Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil...

Has anyone else seen this movie? It is based on a book of the same title, written by John Berendt (Hey! This would be a perfect opportunity for me to use the word 'eponymous.' How could I have missed that?). 


Anyway, I saw it for the first time about twelve years ago and have wanted to visit Savannah ever since.


The book was based on actual events that took place in Savannah- with a fair amount of Georgia/Savannah flavor thrown into the movie for good measure. There were a lot of scenes featuring oak trees covered with spanish moss. Kind of like this.

Sooo, when Matt and I started talking about taking a road trip to celebrate our birthdays (we are both June babies), my thoughts immediately went to Savannah.


Matt, who is much more ambitious than I am when it comes to planning trips, thought our itinerary should include Alabama (to visit friends), Georgia (to see Savannah), South Carolina (to visit Charleston and the beach), and North Carolina (to visit Duke, friends, and the Outer Banks). 


Like I said, he is much more ambitious than me. I would have been content to visit Savannah. Why, you ask?


Well, for starters, the FOOD! Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a sucker for good food. And there was plenty of that to be found. We visited Paula Deen's flagship restaurant, Lady and Sons, where we feasted upon; fried chicken, collared greens, macaroni and cheese, grits, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and more. 

I was very excited, to say the least. 

We also decided to stay in a bed and breakfast while in Savannah- Park Avenue Manor. We had a wonderful time staying there. It was such a different experience from a hotel. We actually felt like we had our own home in Savannah. 

The two gentlemen who run the bed and breakfast, Maurice and Glen, were delightful hosts and make good on their advertised promise to always have sherry and brownies on hand. 

I discovered that I am not a big fan of sherry myself but how cute are those glasses?

Savannah is a beautiful city, and the downtown is made up of about twenty squares. Although we had our car with us, much of the charm of Savannah is experienced by sauntering through all of these squares.

However, as you southerners are well aware, Savannah is hot and humid in the summer. Emphasis on the humid...and the hot, come to think of it. 


Because of the heat, I found myself very grateful for those of the twenty squares that had fountains. 

Very grateful. 

Nothing like dipping your feet in cold water on a hot day. Unless it's getting the rest of yourself wet, too. 


But one of the highlights of the trip to Savannah, for me at least, was visiting the Mercer Williams House. 

It was built for Johnny Mercer's great-grandfather and later restored by Jim Williams (one of the main subjects in John Berendt's book) in the 1960s. 


Although this history behind its recent notoriety is sad (you have to read the book or see the movie), its current restored state and the interior is a lovely testament to Savannah's rich architectural history. 


I will most likely post additional photos from other parts of our trip but the Savannah portion was by far the most well-documented. 


We were too busy being apprehended by park rangers to take photos on later parts of our journey (I wish I was kidding). 

The Prodigal Blogger

Well, perhaps the title above is a bit misleading. I haven't exactly been off squandering my inheritance while living the wild life.


Actually, that latter part of that description might be rather accurate. Things have been pretty hectic for Matt and me until this past week. Starting in April, these are the things that have prevented me from posting updates of any kind:


1) Matt submitted and successfully defended his thesis. 
You may now refer to him as Doctor E. Which means that you should refer to me as Mrs. Doctor E...thank you in advance for remembering this. 


2) I finished my first year of graduate school. 
Booyah! I am officially 50 percent done. 


3) Matt officially graduated from Princeton University.
Why only have graduation festivities on one day when you can spread it over FIVE days? That is the question that Princeton University must have asked itself at some point. However, the graduation was wonderful in that both our families were able to attend. Yes, we called in all of our visits at one time. 


4) I started a full-time summer position in NYC.
This involves commuting 5 days a week into the city, a step up from my student schedule (which required commuting 3 days). 


5) We took a 7 day road trip to the south (more on this later), making stops in Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. 


6) We moved from our home of two years.
The packing and moving process started almost immediately upon returning from our epic road trip. We have great timing. 


Anyway, this is to explain my absence...sorry to all you who were waiting with baited breath to learn more about our lives...I am sure there are dozens of you, right?  <Crickets chirping> Right?


Be on the lookout for some posts in the near future!