BIKES IN BEAUFORT

Over the weekend, Wes and I decided to take a ride out at Skidaway State Park.  We had never been before and heard good things from people in town.  We threw the bikes in the car and headed over to check it out.  After speaking with one of the worlds nicest park rangers, we parked the car and headed over to the Old Ferry Trail.  If you know Wes and I, you know that we don't ride mountain bikes.  We ride fixed gear road bikes.  The trail we decided to check out was actually a bit of a pine straw trail with roots sticking out of the ground.  Figuring out how to maneuver without going down hard was a complete blast.  By the end of the ride, the only thing that was really sore was my face from having a smile plastered on it the entire time.  Serious throwback to being a kid and having the best time taking your bike off road.  I need a mountain bike ASAP.  I highly suggest to anyone struggling with the harsh realities of adulthood to go ride a bike in the woods.  It will brighten your day.

All in all, Skidaway was really gorgeous if a bit small.  We hadn't fulfilled our want to ride for the day so rather than ride around Savannah we decided to continue the park theme and head up to Beaufort and go ride on Hunting Island. 

We made the hour drive and had a lot of fun biking through Forrest Gump's Vietnam.  I haven't been out to Hunting in close to a decade so it was nice to go back on a very calm day.  

Being that we were in Beaufort and knew that there was no food back in our fridge in Savannah, we invited ourselves over to Mom and Larry's house for dinner.  Dinner and a movie quickly translated into 'Louisa is too lazy and tired to drive home - let's spend the night!'

On Sunday morning we woke up to another gorgeous day of warm weather.  We decided to take the new Spanish Moss Rail Trail downtown for lunch and then plan out a ride from there.  We had a standard lunch down at Luther's, took the obligatory bike photos by the water, and decided to ride the loop over both the Wood's Memorial Bridge and the Mcteer Bridge back to the house.

Once we got back to the house, we all hung out outside by the new pool.  By "hung out" I mean that Wes and I lounged our sore bodies by the pool, Mom screamed at Ellie and Pita for making attempts to roll in something gross in the yard, Larry taped off a door to be painted, and two hawks feasted on some sad roadkill up in the trees while looking down at the silly humans struggling to function.  I don't have a picture of the screaming mother, taping step father, rolling dogs, or even the hawks, but I think I painted a pretty good picture.  We had a great time hanging out with the family for an impromptu visit and making the most of the warm weekend.  

EARTH DAY AT FORSYTH PARK

One thing Savannians know how to do is have a good hangout at Forsyth Park.  And why wouldn't they?  It's an absolutely beautiful park that offers something for just about everyone.  In celebration of Earth Day there were tents all over the park offering up advice on helping to do your part in preserving our collective home.  The Savannah Bicycle Campaign had their bike valet set up to offer a safe place to park your bike and enjoy the festivities as well as hosting their 8th annual Earth Day Wheelie afterward.  It was a really fun ride that ended over at Blowin' Smoke Cantina for food and drinks.  Earth Day gets me excited for the season's bike events; I feel like it's the starter event to send us into the season of hanging out with the Bike Campaign which is always a great time.  Make sure you click on the bike campaign's link above in the bold black writing to see what events are coming up and how you can get involved!

The Forsyth Farmer's Market was also out in full force with some really great produce and samples to try.  The farmer's market is out every Saturday from 9:00 to 1:00 with great vendors and amazing foods.  It's a great way to spend a Saturday morning supporting something local.  Here are just a few snaps of our day at the park, hope you enjoy!

LET'S EAT PT. 2 - SANDFLY BAR-B-Q

I'm not sure where to start, so I'll start by saying STOP READING NOW AND GO TO SANDFLY BAR-B-Q!  Or if you do feel inclined to read on, finish this post quickly then head straight over.  I've spent the last month taking some personal time to try and do a bit of re-centering and just enjoy what 's in front of me. I should have just gone to SANDFLY and gotten a beef brisket sandwich - boom : life centered.  This place is the ultimate experience in mouth-watering barbeque.  No frills, no complications, just amazing food.  

Wes got a pulled pork sandwich with baked beans and a SERVICE BREWING CO. COMPASS ROSE IPA (way to go supporting local breweries).  I decided to try the beef brisket, and baked beans. and we split an order of fries.  Brisket is always a good indicator of what a barbeque joint is really about; good brisket = good everything else .  It can go wrong in so many ways if it isn't treated well.  You can tell the people in the pit over at Sandfly really care about what they are doing.  Hands down best brisket sandwich I have had, bar none.  

Other than the brisket, another amazing thing that made me so happy was the choice of sauces.  Everyone has their favorite - be it mustard or vinegar; sweet or spicy; Carolina, Memphis, or Texas.  I usually like 2 of the 3 on the table but lean heavily towards a Memphis sauce.  The sauces at Sandfly are all true in their bases but every bit as special as the meat itself.  I couldn't decide which of the three to choose from so I had a bit of everything going down the line.  

We went to the original location off of Skidaway out by Isle of Hope, but they just opened up a downtown location on Barnard in the old Streamliner Diner.  This is great news if you are looking to stick around the historic district.  The prices are totally doable, the décor is great,  and the staff gets an  A+.  Bottom line, Sandfly Bar-B-Q is an absolute must if you are in the mood for barbeque and a definite MUST if you want food that makes you feel genuinely happy.

SUPER MUSEUM SUNDAY: SCAD MoA AND MORE

Continuing on with the rest of the museum visits, here are some photos from the Savannah History Museum, the SCAD Museum of Art and the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Below is a mural of Savannah right when you head into the Savannah History Museum.  The Railroad Museum and the Savannah Children's Museum are both connected to the History Museum as well, so it's nice to be able to see all three if you have the time.  It was also nice to put a bench to a memory as the Forrest Gump bench is kept there.  

Right around the corner from the History Museum is the SCAD Museum of Art.  As much as I complain about what SCAD does to traffic and how long I have to wait for coffee when they are in session, I can only say great things about what they put on display at the MoA.  The building itself is a pretty great display, if not a bit deceiving from the outside.  It is so much smaller than I would have thought! Either way, it was really awesome.  It was pretty packed so we really didn't get to see as much as we wanted, but I spent a good amount of time looking at everything done by Nari Ward.  It was all so intricate and crazy to think that he took all of this time to find the objects that he wanted to use and then turn them into something completely different.  I'm excited to go back and really get to check out the Oscar de la Renta exhibit in full when The Matriarch comes to visit. 

Nari Ward

Oscar de le Renta

In an alley between SCAD and the Telfair Academy

After SCAD, we headed over to the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences.  If you just want to go to one museum I would have to pick this one overall.  It's overwhelming how beautiful it is on the inside.  This one is deceiving in how large it really is when you get inside.  It's both a tour of the house and the artwork that is inside.  You have dining areas and lounges on display mixed with so many paintings and sculptures.  According to  their website, "In 1875, Alexander’s sister Mary – heir to the family fortune and last to bear the Telfair name – bequeathed the house and its furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum. After significant renovation by German-born architect Detlef Lienau, whose adaptations included the addition of the Sculpture Gallery and the Rotunda, the building opened to the public in 1886 as the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences." In addition to Detlef sharing a name with Parks and Rec's favorite retired NBA basketball player, the man knew what he was doing with that renovation.  Another place that I will gladly pay to go back and spend more time in. 

And that's a wrap on Super Museum Sunday.  We did go to the Jepson Center for the Arts as well which puts us at our 9 locations for the day.  We really did have a blast and I think it is a great thing that the Georgia Historical Society puts together every year.  That's a great thing about Savannah.  It is a little city with big city aspirations.  You can always find something to do if you look for it, and if it costs you anything it won't be much.  Our fair city is pretty fair on the wallet as well.