Common theme amongst my recent posts – 2020 plans were cancelled. Which means that our annual Easter trip to Raleigh was cancelled.
For 2021, we didn’t want to miss it, but we’re also not ready to put the little one on a plane again just yet. So we decided to make a week of it, drive, and make some fun stops! One day in Savannah, three days in Raleigh, and one day in Charleston.
We left on Wednesday night after dinner and headed for Savannah. We arrived at our hotel around midnight, woke up the little one, and went straight to bed.
The next morning, we were up early and walked to The Collins Quarter for breakfast. When we arrived, there were lots of outside tables and no one was there – we’ve been very cautious during the pandemic and had not been to a restaurant in over a year. Because of the wide open space, we decided to sit down at a table and enjoy! The servers were so incredibly nice and the food was beyond good! If we were staying for several days, we would have eaten breakfast there every morning.
After breakfast, we walked River Street until it was time for our carriage ride around the city. This is a great way to see all of the squares if your time in the city is limited. Plus, we love horses so we probably would have booked it anyways. When our ride was over, we walked through the Savannah City Market. We discovered Byrd’s Cookies and left with a few too many bags. On our way back to the hotel, we picked up lunch from Little Duck Diner. We each tried a different grilled cheese – it was just okay. Maybe other parts of the menu are better.
When nap time was over, we walked to Forsyth Park. What a beautiful place! We spent a lot of time just walking around and playing. Once we started thinking about dinner, we left and headed to The Lady & Sons (a Paula Deen restaurant). They had a takeout special that included tons of food! We tried the meatloaf and chicken & dumplings. Loved the dumplings! Meatloaf was okay – underwhelming compared to all of the yummy flavors of our sides.
After dinner, we loaded up and headed for Raleigh. Again, arrived around midnight and went straight to bed. In the morning, we went to the North Carolina Museum of Art walking trail. It was a gorgeous day to get out and enjoy some sunshine! Later after naps, we went to Bowstring Pizza and Brewyard. They had a great selection of beer and cocktails.
The next morning we walked to Roanoke Park (my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece live in Five Points) to play on the playground. We hung out at the house for most of the day and then got dressed up for family pictures at the WRAL Azalea Gardens. This is a free garden! The azaleas weren’t in full bloom yet so I imagine it’s absolutely gorgeous when they are.
On Sunday (Happy Easter!), we went to Pullen Park as soon as they opened so that we could walk around and enjoy the whole park to ourselves. Before we left, we rode the train! Our daughter was so excited and still talks about it months later. For the rest of the day, we dyed eggs and had Easter egg hunts. After our traditional Italian dinner, we packed up and headed for Charleston.
I mapped out a walking route for Charleston that allowed us to see a lot in a little bit of time. We started with Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit to fuel up and then began our 5 mile walk! After our walk (around noon), we packed up and checked out of the hotel. Before getting on the road, we stopped at Rodney Scott’s BBQ for lunch. Oh. My. Goodness. This might have been the best barbeque that I’ve ever had – and I’ve eating at Joe’s Kansas City BBQ!
We made it home around 9:00 PM on Monday. It was a great jam-packed 5 days!
A detailed itinerary, including maps, photographer information, and additional recommendations, is available for purchase for $25. Accepted payment is Venmo.
out of the office today 