Next up: savannah!

We said goodbye to the Cape

On the day of our departure from Chatham, we rose early; we had to get to Wilmington, Delaware in time for me to make a couple of video calls. We used Waze instead of our car’s integrated GPS and were able to avoid the “lost time” in the D.C. area that we’d experienced on our way to the Cape. I finished my calls and we headed to a socially distanced dinner at the Columbus Inn. Highly recommended! The next morning, a Saturday, our destination was downtown Raleigh. We spent a delightful evening wandering the streets, admiring the art, both in galleries and on the streets, and revisiting the Raleigh Times for dinner; but the best part was an outdoor cocktail/dessert experience at Bittersweet, where we had quite a wait due to a wedding reception. The bride and groom wore matching gold sneakers and their small group had almost as much fun as we had watching them!

Happy couple!

Amazing Raleigh street art; lots of support for Black Lives Matter here!

We arrived in Savannah on Sunday afternoon, just in time to get settled and make a quick grocery run (we’re directly behind Kroger!). Our home for the next month is our favorite so far–a roomy two-bedroom with a dear little balcony and plenty of work space, just two blocks from Forsyth Park!

 

Finally, room for my monitor!

Our first order of business was of course finding a great cocktail lunch. Treylor Park was the perfect place (we’d discovered it on our first Savannah visit in 2017). We sat outside and shared a wonderful low country flatbread, which came with an assortment of hot sauces. We happily sat out a brief rainstorm, partially sheltered in the beer garden.

Treylor Park hot sauces

One of our first day trips was to Charleston, about a two-hour drive from Savannah. We had a wonderful lunch at Rodney Scott’s BBQ before heading to the Public Market area. We walked all over Charleston without an agenda, just enjoying the sights. We headed home determined to make another visit to Charleston before our time here is over.

 So much for a miniature reindeer!

Charleston: making ordinary, utilitarian objects into art.

We really love Savannah. There is beauty everywhere, lots of fun people-watching, and more interesting restaurants than we could ever visit. So far, in addition to walking many miles around the city, we’ve visited Tybee Island, enjoyed a walking food tour (combining favorite things!), and spent an afternoon in HIlton Head. More to come!

Savannah symbiosis

Peeking through iron railings into private gardens is one of my favorite things in Savannah.

One of the sights during our walking food tour. Fancy dress!

There is so much beauty in ordinary things.

Today we’ll visit the farmers’ market in Forsythe Park, walk the city, and begin shopping for special holiday meals. Stay tuned for more Savannah fun!

cape cod II

Counting down to Georgia

We’ve now been on the Cape almost a month, and we’ll be leaving soon. The time has flown, but we’ve been able to do most of the things we’d hoped for despite the pandemic. I took vacation our first week here, and we had the four-day Thanksgiving holiday, so we’ve had plenty of flexibility.

The wild Atlantic coast. This was one of the views on a walk this week.

We did manage to spend a day in Boston. We parked in our old neighborhood, the Leather District, and walked to the North End, enjoying all the sites along our “regular” path. We loved the familiarity and noted the changes since we lived here. We enjoyed strolling the Rose Kennedy Greenway, outdoor cocktails and appetizers at our favorite North End restaurant, Bricco, and of course we hit Mike’s Pastry (how could we miss that?!). We took an Uber back to our car and were impressed with the car’s cleanliness, masked driver, and open windows. I still long to stroll the Common and Public Garden, but the crowds scared us off.

Phil drinking French wine in an Italian restaurant

And suddenly the holidays arrived. We were lucky to spend Thanksgiving with our dear friends the Cummings, part of our “family by choice.” We’d planned to dine on their deck, and they even bought an outdoor heater. Alas, it poured rain all day, so we had a masked, indoor celebration. It actually worked out well, with separate dining rooms that allowed conversation between them. The feast was fabulous, featuring a gorgeous spatchcocked turkey with a maple glaze by our host Sandy.

I may do this turkey for Christmas!

We had visited Martha’s Vineyard a couple of times when we lived in Massachusetts, but never with a car. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I managed reservations on the ferry and off we went. This time we were determined to see the whole island!

The Vineyard cliffs in Aquinna–breathtaking!

After grabbing a socially distanced lunch overlooking the ocean (crabcakes!) in Oak Bluffs, we set off for Edgartown. What a beautiful little downtown! We parked by the docks and proceeded to walk the area, getting slightly lost in the process. I love the quirky things we see on our adventures–those unexpected, unusual, strange, and beautiful things easily overlooked–like a pianist sculpture among all the Christmas decorations.

Piano Man, just hanging out in someone’s yard

Gayhead Light

From Edgartown we headed on to Chilmark, Aquinnah, and then back to Tisbury, where we had a fabulous dinner at La Soffitta. We were seated at a cozy table surrounded by palms, well distanced from the two other occupied tables (We hit restaurants at odd times to avoid crowds). Our waiter, who was also the bartender, made fabulous cocktails and served us the best grilled focaccia we’ve ever had. Stuffed but happy, we headed back to the ferry and home.

We have just over a week left on the Cape. I’m working, so we won’t be doing much aside from almost-daily walks. I’d like to hit P-town one more time if possible, and we plan to stroll the downtown Chatham area, which is charming. Then it will be on to Savannah for a month. We’ll be on our own for Christmas, since we don’t know anyone there, and we’re looking forward to learning how to create holiday without a tree or family gatherings. Stay tuned!

Just before sunset at Gayhead Light