Two Trips for 2023! (PTR + Dec TR)-Completed 12/22

[Raeven]

This is really exciting...Stranger things at HHN would be super cool!​

I'm really hoping for it! ​

I loved that movie too! Too bad the restaurant didn't have anything to do with it!​

I guess I don't know how it would, but it'd be fun if the movie one was based on an actual restaurant.​

Yeah when I was in Charleston I wished we were staying downtown where you could walk to things.​

I'm kind of glad we weren't because we wouldn't have been able to have the car (parking was crazy at all of those hotels), and once we went one day I felt like we'd gone to all the shops and stuff we wanted. ​

I’m sorry I didn’t see this trip report sooner! So good to see you back on the boards!​

Thanks for joining in! ​

 

[Raeven]

HHN Trip-16 weeks
Xmas Trip-28 weeks

I'm still not sure if the pictures in my posts are showing up for anyone else because I can't see them unless I'm editing, but I hope they are.

Here's our day in Savannah!

We had to wake up quite early because we wanted to get there around 9 am when the hop on/hop off tours started for the day. We had decided one of those tours would be better so we wouldn't have to worry about parking.
Savannah is about a 2 hour drive from where we were, but we did still get there a little later than planned. (Around 10 am) The parking at the Visitor Center was already full, but luckily the area down the road the tours actually depart from had space.

One thing you should know about Savannah is the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a really big thing there.

It's about a crime that happened in Savannah, but the way it describes the residents and city of Savannah have drawn people there for years. I haven't read the book yet, but did see the movie before we went. I have to assume the book is better, but the movie did give a good feel for what Savannah looked like and showed how much personality the residents had. There are a lot of references to this book/movie around Savannah.

For instance Lady Chablis a performer in the book (who played the character in the movie) and used to perform here.



We didn't spend a lot of time on the actual tour throughout the day. I wish we'd had more time to take the whole tour, and to do more of the tours at the different houses and such, but there was so much to do and we had to get back to the car by 4:30 pm which was a tad earlier than we anticipated. (They parked us in a garage that closed earlier than the actual parking). We also didn't anticipate that sometimes when the trolleys came to the stops they were completely full and you'd have to wait for whichever next one wasn't. I still think it was a good way to get around, but it might be something to consider. I should also mention we chose this specific tour company because supposedly they had an app where you could track the trolleys, but this didn't actually work and the app seemed very poorly made.

When we first got off the trolley we were heading towards a restaurant we wanted to eat breakfast at.

We had picked Clary's Cafe which all the reviews said was the best breakfast in Savannah. We had to wait about 20 minutes just to get in.

Kayleigh got and Eggs Benedict and I got an omelet:



Honestly, this meal was very disappointing. The food was okay, but even looking at it I think you can tell that's not a great omelet.

Another reference to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Bird Girl is a famous statue that's on the cover of the book. The statue used to be in Bonaventure Cemetery, but was removed after the book became popular for fear of vandalism and placed in the Telfair Academy Museum.



The Mercer House is central to the story. I would've liked to do a tour here, but since we still had a lot to get to we settled for a picture out front.



From there we walked over to the famous St Johns Basilica Cathedral.



This was a really gorgeous church, and as long as they aren't having a service it's open for pictures.



Next we got back on the trolley. One of the things we had bought tickets to do this day was the Prohibition Museum so we headed for that area next.

The museum was interesting, and had a lot of cool displays. There's also a little speakeasy bar at the end, but we didn't buy the tickets that included a drink so we skipped that.

We did some shopping in this area including going to a really cool art supply store. (I found some things for Josh there). We also stopped to get some ice cream:



This was not the River St Sweets on River St, but River St is where we were headed next.



We shopped a bit down the street in some souvenir shops and found a few things here and there.

Finally we stopped at a Byrd's Cookies. They had them everywhere in Charleston and Savannah so we decided we might as well try. I ended up trying the double chocolate cookies and got a bag of those. Kayleigh bought cookies for so many people and I told her she had the biggest shopping bag of cookies I've ever seen.
I have to say though that while the cookies were good I didn't think they were that good. (They had these shops everywhere and they seemed very popular). They're not like fresh baked cookies or anything they're these packages of small cookies. The cookies I got kind of tasted like little brownies, but they went stale pretty quickly once opened even though I stored them in another container. We also bought these banana pudding graham cracker things that looked really good and the workers said was one of their best sellers, but we found them way too sweet.

At this point we were getting close to 4:30 pm, and every trolley that came by this stop was full (with a long line waiting to get on) so we ended up calling an Uber, and we made it just in time.

Because we didn't want to fight for parking anywhere else, and we weren't ready for dinner yet we decided to head back to Folly Beach. Kayleigh wanted to stop for some peach cider on the way back since we saw signs advertising peach cider places on the way there, but most of them were already closed at this time. She saw a gas station that sold peach cider, so she insisted we buy this gas station peach cider.

I told her it's probably been sitting there forever. But we tried it the next day and it did taste fine. (Although it smelled terrible ).

Back at the hotel we watched a Lifetime movie and got ready for dinner. We went down the street to Taco Boy (which we'd tried to go to the first night but the wait had been too long), and we got on the list for them to text us when a table was ready. We went to a few gift shops and got sweatshirts, but figured we could go back and wait in the room until we were texted.

We had only been in the room a short while when the hotel was evacuated. We didn't know what was going on, and the hotel never said anything at all about it. (Some people I don't even think actually evacuated). So we went outside and we're trying to figure out what was going on, and then they just had everyone go back in after awhile. We asked the front desk and they said it was a false alarm from a faulty sensor, but the weird thing was we'd seen smoke when we were outside.

Another guy in the halls was saying he heard the BBQ's had set it off. (There was a big wedding that night and I guess they were saying the BBQing from that had created a ton of smoke and set them off). I will say the firemen I saw seemed really unconcerned with what was going on so I guess it was nothing. But I guess our hotel was not actually on fire and now we were late for our dinner.

Though the host at the restaurant seemed uninterested in the story of why we were late, they did still seat us.



We got nachos and margaritas:


(Plus some tacos and churros)

It was all very good, but the restaurant seemed very chaotic and service was pretty slow because of that.

Back in the room we watched some more Lifetime movies. (Kayleigh was hoping to finish the one she started earlier, but sadly fell asleep before it played again ).


Next Up
We go to Poe's Tavern & the aquarium

​

 

[KathyM2]

We had decided one of those tours would be better so we wouldn't have to worry about parking.

Good strategy!!

For instance Lady Chablis a performer in the book (who played the character in the movie) and used to perform here.

The first time I went to Savannah, we listened to the audio book of that on the way, highly recommend!

For instance Lady Chablis a performer in the book (who played the character in the movie) and used to perform here.

I seem to recall another Disfriend who had actually met her?

The museum was interesting, and had a lot of cool displays. There's also a little speakeasy bar at the end, but we didn't buy the tickets that included a drink so we skipped that.

I really liked this museum...I don't have the attention span for big museums and hate spending a lot of money to get in them because I don't usually stay long. I found this one the perfect size and well displayed.

Finally we stopped at a Byrd's Cookies.

I agree with you on this. Have you had the cookies from Honolulu cookie co? Byrds remind me of these but the ones from Hawaii taste way better lol

 

[christophfam]

Enjoying your trip report but missing your pictures . I’ve been to a wedding at the Tides and one of the centerpieces caught on fire… was quickly put out but is there a reoccurring theme here?! And totally agree about Taco Boy… always seems a bit chaotic but they have awesome margaritas.

I‘ve lived in Charleston for over 30 years and have never been to Savannah (except to drive by on the way to Orlando). I should probably add that to my list of things to do… after it cools back down in the fall anyway.

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Gorgeous pictures!

 

[christophfam]

Gorgeous pictures!

Oh, wow! I can see the pictures now. They were just showing a red x! Love the sunrise photos

 

[Raeven]

The first time I went to Savannah, we listened to the audio book of that on the way, highly recommend!​

I bought the book there! But I still have to read it.​

I seem to recall another Disfriend who had actually met her?​

I’m not sure I may not have read that TR but that’s really cool!​

I really liked this museum...I don't have the attention span for big museums and hate spending a lot of money to get in them because I don't usually stay long. I found this one the perfect size and well displayed.​

Yes! I don’t like ones with guided tours too so this was perfect. ​

I agree with you on this. Have you had the cookies from Honolulu cookie co? Byrds remind me of these but the ones from Hawaii taste way better lol​

I think I bought those at the Poly before! I actually didn’t really like those but everyone else I gave them too loved them. ​

Enjoying your trip report but missing your pictures . I’ve been to a wedding at the Tides and one of the centerpieces caught on fire… was quickly put out but is there a reoccurring theme here?! And totally agree about Taco Boy… always seems a bit chaotic but they have awesome margaritas.​

So they were gone! Lol thank you. Annnd I just looked today and they’re back? I didn’t do anything but they’re there! That is strange that it happens so much ​

I‘ve lived in Charleston for over 30 years and have never been to Savannah (except to drive by on the way to Orlando). I should probably add that to my list of things to do… after it cools back down in the fall anyway. ​

Yes! There was so much to see and do there. ​

Gorgeous pictures!​

Thank you! I guess that means they’re back ​

 

[Raeven]

Oh, wow! I can see the pictures now. They were just showing a red x! Love the sunrise photos ​

Yes! I was seeing that for the last 2 weeks. I even tried re-adding them and they show when editing but not posting and then today they were all there. ​

 

[erinch]

Red x on most of the pics today

 

[Raeven]

Red x on most of the pics today​

I have no idea how to fix the pictures! It’s been a recent thing, and I can see them all when I edit the post.

The weirdest thing is different posts seem visible at different times like a few weeks ago the two newest posts weren't visible but everything else was. Now I can only see one of the more recent ones. I guess I’ll just use the uploader on this site instead even if the sizing is off ​

 

[buteraa]

I can't see them either

 

[Raeven]

I can't see them either​

Unfortunately I think it's on the website's end. I can change how I upload them from now on, but I'm just hoping the old ones show up again at some point because I don't have the time to fix them all. ​

 

[Raeven]

HHN Trip-14 weeks
Xmas Trip-24 weeks

So it does look like my pictures aren't showing up, or some are showing and some are red x's but it seems to change daily. I think it's an issue on the website's end so hopefully it will get fixed. For right now I'll try using the built in uploader going forward. The picture's might look bigger, and they'll probably be less of them but I think they should show that way.

Now onto our last full day in SC!

Today we slept in because we'd woken up so early the day before, and then we headed to Poe's Tavern for lunch.



Poe's Tavern is an Edgar Allan Poe themed restaurant in Sullivan's Island. Years ago I'd seen it on a Food Network special and knew I had to go there if I was ever in the area. It was a really cool place, and we were seated right next to a big picture of Poe.



They serve mostly burgers, so that's what we got. It was a pretty good burger, maybe not as excellent as they sounded in the Food Network special but still good. The hand cut fries were delicious though.



After that we headed to the aquarium. It was a cool little aquarium, it wasn't very big but had some nice exhibits and was right on the water. There was also an eagle there which was kind of cool, but not something you'd expect at an aquarium. And we also overheard a guy telling his girlfriend that if he were a fish he'd want to be a sting ray.





After the aquarium we'd planned to see another movie. I got these shirts for us on the trip as an inside joke (there's this girl on tiktok that's obsessed with Owen Wilson and we'd always joke about the videos and so we thought these shirts were hilarious) and we thought it would be even funnier to wear them to a movie he was in.



It ended up being an okay movie, but Air was definitely better. The funny thing was it took place in Vermont, but apparently they actually filmed it in NY close to where I live and I had no idea until after we got back and I saw an article.

We also decided to walk down the pier today to get a closer view of the sunset. It was very windy but also really pretty.





And our final stop of the day was at Oak Steakhouse. We had a late-ish reservation (after 9pm), and even though they were accepting reservations for that time it was clear they wanted to close earlier because it was a Sunday night and they seemed annoyed we wanted to keep our later time. So while I thought our service was polite enough I did feel like they were annoyed we were there the whole time. (And other people were still dining too we were not the last people to arrive or leave).

We both got filets, truffle fries and bacon mac and cheese to share, and then chocolate layer cake for dessert. My steak was cooked well and was very juicy, and the truffle fries were very good. We didn't really like the bacon mac and cheese but the chocolate cake was good too so overall it was a good meal.





Next Up
My long journey home
​

 

[schumigirl]

Very frustrating with the pictures Raeven, I know how time consuming it is.

Love the sound of your trip, you saw some lovely things and certainly had fun. That sunset picture is gorgeous. And I am officially jealous.......Edgar Allan Poe themed restaurant is someplace I`d love to visit!!! Huge fan of his works.

He lived for a time where I grew up, or 10 minutes along the road and spent some of his holidays in the Island opposite where I grew up, I only found that out as an adult, not something they ever taught in schools which is a shame to have such a prolific writer spend time in our area before moving back to the States. So, yes, I`m very jealous.....

Sorry the restaurant made you feel as if you shouldn`t be there, odd as there were other folks in too. But, glad the steaks were nice.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Love the Poe tavern pictures.


Seems to be an issue with the red x for a lot of people on the boards (specifically with imgur from what i have been reading).

Can't wait to hear more about this trip!

 

[Raeven]

Very frustrating with the pictures Raeven, I know how time consuming it is.​

It is! ​

Love the sound of your trip, you saw some lovely things and certainly had fun. That sunset picture is gorgeous. And I am officially jealous.......Edgar Allan Poe themed restaurant is someplace I`d love to visit!!! Huge fan of his works.​

It was a really cool place. I am too! ​

He lived for a time where I grew up, or 10 minutes along the road and spent some of his holidays in the Island opposite where I grew up, I only found that out as an adult, not something they ever taught in schools which is a shame to have such a prolific writer spend time in our area before moving back to the States. So, yes, I`m very jealous..... ​

That's really cool! It's weird there are a few states that he spent time in that have statues or whatnot but I hadn't heard anything about anywhere overseas either. ​

Sorry the restaurant made you feel as if you shouldn`t be there, odd as there were other folks in too. But, glad the steaks were nice.​

It just felt very much like they wanted to close. Before we got there they were like oh well our kitchen closes at 10 pm. Once we were there they like oh its okay, order whatever you want whenever, but they were all cleaning up and by dessert it seemed they were rushing things out to get us to go. ​

Love the Poe tavern pictures.


Seems to be an issue with the red x for a lot of people on the boards (specifically with imgur from what i have been reading).

Can't wait to hear more about this trip!​

Yes, I finally saw a thread about it. It seems to be going in and out. I don't know if I'll go back through and replace some pictures, but I won't be able to include all of them so it would be a pain. (Plus years ago I used to use Photobucket, and had to go back through and replace pictures in all my trip reports then too). ​

 

[Raeven]

HHN Trip-13 weeks
Xmas Trip-23 weeks

Today I booked my flights for Dec! We also bought tickets for the Orlando Informer Event in Dec, and booked our Universal hotel.

Now to finish up the Charleston trip!

On the last day we were up early. We headed to breakfast at a restaurant down the street called Lost Dog Cafe. I got the Huevos Rancheros. (I wouldn't say what I got was Huevos Rancheros, it was more like a quesadilla since stuff was inside the tortilla with eggs and sauce on top), but it wasn't bad. Kayleigh got eggs. It was a cute little place with lots of photos of people's pets inside.





On the way to the airport we also decided to stop at a store that sells used books/dvds etc. It was a really cool place, and we both found a lot of things we wanted. (Although I had to pick carefully because I was pretty much out of luggage space ).



Right before we got to the airport I had received a text that my flight was delayed an hour. This was very bad because my layover was only an hour. I try not to pick flights with short layovers because of this, but I didn't have many choices when it came to flights. I normally book Southwest, but the flights home through Southwest had been really expensive so I booked one with United. I can say I would definitely never book with them again after this.

We decided I'd go in and talk to someone while Kayleigh waited in the parking lot (I had tried called them on the way there but the person on the phone just seemed generally confused and clueless and suggested we just go to the airport). At the desk the lady informed me that I would definitely miss my flight, no they wouldn't hold it (she claimed they aren't allowed to but every Southwest flight I took this trip they held for people arriving later so maybe it's a United policy or maybe she made it up). Either way she informed me there was no other flight from any other airline I could take to get me home that day. She said there was bad weather in the NY area. (Everyone at home was confused about this when I brought it up saying there wasn't, and I didn't see any big weather things happening anywhere that day). Finally she said I should just stay overnight in my layover airport (Newark), and hope they could put me on a flight the next day (this was not guaranteed).

Newark is not terribly far from where I live (it's a couple hours) so I tried to find out if anyone would be able to pick me up and just drive me home. Unfortunately no one was able to. So I had a few options. I could go to Newark. I didn't really think staying in an airport all night and hoping to get on a flight or have someone drive there the next day was a really great option, but it is closer to where I live. I could stay in Charleston until another flight was available. But I didn't know when that would be and I didn't have a hotel (which I guarantee would've been expensive), and Kayleigh had to get back to work for the next day so I'd be staying there alone.

And finally the craziest option that I went with: I could drive back with Kayleigh to Ohio (so 9 hours) and fly from there. I figured either way I wouldn't be getting home until the following day, but at least this way I'd have company, and the flights from Ohio to NY on Southwest were cheap and short. (Though the one I was on had quite a layover). I hate being in the car for long periods of time so I did not make this decision lightly, but that's what I ended up doing.





First we stopped in Walmart to get some supplies, and then off we went. I took some digital camera pictures of the road trip, but we didn't have too many stops so there wasn't much to photograph.



We drove through several states. Around 8pm we stopped for dinner at Chick Fil A, which was probably the most excitement we had. I set my mac and cheese down on the dashboard and it turned out not to be as flat as I thought so it slid off, and created the great mac and cheese disaster.



It was all over my shoes and the rug in the car, and I think at this point we were both so tired that we found it hysterical. While Kayleigh was documenting this on camera she accidentally spilled the buffalo sauce too. All while Shania Twain played. We managed to get most the cheese and such off, and she said it wasn't the first time someone spilled mac and cheese in the car so she wasn't worried.



After that we managed to eat what was left of the food and get back on the road. We made it to Ohio around 1 am, and I had to be back at the airport by 3 am so we just filled her fiance (now husband) Andrew in on the trip, and I met the dogs.



My first flight was great, but then I had a 6 hour layover. I was pretty exhausted by this time, but had to stay awake. At some point Southwest's system went down, and the lady at the gate was made everyone get off a flight. (I was pretty sure I'd be stuck in Midway all night this time ). Luckily, they resolved it quickly, and said we wouldn't be delayed an hour. (We kept getting texts like you are delayed, now you aren't etc). But due to the previous delay we boarded on time but then waited about an hour for other people to get on.

Finally I made it home!

So that was my trip to Charleston! To sum it up, it was a beautiful city, and we had a lot of fun there. There's definitely more we could've done, but I'm happy with what we accomplished in our short time there. I also wish we could've spent longer in Savannah too, but I'm glad we got to see it for a day. I loved our hotel, and the view we had, and I'm happy with our decision to bring a car because it was really useful. One of the things we thought was coolest that we didn't expect was that movie theater. It was really cool! And out of all the food we had, I think the best food was definitely at The Glass Onion and Wild Olive. I'm so glad I got to see Kayleigh again though, and much sooner than we thought we'd get to see each other.

With that said the journey back was awful. I don't think I will ever fly United again. I know this probably could happen with any airline, but it was mostly the attitude of the lady at the desk and how they didn't seem to care or want to help at all. I enjoyed roadtripping back with Kayleigh, but am not eager to ever do a trip like that again. Overall I ended up on the road for 9 hours, in airports for about 9 more, and awake for about 40 hours before I got some rest which I am not eager to repeat.

Now this will go back to being a PTR for Sep and Dec. I'm hoping by next week we'll know something about HHN! ​

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I am sorry about the flight delay and chaos (I definitely know which time frame you were talking about with the weather being bad and I’m like what!!?!?!?). I’ve heard United is the worst!

 

[Raeven]

I am sorry about the flight delay and chaos (I definitely know which time frame you were talking about with the weather being bad and I’m like what!!?!?!?). I’ve heard United is the worst!​

There was nothing going on at all weather-wise it was crazy Lately I think they use that a lot when they have other issues with the flights. ​

 

[Raeven]

HHN Trip-12 weeks
Xmas Trip-22 weeks



We have some movement on the December trip front! We are booked at Aventura for the Universal portion, and the Swan for the Disney portion. We also have news that there's a new event coming to Hollywood Studios for the holidays that we're going to try to get tickets too along with MVMCP. Besides buying the tickets soon, I'm just waiting for Kayleigh to book her flight.

We also had our first HHN announcement! I'm glad the announcements have started, but I've never played the Last of Us game or watched the show so I'm not as excited about the first announcements. I think I'll watch the show before we go, but I'm still much more excited about Chucky. Other than that for September I think the next date coming up is for our dining reservations in July.

I also haven't heard anything concrete about the Imgur pictures coming back so I've slowly been trying to replace them by using the site's uploader. (I've finished this PTR so they should all show now). But since you can only add 10 to a post I've had to cut out a bunch on the posts I fixed. ​