Oberlin College

We arrived in Cleveland Monday night. Joey checked into his dorm at Oberlin College on Tuesday morning.

Below: Dascomb Dormitory at Oberlin College

Below: a very strange tree outside Joey's dorm that I have never seen before.

The back side of Joey's dorm. Joey and Zach's room is on the shady park (quad) side of the dorm building. A much prettier, shadier spot. Their room is on the third (top) floor right in the middle of the picture below.

Of course Joey's side of the room is very eclectic and very colorful.

Aunt Tiffy will notice the colorful bird she gave Joey when he was in the Neonatal ICU just hours after his traumatic birth almost 19 years ago (as you can see it all worked out... he looks "almost" normal :0). Grammy will notice one of her many beautiful quilts gracing Joey's bed. The puffin pillowcase is there too, behind the gray pillows.

Zachary's side of the room is a little more subdued:

Below: Joey and Zach. New roommates!

And so it begins... Joey's college years. Sad and happy, but mostly happy and exciting!

Savannah, Georgia

By Sunday, we only had a day and a half left in Savannah and we had a lot of sightseeing left since we had spent a good part of our "Savannah" time away from Savannah.

We started our Sunday morning with brunch at B. Mathews Eatery. Delicious!

Joey had the Bay St. Scramble:

Homecut hash browns smothered with scrambled eggs, applewood smoked bacon, mushrooms, tomato, green onion and cheddar cheese with made-from-scratch biscuit.

Michael had the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich:

Scrumptious fried green tomato slices, sharp cheddar cheese, oregano and aioli on wheatberry bread. Really, really, really good.

and I had the Salmon BLT:

a slice of focaccia topped with spinach, arugula, tomatoes, thick slices of applewood smoked bacon, grilled salmon filet, a poached egg all doused with a decadent mornay sauce. It was out of this world!

I want to be a food travel writer!

After breakfast we took an Old Savannah Trolley tour through the Historic District.

Waiting for the trolley tour checking out the local real estate.

Hey, I wanted to see what a house in Savannah cost... too...

The trolley tour covered the 2.2 mile historic district including Jones Street, a gorgeous tree lined street featuring beautiful old Savannah architecture.

We also ventured down to River Street along the Savannah River. This area is filled with shops and restaurants all with a view of the river.

The Savannah Scottish Rite Masonic Center:

After the tour we decided to take a walk around and ended up walking quite some distance.

Michael was always a block behind.

We finally ended up at the Fountain at Forsyth Park.

and across the street is the Mansion at Forsyth Park. A beautiful hotel with a gorgeous restaurant where we decided to eat dinner even though we were horribly underdressed. We decided to save the other diners from our ubiquitous photo snapping, especially since we did not want to draw attention to ourselves. Joey was wearing jean cut offs and Michael was wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt. Everyone else was wearing beautiful suits and dresses. It was a slow evening and they welcomed our business, however, that does not mean we felt any less conspicuous. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our crab bisque, filet mignon, etc., etc., etc...

Above: The Mansion on Forsyth Park

Eventually we arrived back at our hotel for our last night in Savannah.

Below: Our hotel, The AVIA Savannah

On our last 1/2 day in Savannah, we dined at an eccentric South African Restaurant named Zunzi's, which was highly recommended on all the foodie sites.

Below: Joey's "Oliver's Lunch", Baked Chicken breasts in South African spices, two kinds of South African sausage (very flavorful) served on rice with veggies and a roll.

Michael and I had the Conquistador Chicken Sandwich.

Their "special sauce" was incredibly flavorful and the french bun was baked that morning fresh.

After lunch we did some walking and shopping and then visited the Telfair Museum

I was so sad to leave Savannah and the south, but we had to do it.

We had to get Joey to school on time!

Charleston, South Carolina

On our second day in Savannah, we decided to take a road trip. I had briefly debated staying in Charleston, South Carolina and taking the road trip to Georgia, but decided against it.

So instead we took a road trip to Charleston on Saturday. Joey did a little research and we decided to spend most of our time in the Folly Beach area and then at a plantation just outside Charleston.

We had planned to leave Savannah at about 8am, but instead got out of town more like 10 (it is vacation after all). We drove straight through to The Lost Dog Cafe at Folly Beach so we were pretty darn hungry by the time we got there at about noon.

The walls are completely covered with pictures of dogs. All kinds of dogs. Dogs from everywhere.

And even though we love dogs, we mainly went there for the food. Below, our drinks. Michael's orange juice, my sweet iced tea and Joey's iced coffee:

Joey ordered the South Carolina Peach Pancakes. So many fresh peaches!

Michael ordered the glazed Mahi salad:

I ordered the Huevos Rancheros and it was amazing.

And as if that wasn't enough, Joey also ordered a side of biscuits and gravy...

After brunch, we headed to the beach. Since it was Saturday, the beach was very crowded. Or maybe it is crowded every day. Who knows.

One thing that was abundantly clear (but not very well represented in these photos) was the fact that we were WAY overdressed. We were wearing twice as many clothes as anyone else on the beach. This was definitely a young person's beach... I have never seen so many bikinis in one place. Not even in Hawaii.

After the beach, we took a driving tour through Charleston. There are some gorgeous little neighborhoods right near the water and some fun looking shopping and eating areas. I would definitely go back if given the chance, however, since we were on a schedule, we decided to head out to

Drayton Hall

Drayton Hall is the oldest surviving example of Georgian Palladian architecture in the U.S. and one of the only pre-Revolutionary houses that remain in close original condition today. Seven generations of Draytons lived in or used the home in one form or another. No other family occupied this home. That made it unique compared to the other plantations we had visited in Louisiana.

It is the only plantation on the Ashley River to survive intact to present day despite the fact that both Colonial and British forces used it as a staging ground during the Revolution. The house was sold to the National Trust in 1974 and left preserved, but unrestored.

Above: view of the back of the home from the Ashley River.

Below: the Ashley River, it runs along the back of the property.

Below: the back of the house. You can see straight through to the front.

Below: service stairway.

below: original wall mouldings in formal living area.

Below: original hand carved plaster ceiling in Parlor.

Below: view from the front of the house.

Below: The African American Cemetery is the resting place for many of the enslaved people who lived and worked at Drayton Hall. Unfortunately I got many many mosquito bites in this location. A lot, like maybe 30. Okay, moving right along....

below: Joey playing with his camera on the drive home.