thank you, garmin

I only have a few things to say about this weekend. The best part--second even to the Moroccan shiskabob at Casbah or the yummy vegan cobbler from Sentient Bean--was that Matt and I only had ONE fight all weekend. This lack of fangs is exceptional for two reasons:

1. We were both incredibly tired. I stayed up until 5 AM finishing that paper, and Matt had a really stressful work week.
   
2. Traveling brings out the worst in us. I can be a control freak, preferring to plan where my next 4 meals are coming from. And at what times those meals will occur. And where'll we'll park when we get there. Matt, on the other hand, responds to routine change by devolving into preteen Matt, who is easily overwhelmed and highly defensive. (Come to think of it, though, this is perhaps an evolution, as Matt outside his comfort zone used to turn into toddler Matt. That version threw fits and then needed naps. Preteen Matt is much better.)
   

What can we thank for our near perfect calm? Behold:


That blurry thing is a Garmin, a GPS system that Matt's mom recently gave him. We will never travel without it again.

--She said

Savannah, Georgia.

So last Thursday night we packed up the car and headed to Savannah. Ariel was presenting a paper at a writing center conference, a paper she was fooling with until minutes before it was to be presented. On Friday, not only did she get it done in time, but it read extremely well and she did a great job presenting it. When in comes to writing, Ariel makes it happen with precision. This was my third conference as her personal assistant, and the third time I left with a smile on my face being quite the proud boyfriend.

On Saturday, after the conference, we headed down to the old town which dates back to the late 18th century. Based around 24 town squares set up in a grid, Savannah is quite possibly the biggest historic city in the states. Although there is plenty of interesting stuff to check out (including too many tours to choose from), we settled on only one historic tour, spending the rest of our time meandering on foot through dozens upon dozens of streets covered in oak and smothered with picturesque spanish moss. The city forces you to relax ... and we needed it.

Here are some photos we snapped while walking through the city...

Forsyth Park. Created in the early 18th Century. There are two of these fountains...the other one is in France.

Again, Forsyth park. A monument to some dead dude. There's a lot of dead people in this city with plenty of monuments to commemorate them.

Palm trees look good anywhere. Every city needs some.

A prison for Union soldiers was built under this oak tree during the Civil War. The tree, according to it's plaque, is 270 years old. Many Savannahians think the South will rise again. I hate to break the news to them ... it probably won't.

Ariel likes to splurge on food. After that conference, she needed a reward. This was probably the best salad at one of the best coffee shops we've visited. (Behind this building was where the 8th Airforce formed--wikipedia it, they were pretty interesting.)

Every street in Savannah looked like this ... Seriously amazing.

Overall, it was quite the relaxing trip. If you're ever heading up or down I-95 and can afford to take a couple hours break, Savannah won't let you down.

-He Said.