Thanksgiving Weekend

I know Christmas is just around the corner but let me backtrack a bit and tell you about my Thanksgiving. My parents flew out to Richmond, so I joined them there for the big meal Thursday with family. Then the next morning the three of us flew to Savannah to visit Ryan and Lauren!

We arrived in the afternoon, and went straight into the city to hang out before dinner. We walked around a little and ended up at the Moon River Brewing Company for a drink outside in their beer garden.

Savannah Cotton Exchange and a lion fountain.

Family selfie!

 That night we had a fancy southern dinner at Vic's on the River. I ate way too much, but it was delicious. After dinner we all drove across the border to Bluffton, where Ryan and Lauren actually live. I tried to hang out a little after that but was too full and sleepy.

The next day Ryan had to work, but the rest of us went to Hilton Head for lunch. I wanted to see the ocean, but it turns out the part we went to wasn't facing that way. (I wasn't the navigator.) We had a fun seafood lunch and walked around a few shops. And I made us walk down on the beach too, which was covered in more seashells than I've even seen on one beach. And a whole bunch of the shells looked just like ears.

They're checking out a little crab.

Ear Shells!

Eventually Ryan was done working, so we met him at the resort where he works. He gave us a fun tour in a golf cart, then we sat on a verandah and had drinks.

Lookin' good in his work clothes.

He also drove us over to where there is a multi-storied tree house, so we climbed up there for the sunset view.

In the tree house!

View from the top.

 

 After the resort fun we went back to their house to make dinner, which included shrimp, clams, sausage, corn, and potatoes, plus this bread my mom used to always make for us and a salad. It was the first sit-down meal Ryan and Lauren had had in their new home with guests, and it was a good one! After dinner some of us hung out and played Charades, then the UNM football game came on and I went to bed.

 Sunday we got up and had a big delicious brunch at this local farm-slash-southern restaurant. I ate fried chicken tenders on top of a waffle that had candied bacon in it. So good. After our meal we walked around downtown Bluffton and visited some art galleries. We also walked over to this neat wooden church next to the water.

At this point we were getting closer to the time when I would need to fly back home, but we made sure to go somewhere so I could see alligators first. Apparently they're all over the place and I didn't want to visit and not see one. We went back to the area of the resort, and sure enough I saw three!

There's a big one and two smaller ones in this photo.

 After the alligator viewing we went back to the house so I could pack (Mom and Dad were staying a few more days), and we squeezed in a quick walk around the neighborhood with their dog Tess.

It was a short but fun visit, and I look forward to going back!