GalPal Trip to Hilton Head Island, SC and Savannah, GA

Like the rest of the world, my travel plans for the past year have not turned out as originally planned. However, I had a huge stroke of great travel luck this week! 

Minnesota BFF Lisa and I had planned this Spring trip to the East Coast so long ago that we'd felt sure Covid would be a non-issue  In fact, the plan had been that I'd be doing my winter snowbird tour in Florida and would swing by and pick Lisa up at the Savannah airport on March 13 for a vacation in Hilton Head, SC and Savannah, GA.

But, of course, I didn't execute the snowbird plan after all. Both Lisa and I have been staying "safe"..  we're both social-distancing, mask-wearing, rule-followers so traveling when the country is not yet pandemic-free created a fair amount of anxiety and guilt for both of us.  However, as an older, wiser woman, I've been trying to rid myself of unnecessary guilt in favor of taking educated risks.  Not to mention, we're not even breaking any rules or laws! (Clearly, I'm having trouble playing the 'bad girl.')

We both agreed we would mask up and carry on with the vacation.  I felt very lucky that I was able to get the first vaccine before the flight and had a wide range of masks from N95 to light-up party mask to keep me safe.

When a major snowstorm turned out to be in the Denver forecast for exactly when my flight was leaving, I felt sure that snow was going to ruin my travel plans. But the snow came late and I was able to make it out and meet Lisa in Savannah.

We rented a cute little Volkswagen Beetle and have been having and awesome girl's trip.  Like our trip to the Bahama's 3 years ago,  we had lots of fun visiting, eating, drinking, cooking, and exploring. I never run out of things to talk about with Lisa!

The weather has been better than expected..  the original forecast showed rain all week, but it really only rained for a few hours today (actually, we had the excitement of a tornado warning!) 

We spent 3 days at Lisa's RCI Timeshare unit on Hilton Head Island and then 3 days in Historic Downtown Savannah. Every day we found fun things to see and do!

Here are some of the Happy Highlights from the week:

• Long walks on the beach
• Renting bikes and exploring Hilton Head Island, including an historic cemetery
• Trying to ride the bikes on the beach despite the strong winds!
• Nightly "Happy Hours" with White Claws or Pinot Grigio
• Beautiful architecture and huge trees draped with Spanish moss
• The Sea Pines Resort with horses, gardens, quaint shops, and a lighthouse
• She-Crab soup! Yum!
• A beautiful AirBnB in historic downtown Savannah
• Forsythe Park
• Meeting our "neighbors" Fred and Patty from Vermont
• Being in Savannah for St. Patrick's Day - green fountains and partiers
• Watching movies: Like Father, The Dressmaker, and The Greatest
• Asking each other "Conversation Questions" 
• Delicious Dinner at The Husk: Quail with Sweet Potato and Cobio
• Making dinners.. Flounder with mandarin oranges, Eggs with zucchini and yummy spice, guacamole and Mexican food
• The Hop-On, Hop-Off Trolley and the historic tour

Lisa's heading back to Minnesota tomorrow, but I have another weekend of adventure in St. Augustine before I head back to Colorado on Monday.  I'll be sad to see Lisa go tomorrow, but this vacation was such a relief.. like the world was slowly returning to "normal" again.