Savannah, GA - Day 2

Savannah, Georgia - Sunday, April 21
Day 2

Our little Tory Bean promptly awoke at 5:45am (not my preferred vacation wake-up time). Still groggy from a night of crappy sleep, I convinced her to watch an episode of Bubble Guppies on the iPad while laying in bed with us so Andi and I could steal a few more winks of sleep. This tactic bought about 20 minutes of quiet time in bed before Tory grew bored and drug me out of bed in search of breakfast. Being the nice wife I am, I let Andi sleep while I found Tory a yogurt and an orange in the kitchen. She sat at the condo's kitchen table in a big girl chair (no high chair or booster seat) and said "schooch" when she wanted me to push her chair into the table. I have no idea where she picked up that word, but it's adorable.

Since we were up and causing toddler ruckus throughout our condo, Andi and I decided to get a move on the day. The only downside to the condo we were staying in was its thin walls and squeaky floorboards. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if it were just Andi and I, but I doubt the neighbors above and below us appreciated toddler whining so early in the morning.

For today's adventure, we decided to trek out to Tybee Beach, about 20 minutes outside of Savannah. The weather was a bit chilly - about 65 degrees - so we weren't planning to swim and play at the beach, but hoped for a nice stroll along the water and to check out the shops on Tybee Island. When we arrived at Tybee, the coastal temperature was about 5 degrees cooler and super, super windy on the beach. Despite the weather, Andi and Tory had a blast running around in the sand while being the cold baby I am, shivered sat in a swing along the boardwalk with the stroller.

Andi said Tory was completely in heaven running around in the open air. She giggled and smiled and ran without a care in the world. Except for the parts when the wind would whip around her, practically knocking her over, when she'd say "whoa."

After time on the beach, we decided find a place for breakfast in Tybee. There weren't many restaurants open and one of the breakfast places had a line around the block, so we opted for Fannie's Beachside Cafe. Our breakfast was decent (Tory and I shared french toast; Andi had crab cakes). We were in and out of there in 20 minutes because Tory was quite restless and full of sand.

On our drive back to Savannah, we stopped at Oatland Island Wildlife Center. Andi and I laughed as we pulled into the nature preserve because traveling with Tory definitely changes the way we vacation. We would never have stopped at this place if it were just the two of us traveling, but thought Tory might enjoy seeing the animals and it'd be a good family activity outdoors. The Wildlife Center admittance was $5 for each Andi and I and free for Tory.

Collecting leaves and sticks during our nature walk

The Wildlife Center turned out to be really fun -- there were dense, wooded hiking trails groomed for our stroller to easily pass through and wild animals like owls, bobcats, cougars, deer, wolves and foxes to see. It wasn't like a typical zoo where the animals were in cages in exhibits. Most of the animals were out in the habitat and not always in view. There was also a barnyard animals section with a cow, goats, sheep, a donkey and chickens. Tory liked this part the best because she's much more familiar with these animals and they were easy for her to see up close.

Toward the end of our trek, Tory fell asleep in the stroller so Andi and I stopped in the wolves sanctuary and let her sleep for a bit while we relaxed on a wooden bench. Unfortunately, she's not the type of kiddo who is easily transferable from stroller to car seat, so letting her get a few zzz's seemed to make the most sense.

After Tory woke up, we drove back into downtown Savannah for the remainder of our day. We attempted to stop at a restaurant or cafe to grab lunch to-go and have a picnic in Forsyth Park, but many restaurants are closed on Sundays in Savannah. Finally, we stopped at Parker's Urban Market and grabbed a smorgasbord of picnic foods like cold salads, chicken tenders, hummus and pretzels, string cheese, chips and yogurt. 

A picnic seemed like a good idea, but I forgot what a mess Tory is when eating outdoors. She can't sit nicely on the blanket and eat so by the time she was finished, both her and I were covered in food. Sigh. The adventures of life with a toddler. As I cleaned up lunch, Andi took Tory to the park's play area.

Happiest playing at the park

We walked around the park and played in the grassy areas near the iconic Forsyth Park fountain.

Forsyth Park

After a while, we wandered to downtown Savannah's Ellis Square -- a big open area where people were gathered to bask in the sunshine, play chess, read and hang out. Tory had fun running around some more as Andi and I took turns chasing her around. By this point, the weather had warmed up to about 70 degrees and with the sun shining, it felt wonderful. 

We signed up to take a horse-drawn carriage tour of downtown Savannah and met up with Madison Tour Company in Ellis Square. Our tour guide's name was Kay and our horse's name was Miss. Betsy. I thought Tory would be more excited about going on a horse ride, but by this point in the day she was getting pretty tired. Andi and I bribed her with bits of muffin and Oreo's while we rode along in a 60 minute private tour of downtown. I found the ride particularly interesting as we learned about the history of Savannah, the architecture of the buildings and the old-time hangings that took place in the town squares.

Our driver, Kay, dropped us off at Forsyth Park so we didn't have far to walk back to our condo. I bathed Tory and put her to bed while Andi ran out and brought back take-out from Bonefish Grill. I think Andi was a bit disappointed upon his return when he realized the restaurant was a chain. (He has a *thing* about eating at chains, you know). Our meals were fine, and we ate our dinner on the living room sofa while we watched the movie Jango Unchained. Tory was so exhausted from our day's adventures that she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. She slept all night long on her inflatable toddler bed. There was even one point during the night when Andi got up and checked on her because she was sleeping that soundly. It gives me high hopes for the summertime when we'll run her ragged outside and she'll hopefully collapse from exhaustion at night.

******

Next up: Day 3 in Savannah, GA - our adventure to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina