Saturday evening we arrived on Longboat Key, Florida to spend a week with friends. We took a road trip on our way, and there will be another road trip on the way home. We left just in time to escape the biggest winter storm of the season---and one that dumped more snow on Rochester than we’ve seen in a long time---30 inches. I’m not sorry to have missed it!
We made a stop in Asheville, NC where it was bitter cold, but sunny. There we got to have lunch with a friend and explore a bit more of the city than we’ve had time to do in the past. We’ve come to the conclusion, though, that we need to schedule a trip in the late spring or early summer when the weather is more conducive to hiking and sightseeing.
We arrived in Savannah, GA on Thursday afternoon, took a trolley tour of the city, visited the SCAD Museum of Art, and had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day as well as Tracy’s birthday.
The parade for St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah is the second largest in the country. Only New York City’s is larger. We weren’t quite sure what to expect so decided to purchase seats on one of the bleachers set up on the parade route. We arrived well before the beginning of the parade, but despite the fact that the bleacher seats were sold out, ours was never filled, and quite comfortable. Good thing, since the parade is very long.
As you can see from the photo above, many people dress up for the day. I had a bright green vest on and purchased some of the shiny green beads from the vendors selling up and down the parade route. (No photos of me, however. What else is new?)
Of all the outfits, this was my favorite:
Mother, daughter, and dog were all decked out in tulle.
The parade included:
Marching bands from several states; some as far away as Indiana.
Floats; some very professionally done, others not so much.
Bagpipers, and drum corps.
Many military groups. Check out the cheeks of the soldiers. It is, evidently, customary for woman and girls to rush out and kiss their cheeks as they march by. It happened regularly where we were sitting, and the soldiers took to it quite well.
All in all, it was a fun time, and probably the biggest birthday celebration Tracy’s had. Before we left I got his birthday card made. I took a page from Sian’s playbook, and used some scrapbook ephemera to create a travel inspired card.
Because it was an odd size, I needed to make the envelope as well. It had been ages since I pulled out my envelope punch board, and I’d forgotten how easy it is to make an envelope of almost any size.
Sunday was rest and relax at the beach. Bill and Tina have rented a lovely condo with a long screened in porch overlooking the gulf. Just the sound of the surf is relaxing, and keeping the door to the porch ajar last night probably contributed to the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. I read, uploaded some photos, and we took a long walk on the beach.
We'll need to rest up here for the fun trip planned for the trip home. Waving to Sian and all the Monday Memo Makers. Hope all is well with you.
