As most of you know, John is the travel planning guru in our family. He does most of the legwork on our trips, as I prefer to be surprised when I show up to our destination! So when he suggested Beaufort, SC when we needed a one-night stay close to Bluffton two years ago, I was game, but didn’t really know what was in store. I think it’s fair to say that we were both blown away by this quiet Southern town – it captured us in a way few other places have. We’ve been eager to return ever since, and this past weekend, we got the chance to! Beaufort is not Charleston or Savannah – it’s much smaller than both. I think I love it because it seems like a place people lead normal lives – but in a beautiful, idyllic way! The streets are quiet and draped in Spanish moss. The houses are absolutely gorgeous but have people puttering in the lawns or sitting on their front porches. When we ate dinner in the bar of a local restaurant one night, it seemed like everyone knew each other. For any Hart of Dixie fans out there, Beaufort really reminds me of Bluebell – except with slightly weaker accents :) Like last time, we stayed at City Loft Hotel, and continue to be huge fans of the way the owners have transformed an outdated roadside motel into a chic boutique motel! You can read my much more thorough review of CLH here. After checking in, we immediately hopped on City Loft’s complimentary cruisers and pedaled toward the Point, the beautiful historic district right next to downtown. I was in my happy place – there are few activities I enjoy more than biking or walking around an old neighborhood with

The first and (until this weekend) last weekend we visited Savannah, I had a major attack of seasonal allergies, limped around on a bleeding foot, and scratched my cornea. John had a blood sugar crash. Needless to say, we owed this Southern city another shot, and finally, six years later, we returned! Savannah is about a 5.5 hour drive from our home in NC, which means it is a long but doable weekend road trip. We set off early on Friday morning, and after hitting some traffic, arrived around 2pm. Our first stop was Gryphon Tea Room. It’s a restaurant run by SCAD in an old pharmacy, with original Tiffany glass panes and furnishings. It was beautiful and felt like a library! Our table was up on a podium, with really comfortable velvet chairs. The leopard carpet was a nice touch :) The food was good; the service was quirky (SCAD students!). The highlight was our drinks – blackberry pomegranate lemonade and peach rosemary lemonade. After lunch we started wandering in the direction of Forsyth Park, pausing in several squares and oohing and ahhing over many houses. One of my favorite activities! The weather was perfect – low 80’s, sunny, with a light breeze and lots of shade from oaks and Spanish moss. Savannah and Charleston get compared a lot, but to me, they seem very different. Savannah is darker and a bit more Gothic, with lots of wrought iron and Spanish moss — more similar to what I’ve heard and seen of New Orleans. Charleston is preppier and brighter. After popping into several shops (Fest, Number Four Eleven, One Fish Two Fish, Sylvester & Co General Store), we jumped back in our car and drove 15 minutes outside of Savannah to McQueen’s Island Trail. Our quick run along the