Last day on St. Simon's Island

The last day of any vacation is always the most laid back. By this time you're tired, maybe sun-burnt, and you just don't feel like doing much.

Our plan for today was to rent bicycles, but -- as I mentioned before -- who wants to do stuff on your last day. That's why I always make sure to see most everything on the To Do list right away, then the rest of the time we can relax and that last day can be spent at the pool.

Our last day started with coffee at our coffeehouse and then over to the Glynn Art Association -- a non for profit art gallery for locals. One of our habits has been to purchase local art when we're on vacation; last October in Door County we bought pottery and good places to go are these non for profit galleries. We found 2 paintings we really liked (one of the artists was actually from our neck of the woods) but we needed to swim on it. So we had our daily hike on the beach, and daily swim in the pool, before heading back. Once there we found another painting that was just dropped off and we fell in love. Problem is that we can't take it back on the plane, so Matt's parents will take it to Nashville, and somehow it'll find it's way to our house!

Today at the pool, we met a woman we've seen all week and we finally talked. She's been coming to this condo for 20 years and loves it. In fact a whole group of people (that we saw and thought were family) come to this condo every year on the same week, so they've sort of "friended" each other. I agree that this week (the 2nd week in September) is one of the best -- the weather is perfect and there's not a lot of people. She gave us some tips on restaurants and places not to stay. Then we talked about our cats ;)

This evening, Matt and I had dinner at CrabDaddy's (me the crab cake, Matt the blackened shrimp) while his parents had a romantic dinner alone at Blackwater Grill.

Now we're all packed and sitting our last time on the balcony, waves crashing louder than ever before, a beautiful breeze keeping us cool.

Savannah morning

Waking up this morning, looking out of the windows at the Savannah rooftops, was surreal. It was 7 a.m. and the sky was still pink.

After coffee in their kitchen, with the dog at our feet and the cat in the sink, and a look at their adopted turtle who ambled into Preston's art studio, we went for a guided tour of the city. It was nice walking the streets with someone who knew where they were going, being tugged by a dog, maybe that lessened the touristy look we all had as we followed like dutiful soldiers.

We saw some of the prominant homes, and the famous cemetary, which I learned that when a cemetary's closed, it means no one can be buried there. This one's been closed since 1850; funny, because it didn't look crowded. The sign at entry said pets on leash; Gaston the dog went running ahead. I guess that meant as long as a leash was trailing behind, it was alright. And when he decided to take his morning constitution on someone's 150 year old grave, I just pretended I didn't see it. No one else seemed to mind!

Also on the tour was the Green-Meldrim House. It was closed. That didn't seem to matter, Preston knew where the back door was and asked the girl there to show us the parlor; which she did and then continued to show us the whole house which was kind on both their parts, and much appreciated.

Our final stop was one of the galleries where his art is displayed. The gallery owner was nice to show us around and he has the most beautiful courtyard in the back, in addition to some really beautiful and expensive art for sale. I saw an oil of an Alsace town in the snow somewhere in the several thousand dollar range. But all the same, it was impressive.

We didn't want to outstay our welcome, so around 10 a.m. we were on our way having greatly enjoyed our 19 hours in Savannah.

It was a cool, cloudy afternoon when we returned to St. Simon's and we were ravenous for lunch. Southern Soul BBQ is on a roundabout in the center of the island and it hit the spot. 2 smokers sit out front between 2 wood picnic tables and logs of wood. It has a sort of "side of the road" look, without being really on the side of the road -- more like the busiest intersection on the island. The pulled pork sandwiches (big thick pieces of pork) and sauces (sweet, mustard, tangy) were delicious, and Matt and I got sides of mac & cheese and BBQ beans. After that, who could eat dinner?

A long walk on the beach (we walked all the way to the Lighthouse via the beach, and almost got caught coming back with high tide -- it's not fun to walk around barnacle-covered rocks, trying to decipher the clear areas between tides) and laying out by pool rounded out the evening.

Tomorrow's our last day ...

Savannah

Yesterday we went to Savannah.

Savannah is about 70+ miles north of St. Simon's, so it was only about 1-1/2 hour drive to get there. Matt and I were last in Savannah six years ago on our honeymoon. It was so nice to be back -- still married --and see our B&B and the places we walked as "mooney-eyed" newlyweds (and now as a true married couple). I have a feeling this will not be our last trip to this wonderful city.

Obviously the main reason we went was to visit my mother-in-law's cousin, Preston, who's an artist in Savannah, and his wife. He does oil paintings of Savannah, Charleston, and the low country, all of which I thought were genuine "slices of life" and very thoughtful. He has a beautiful house in downtown Savannah that is filled with art -- both paintings and objets from their many travels -- as well as books and collections and a 140 lb brown labrador. It was a mini-museum and very memorable.

After family talks and cocktails, we went to eat at Garibaldi's -- a well-known Savannah restaurant that he has painted. The upstairs was like a European courtyard and as the lights got dim, the candles on the table flickered. I ordered the crsipy flounder (like 6 years ago) with an apricot glaze. It is such a delicious dish that I had to order it again (it will become my Savannah dish). The coctail du jour was definitely the mojito (not that I had one; I didn't need to become "fun bobby" and fall down the stairs), but I did taste my father-in-law's and they were really excellent and fresh.

We spent the night at their house -- it's 4 floors (don't worry, there's an elevator) and we stayed on the top floor which had 3 bedrooms, a bath, and a sitting area. They said they host a lot of exchange students and this is probably where they stay. If I were an exchange student, I would request to stay with there because it was so comfortable. Matt and I shared a king-size bed, and we still found ourselves huddled close in the middle.

I'll write about today (it's not over yet) tonight.

Adieu.

Forts & Fish

Another day at the beach ... are you bored with my daily updates yet?? Matt brought his laptop and the condo place has free wi-fi so my nightly ritual has been sitting on the balcony, listening to the lapping waves, typing away. Life is sweet... at least this week is.

St. Simon's island has a lot of history dating back to the early 1700's -- pre-dating the Revolutionary War. James Oglethorpe, a british soldier who founded Georgia, built a Fort on the Island (Fort Frederica) to stave off the Spanish who were in St. Augustine, FL. Everywhere on this island is something with the name Oglethorpe. I told Matt, "This man's really milking it, isn't he?"

Fort Frederica is now a National Park and an archeological site. The Fort attracted many settlers who turned it into a town -- the remains of which are layed out and marked. You can walk the "streets" and see the remains of all the homes and learn about the people who lived there; it was one of the most interesting historical sites I've seen. The town/fort was only occupied for about 20 years so everything found at the site dates from 1730's-1740's.

Our next stop was Christ Church, one of the oldest Episcopal churches in the nation and, I believe, the birthplace of the Episcopal Church in the US. The church was closed but the massive burial grounds surrounding it were open. Tombs from as early as the early 1800's were there, and I found myself getting sad as I saw so many tombstones of little children. I can't imagine what a hard life it must have been.

This evening, we all went out to dinner to Georgia Sea Grill in the Village (the closest area of shops and restaurants) where we had a wonderful fish dinner. I had the snapper picata, Matt & his dad had grouper with horsradish, and Matt's mom had scallops & oysters. We had fried oysters for appetizers and for dessert a coconut chocolate pie. We couldn't get over how good and fresh the food was.

Tomorrow we're off to Savannah to visit and stay with Matt's mom's cousin. I may not have internet access there.

Until tomorrow.

Jekyll Island

How does Operation skinny work on vacation?? The exercise room! I went down there last night around 9PM and actually ran 1 mile. When I was training for the 5K earlier this year, it took me forever to work up to that point, and it didn't last long. I guess all this exercise has built up my stamina without me even realizing it. It felt great!

So I was all pepped and ready this morning, Matt and I walked along the beach and then through town to the Lighthouse. But then we were so tired (and hot) that we had to call Matt's mom to come pick us up!

The sun was out all day today so we got in some pool time and then Matt and I headed to see Jekyll Island. There's not much to see but the remains of the first settler's house and an old cemetary. Then there's the old, majestic Jekyll Club started by the millionaires who bought the island from this French family in the 1800's. Some of the original homes were still there. The 2 restaurants on the wharf were closed on Monday, and the beach was at high tide. But we walked around the Club and tried to get into one of the old mansions -- which I figured would be open to visitors, but was locked and Matt said someone was looking at us from one of the windows. Oh well.

For dinner, Matt and I went to Blackwater Grill which is by far the best thing we've eaten on the island. We split 4 appetizers to taste a bit of everything: fried green tomatoes, shrimp & grits, andouille sausage corn dogs, and their own specialty -- a combo of corn bread, brunswick stew, & cole slaw that they call the Blackwater Sundae (served in a sundae glass). Excellent food, highly recommended!

We're off to open mic night at the coffee house.

What's on the agenda for tomorrow???

We've arrived in Georgia!

How do you get to St. Simon's island from Chicago?

We took Southwest Airlines to Jacksonville, FL via Birmingham, AL (but we didn't have to exit the plane). We got to Jacksonville 1 hour late (fog in Chicago delayed our flight an hour and a half), and was greeted promptly by Matt's parents. Then the drive north was only about 45 minutes.

Our condo - the Beach Club - is really nice. We have a pretty 2-bedroom condo that faces the pool and the ocean, and the dining room has a wall of mirrors - perfect for looking at myself every time I walk past ;) The resort is on a beautiful stretch of beach that at low tide is like a mile-deep; at high tide, it's an inch wide. It's also only about a 5 minute drive to the nearest hub of restaurants and shops.

So far, of what we've seen, the island is cute and quaint. The homes are small bungalows and the streets are lined with huge trees full of spanish moss. It's really lovely.

Last night we ate at Mullet Bay (?) -- we got a sweet table on the outside porch where we could enjoy the very loud cicadas. Our only complaint was the very old beer Matt's dad was served (but was quickly replaced with a draft). They had good coconut shrimp and excellent hushpuppies ($1.95 for 10).

Today we did a little shopping with Matt's mom in the morning, and then read by the pool & swam in the ocean this afternoon. Dolphins were pretty active around 4PM. Matt was trying to drag we out into the ocean to get a better look -- I'll admit I'm scared of the water-- but I was pretty brave and went out a bit (waves crashing into me), but Matt wasn't impressed! Tonight, we ate at Barbara Jean's - a southern style place. Everyone loved their grits (even me). I had a delicious crabcake, and Matt got the shrimp & grits. We left with 4 boxes of leftovers and keylime pie to go.

Before we left though we needed coffee (of course to go with the pie), and we found this cute coffee house/pub with live music. The owner was super nice and Matt got Magic Hat on draft (in addition to coffee). Tomorrow night is open mic - I will not be singing!

I wish I could post pictures as we go along, but I forgot my USB cord.

Operation Skinny responds back

My cousin Natalie commented about my Operation Skinny with a ton of good information. I just want to respond to show that I care ... ;)

Natalie says: instead of fruit for breakfast (its all water and sugar basically and it actually burns off pretty fast) add the fruit to some kind of carb like whole wheat toast or waffles or, my fave, Kashi cereal.

Rosey response: It's okay for it to burn off fast because I'm pretty sedentary in the mornings (train rides and office chair). And Gillian (my guru of "You are what you Eat' on the BBC), promotes eating fruit alone because paired with other things it can cause digestive issues (gas, bloating). But I agree that a good morning for me would be to have my tea, then a piece of fruit, wait 1 hour and have a kashi cereal (I've done this before, mostly when I'm home though).

Natalie says: I just read a study that said that women who eat a huge breakfast actually lose more weight than those who eat a bigger other meal.

Rosey response: Totally agree, because it fills you up. It just doesn't work with my schedule. But I would never forgo breakfast because then I'm starving for lunch.

Natalie says: And then the other day I read a study that exercise is actually detrimental to weight loss because it makes you hungrier...sigh

Rosey response:  I've read that too! Before, I used to work out before lunch, and then I was ravenous.  Now that I have a big lunch and work out before dinner, it's MUCH better. Plus I'm adding in more weight training now too.

Natalie says: You should get into swimming! When you have a little baby in you I hear it's one of the best exercises because there's no pressure on joints.

Rosey response: I agree! I hear it's awesome when you're preggers. When it finally happens, I'll be at the Park District pool instead of the spinning classes ;)  But I need to get healthy before I get pregnant!!

Operation Skinny

I'm sure it was a little bit of everything ... the broken toe that kept me from exercising for 10 weeks, the hormonal fluxuations and emotions, and finally, the increased cheeseburger intake.  It creeps up doesn't it? One day, you just can't fit into your jeans.

So in mid-July,  I put myself into the doghouse,  I enrolled in classes at the Park District, and I started tallying my food/fat/calories intake on dailyburn -- otherwise known as Operation Skinny.  Then about 2 weeks ago, I started back on a modified "Gillian" regime (dandelion tea remember?).

So how's the progress?

After 8 weeks of working out, I'm getting muscle.  Matt says I have new definition in my calves, and I feel like the hulk -- my arms have never been this muscular. In my 1-hour kickboxing class, I can push harder than before. And I've also started spinning classes and weight classes in addition to Zumba and kickbox. I'm trying to get in at least 4 classes a week, as well as abdominal work at home at night, and riding my bike with Matt. My goal for the next 4 weeks is to solidly get 4 classes in:  1 spin, 1 kickbox, 1 weight class, and 1 extra.

After 2 weeks on Gillian, my pants are fitting better and my muffin top is less muffin-y.  My goal with a modified Gillian is: 1) the healthy teas (dandelion, nettle, peppermint); 2) fruit only breakfast (and/or yogurt) - no pastries;  3) lunch should be my most caloric/fat meal of the day since I have time to burn it off and I need the energy for work/working out; 4) a really healthy dinner, portion control; and 5) more veggie juices (right now I have been drinking beets and cucumbers).   And I allow myself to slip, but then I have to make it up (counteract it with veggie juice or  more working out).  Watching the calories and fat on dailyburn was a huge eye-opener for me.

So there it is.  We're going on vacation next week so while there will be eating out, I'll just have to counter it with daily walks on the beach. Can't argue with that!

Six Year Anniversary

Six years ago, Matt and I got married. It was such a beautiful weekend (and still is), and I just can't believe it's been 6 years. Time flies when you spend it with your best friend.

Love you.