had to go back to NC for class, the rest of his brothers headed home.  Brad, Jodie, & I took a walk in their neighborhood (and it's such a cool neighborhood with parks, baseball fields, and awesome views & houses).  We walked out to this park that used to be a foot bridge (I think in the 1800s/1900s).  Hurricane Hugo destroyed part of it in the mid-80's, and now it's basically a park jutting out through the marsh with a tiny fishing pier at the end.  How awesome to be able to walk to this from your house!!!

Monday morning, Tom and I headed for Savannah, GA.  More posts to come!

Rainy Day in Wilmington

On Friday morning, we drove down to Wilmington to check out the downtown waterfront. Three of Tom's brothers are on the road with us for this leg since they'll likely move wherever we end up and want to weigh in on the potentials. Wilmington is beautiful and quaint, but our exploration on foot was cut short by a relentless rainstorm. Before the rain, we spent about an hour walking around downtown and on the boardwalk and then had lunch at the delicious Riverboat Landing.






The rain started before we finished lunch and didn't stop until around 8pm. We tried to wait it out under a waterfront shelter but ultimately decided to retreat to our cars and explore a little that way.


There are some really beautiful streets and houses in the downtown area, and the waterfront has great restaurants and attractions. After exploring and talking to a few locals, the final verdict was that Wilmington was a little too small and seasonal for relocation, but it's a great vacation spot and college town. If living in the 'burbs or right on the beach were our criteria, it could've been a stronger contender.

It's too bad we hit Wilmington on a rainy day, but we made the best of it by hitting a pool hall for the evening!
















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