October 31: we make way for Savannah, GA from Nashville, TN for a three day stay and the sole purpose of this extravagant series of adventures. So, without further ado, I give you our Savannah experience.
I’m certainly no stranger to The Hostess City of the South; for four years I lived in historic downtown Savannah and attended the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) for Sound Design. Savannah is terrifically beautiful and is a wonderful place to visit, but the city’s crime rate was the bane of my time there. Luckily, when you visit the city and stick to the tourist side of things, the most crime you’ll probably run into is a police raid on your hotel. Hooray!
Night 1: Halloween
Phase 1: Check-in (Thunderbird Inn, where I’ve always wanted to stay)
Phase 2: Pub (dinner at the Six Pence Pub, just like old times)
Phase 3: Tunes (live music at The Jinx which boasted a “Beetlejuice” theme this year)
Phase 4: Get some air and then roam across the historic district following a man who claims he is a haunted tour guide who wants to take your photo with a portrait that looks like Sam Neill so he can post it on Reddit. He swears it’ll make it to the front page. You follow him for some reason, then find yourself at McDonough’s watching a caveman belt out karaoke.
During said trek across Savannah, we ran into this adorable Pokemon battle. That still didn’t make the walk worth it.
Phase 5: Call it a night. Thank Caila immensely for putting up with our tomfoolery.
Day 2: Friday
We ventured into an all-too-familiar alleyway off of Oglethorpe street to visit with John Bennett and Caila Brown at Angel’s BBQ at opening time. Elizabeth and I, of course, arrived thirty minutes before the restaurant opened its doors. Apparently the restaurant has been featured on one of Adam Richman’s shows on Travel Channel, but it still boasted the same amount of clientele that I remember from the past. The pulled pork is still tasty and the macaroni and cheese is to die for. Also, try the hottest sauce you can, they’re not kidding around with the heat, which I truly appreciate.
From there, Elizabeth, Gairgunn, and I made way for Tybee Island (aka Savannah Beach, according to maps and no one else) to visit our first beach of the trip. Tybee holds many dear late night memories for me; I drove many of my classmates out here for late night quests away from our stressful studies. The ocean has a very calming effect, but apart from a few summer beach parties for student orientations and SCAD’s yearly Sand Arts Festival, I wasn’t a huge fan of coming out to the beach during the day. I’ll probably discuss the roots of that more in the next blog.
Regardless, Tybee is a quick thirty minute drive from downtown Savannah and is host to the first Days Inn Hotel as well as an atomic bomb that the U.S. Air Force accidentally dropped during a 1958 training exercise. Fun fact: it’s never been found. Totally carefree beach bum fun times ahead, kids!
The weather was absolutely perfect and apart from four other people, we essentially had the northern beach to ourselves.
Later in the evening, we decided to dine at The Distillery, a craft beer bar and restaurant located a mere three blocks from our hotel. Being Friday night, the staff were stressed out about two private parties going on at the restaurant, so we parked ourselves at the bar. Lo and behold, twenty minutes after we arrive, that I see a familiar pair of faces: Brandyn Bold and Ashlee Perkins, the very couple who were to be married the next day. Apparently, we had chosen the same location as their rehearsal dinner, which had skyrocketed to 50 attendees. We caught up for a bit and ended up dining with my old pal, Jon Rushing.
Tiny Hands Perkins meets Carny-Hands Elizabeth! Their hands are basically the same size, everyone can calm down and move on with their lives.
Following dinner and wishing the couple all the best for Saturday, we headed down to the Desoto Row area to catch the end of the monthly Art Crawl. I got to take my first visit to Graveface Records & Curiosities, which is owned and run by The Octopus Project’s Ryan “Graveface” Figg. Much to my surprise, I came across a copy of The Flaming Lips’ “Zaireeka” on vinyl, which sold out almost instantly in Austin. This spurred on a delightful, though short, conversation about experiencing music in unique settings (something I’ll have to write about in the future). I’m just happy that Savannah has a pretty darn cool record store and it’s next door the Back In The Day Bakery, so what more could you want?
Meeting up with Caila Brown and Lee Burbage, we made our way to American Legion 135, just south of Forsyth Park. The Legion is home to an incredibly eccentric bartender, cheap drinks, and free darts and pool.
Catching up with Lee and Caila is always the best of times. Even standing outside on the patio in the rain is perfection itself.
Day 3: The Wedding
The marriage of Ashlee Perkins (Ashlee with two e’s) and Brandyn Bold (Brandyn with a y) was actually the catalyst of this entire journey. Deciding to drive to Savannah for the event turned what would have been a weekend visit to Savannah into nearly two weeks of amazing experiences. So, for that, I must thank them. If you don’t know, Ashlee and Brandyn met in Oglethorpe House, the first dorm that they, along with Jon Rushing and I lived in at SCAD. You could tell from the beginning that they were something special, even if they were on-again off-again through the years. Somehow, you knew they’d always end up with each other. It’s finally happened, folks, and we all couldn’t be more glad.
Taking place at the Georgia State Railroad Museum, the wedding was everything I imagined it would be and more. I’ll let the pictures do most of the leg-work for me.
I obviously didn’t take photos during the ceremony (that’s what photographers are paid for), but, trust me, John Finnell did a sublime job officiating. I wish I had been able to make the time to be able to meet and get to know every one of Brashlee’s (Brandyn & Ashlee’s nickname) friends that they have known since before college. The ceremony was unforgettable, the setting was perfect, the company was splendid, and it was all too short. Brandyn and Ashlee, congratulations and all the best to you in the future. 
We departed for City Market where we met up with Ned Drummond, who happened to be visiting from Washington, D.C. to perform a sort of performance piece for Dia de los Muertos. Roaming the streets and hitting some old haunts and new discoveries, we recalled old times and enjoyed our short time together. Afterwards, we made way to the Thunderbird to rest up before another long drive that would take place the next day.
Sunday
You can’t leave Savannah without having brunch, so we met up with John, Caila, Lee, and Lauren at the Sentient Bean before our departure. 
I didn’t try, so I didn’t get a hug from John. I even heard he gives those out once a year; better luck next time, I suppose. That being said, I am perfectly fine with our breakfast club and want to be there every Sunday.
Soon after, we got back on the road with Pensacola Beach in our sights.
Savannah was everything I wanted and more. Even then, we didn’t make it to the Pankake Palace (or whatever the new management has decided to name it), Bonaventure Cemetary, the new SCAD Radio facilities, and a dozen or so other locations that we probably would have visited if a week were spent in town.
I miss the simplicity of life there. From the ability to walk and bike nearly everywhere you need to go to the low cost of living, it’s an ideal place to live at just about any age. You’re only a few hours from Jacksonville, Atlanta, and Charleston and Savannah’s music and arts scenes are flourishing more than ever. I wouldn’t mind living and working there, but I’m afraid that I would stay and never leave. Savannah is absolutely delightful to visit and I already finding myself wanting to go back, but I know that it would be all too soon. The city is a fine Scotch Julep that is to be savored and sipped slowly and taking in too much, too soon can prove troublesome.
Two Month Weekend 