Vacation - Part 3

Wednesday, we started the day with a nice walk on the beach. It was finally warm and sunny (like it was on Sunday). We had lunch at a cute little thai restaurant and then hopped aboard for a Gullah Tour, the only one in Charleston. Gullah is the language spoken by the African population in Charlestown since the original days of slavery. It's a combination of West African, English, and almost Creole. The tour was really fun and educational, and it showed a completely different side of Charleston and its history. It also included a visit to the home of the greatest living ironworker in the region, Phillip Simmons. Many of the most beautiful gates and iron fences around the city are his doing, and he has pieces all over the world and in museums. Unfortunately he is over 90 and now in a home, so we didn't get to meet him, but we saw his workshop and meet his nephew who is taking over the trade.








After the tour, we spent some time walking around Charleston some more and even got stopped by some people who thought we were locals! We had eaten so much heavy food that for dinner we ate at a little local pizzeria and had some delicious cupcakes.

Thursday was our big day in Savannah! A two-hour drive from our island, we got in at about 10:30 and hopped aboard a trolley tour to see the city. Our first stop, The Lady and Sons, Paula Dean's restaurant. Lynne is a big fan. Unfortunately, we couldn't eat there since they wouldn't take reservations and instead people line up around the block at 7am to put there name in for lunch and dinner. At 10:30am, the best we could do was dinner at 9:45pm! We were back to Edisto by 9:45 that night! We spent the rest of the day seeing the city, shopping, and had dinner at Paula's brother's place, Uncle Bubba's Oyster Shack. Oysters and scallops, oh my! Overall, Savannah was our favorite place to visit. It was very laid back, not too busy, and simply gorgeous. Many blocks have grassy squares that keep traffic slow and are jewels among the rich architecture. We saw so many great homes and really enoyed strolling around the city.

On Friday we played tennis, hung out at the pool, and packed for our return trip home, which got us home at about 3am Saturday morning. Overall, it was a great trip, but we were glad to get home and see Otis!