I finally took a few real days “off” from work and went South for a very long weekend. It was really to attend a wedding, but I used it as an excuse to also fit in my solo trip for the year.
The wedding was in Auburn, Alabama. A place I would never visit otherwise, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to. It’s a very nice college town, home to Auburn University. They are big on football.
A university campus in the middle of the summer is empty. Makes sense, but feels so odd. Every now and then someone would wander by me, but otherwise, I was by myself as I wandered through the courtyards and around the campus.
The wedding reception was held at the Fountainview Mansion. A beautiful space tucked in the back of the middle of nowhere.
After the wedding, I said goodbye to everyone, picked up my rental car and drove myself 5.5 hours to Savannah, Georgia. You can always depend on Google Maps to take you the most direct, but not necessarily most straightforward way possible. After a hours cutting through parts of Georgia, I would have never seen if I went strictly the way of the interstate, I made it.
It is hot in Savannah. I now understand why it’s also called Slo-vannah. I have never walked so slow before…ever.
Despite the heat, I kept walking and wandering. Besides a short stint along the River Street area, I kept away from the more tourist areas and explored the beautiful treelined streets while admiring the houses that lined them. The only bad thing about walking everywhere in the heat is that I basically lost my appetite the whole time I was there. Which is a damn shame since I absolutely love Southern cooking. I just couldn’t will myself to eat anything.
On my last day in Savannah, checked out of my hotel and car retrieved, I had some time to kill before I headed to the airport to fly home. So, I ventured out to Tybee Island. Just 15 miles outside of Savannah, it was a beach community. Not really beach worthy, I was able to root out some sunscreen from my bags. I sunscreened up in the parking lot and went to the beach!
After some time spent on the beach, and mostly shin deep in the very nice water, I brushed myself off and headed to the lighthouse. In the past 8 months, I have now visited 5 lighthouses, and climbed up my 3rd one. Not bad for someone who wasn’t really into lighthouses.
As I was waiting for my flight to board, at one point I looked down at my feet, and noticed they were still a bit sandy. The hazards of coming home straight from the beach 850 miles away.
ChezSylvia 