Graduation Week in Savannah

   

     Savannah always makes us happy. Doubly so this time since as of Saturday we are the proud parents of a SCAD graduate. The graduation ceremony itself was up to the standards of a creative school, with a drum line, light show, and confetti coming from the ceiling at the conclusion like a snippet from a Blue Man Group show. We had to attach the video above HERE for your enjoyment. I would make a snide comment about how much of the crazy tuition cost, and subsequent student debt, went into this production, but that would seem ungrateful now, wouldn't it?

     Anyway, we do feel at home in this absurdly beautiful Southern city, with its moss draped oaks, and historic squares popping up every few blocks as you walk. If you love architecture like we do, you really should visit. Its a Southern city with a uniquely European feeling. We do not have a car here, so we've been walking everywhere, in some vain hope that it will counteract the indulgences of fried oysters, fried chicken, and 3 trips so far to Lulu's Chocolate Bar.

     Since we are now on the topic of food.....we had a wonderful post graduation lunch at the Olde Pink House, probably the premier restaurant in Savannah with its gracious setting in an old mansion in Reynolds Square. The day before we had doggedly gotten in line (and believe us, Andy does not usually willingly stand in line for anything) early at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House to see what all the fuss was about. Wow. Amazing....for $18 a person you are treated to a lunch you will not soon forget- seated at tables of 10 with bowl upon bowl of fried chicken, collard greens, mashed potatoes, mac an' cheese, meat loaf, ham hocks, butter beans...truly, I can't even remember it all, all served family style. A Savannah tradition...but only open Mon-Fri 11:00-2:00.

     We forgot to mention our trip to Bonaventure Cemetery which was quite enjoyable. Also the Telfair museum (which was kinda meh to tell the truth) and the Jepson center, where we saw the Whitfield Lovell exhibit, which Andy really liked.

     So, we've now said a tearful "see you soon" (her words and very appropriate) to our daughter, who was also here from Philly to see her brother graduate. We have several more days here, until we fly out to Puerta Vallarta on Saturday. And then about an hours bus ride to Sayulita. World....here we come!



   

4 days on the run and now I'm dying' of thirst...

     OK! I present to you a lovely shot of Annapolis harbor that took forever to make. I am still getting the hang of using a Mac. Imagine my surprise to find that the native photo editing program won't save its edits! Non-destructive editing they call it. I almost threw the Mac out the hotel window. That would be destructive editing. ANYWAY, I figured it out and got a photo editor that worked.

     Even so, we are definitely using Instagram as our main photo repository for now. Both our feeds are in the links on the right side over there, but for your convenience here are clickable links to mine and LuAnn's.

     Miraculously our complex plan worked flawlessly. Thursday we got the truck, got everything IN the truck, sold the car, got back our security deposit, made a quick visit to our daughter in Philly, and made it at midnight to the hotel in Laurel MD where we were both too keyed up to sleep well. Friday we got the rental car, dropped the stuff in my sister's storage, returned the truck and feeling free at last decided to head to Annapolis for lunch and had fantastic crab cake sandwiches at Buddy's Crab Shack .

     Saturday it was off to Richmond VA to visit my folks. We had a nice afternoon visit, then crashed at the Hyatt Aboretum.  We spent Sunday at The Richmond Museum of Art, which was well worthwhile, a very pretty, but manageable museum, and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Richmond.

    Moving on early Monday morning we drove down 95 in the pouring rain taking turns driving and reading Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential to each other. We were excited to finally visit Charleston, a city we've been wanting to see for quite a while. It was as gorgeous as we imagined. The sight of the palmettos and still flowering planters made us smile. We checked into The Elliot House which made my week. The hot tub was really hot and the rain had stopped, leaving that warm humid southern air. After a soak we had some complimentary wine & cheese by the pool, then went to happy hour at Pearlz where I can only describe the food and drink as orgasmic. If you love oysters, this is your kind of place. After dinner we walked around a bit, and had a glass of wine at Social Wine Bar.

     The next morning we bundled up and took a stroll to take in some more of Charleston's fantastic architecture. We may have neglected to mention that we are having very chilly temps here, record lows, and with the exception of Monday, its been pretty friggin cold all around, but still warmer than New Jersey! Once again we could not say no to another meal of southern comfort food, I mean, who can when they are Charleston??? So after a stellar lunch at Poogan's Porch (shrimp & grits, fried chicken, she-crab soup & mac n' cheese-yeah, all that!) LuAnn drove while I snoozed. We took a detour through Bluffton, SC, then made it to Savannah where we hit Whole Foods to fill the fridge and will now chill for the next TEN DAYS! Staying put for while? Woohoo!

Packing list

A lot of people have asked what we are taking and have expressed surprise at how little (or how much) we are carrying. Here, then, is a list of what's in the bags. Mine's a little more detailed at the moment since I was focused more on what was going in my bags as I worked on the list. What did we miss?
Gotta thank Boots And All for the suggestions.

ANDY:
REI stratocruiser rolling suitcase 22" w/ TSA combo lock
* 1 pair flip flops
* 1 pair sandals
* copy of passports & travel papers

Packing cube #1
* 2 pairs of zip-off convertible pants-1 khaki, 1 green
* 2 REI long sleeve collared quick dry shirts, blue & tan
* 2 long sleeve T-shirts, 1 light, 1 heavy
* 3 moisture wicking tank tops

Packing cube #2
* 4 pair Ex Officio underwear
* 5 pairs socks (3 moisture-wicking SmartWool, 1 crew, 1 sneaker)
* 2 travel towels (1 lg, 1 sm)
* 2 bathing suits (need to buy another)
* 1 short sleeve light collared shirt (the magic shirt)
* 1 silk hawaian shirt

Wear:
* 1 pair of lightweight Lucky brand jeans
* 1 pair sox
* 1 pair underwear
* 1 T shirt
* 1 light collared shirt
* 1 pair sneakers
* REI lightweight hoodie
* Bose noise cancelling headphones

Day pack w/ TSA combo lock:
* 1 lightweight rain jacket
* 1 lightweight, thermal shirt
* 1 AKG P120 condenser mic
* 1 mini mic stand
* 1 mic cable
* 1 focusrite 212 mic/mac interface
* sunglasses & backup eyeglasses
* power converter
* kindle
* 2 TB hard drive
* Canon 5S camera & tripod
* passport & travel papers

Guitar case:
* 1 yamaha nylon string acoustic
* 1 guitar strap & 2 shoelaces
* 1 macbook air (bring in carryon if must check guitar)
* 1  watercolor block
* 1 rolled up paintbrush, pen & pencil bag
* numerous USB cables & charging blocks in clear plastic bag
* some sheet music

LUANN (same REI stratocruiser bag & packing cubes)
* 1 pair of comfy Thai pants (loose leggings)
* 1 pair Quick Dry pants
* 1 REI Skort
* 1 button-up short Sleeve Shirt
* 1 Long-Sleeve Hoody
* 1 Long sleeve T shirt
* 1 black Travex dress
* 1 polkadot dress
* 5 basic, moisture-wicking T-shirts
* 1 pair slip-on shoes  & crocs
* 1 pair tevas
* 2 travel towels
* 1 lightweight rain jacket
* 2 bathing suits
* 5 pairs undies (3 exOs, 2 normal)
* 2 exO bras
* 3 camisole/tanks
* 5 pairs socks - need more?
* 2 scarves
* iPad Mini

Toiletries (split between the bags):
* Immodium
* Preparation H
* 2 toothbrushes
* 2 travel sized toothpastes
* 2 packs plackers
* Gold bond powder
* 2 deodorants (his & hers)
* 1 little magnifying mirror
* 1 tweezers
* neosporin
* 1 blemish treatment
* 1 box bandaids
* 1 afterbite treatment
* 2 sunblock 30spf & 50spf
* 1 vitamins
* hand cream, makeup & jewelery
* 20 sm tubes watercolor paint in clear plastic bag

7 days

Just wrapping up details now. Book this, pack that, cancel this, order that, etc, etc… The culmination of a year or more thinking, planning & researching is finally coming to pass. I’m pretty overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to make this happen and to have a mate who is on board. Not everyone would be willing to give up everything and travel indefinitely. I’m pleased at how little we had actually. Aside from a large collection of books & music the bulk of our possessions were art & music related items. Thus it wasn't hard to find a way to store it all. Looking forward to our two weeks at our cottage in Savannah GA [pictured]

Thirteen More Days

     As we spread the word of our unorthodox plans for our near future, we were quite amused by how many friends were not surprised to hear such a thing from us. We've have been planning this for a while and have relied on the advice of our fellow travelers, many who have been on their adventures for years. Now, in a few days, our apartment will be empty, and a tiny rent-a-truck will have the few boxes & furniture we decided to keep. We'll be officially without a permanent address, and with nothing but our carry-on bags, and Andy's guitar. We're not yet experts on world travel, but I suspect we'll be quick learners! 

     Since Andy is a musician and I'm a watercolorist, one of our biggest challenges has been figuring out how to fit everything we need in a carry-on, and still bring enough clothes, shoes, and tech stuff. Andy has almost(!) decided which guitar he's bringing, and I bought the little tiniest watercolor bloc I've ever worked with, and pared down my tubes of paint to just the essential colors. So art and music will be part of this blog. We're excited to share our work here as we go.

     We promise to do our best to keep you amused and entertained while you trot about with us. We'll try not to bore you we discover sights, sounds, and experiences around the world that we can share with you. If you have a question, please ask! We really want to engage our readers. 

     Our first stop will be Philadelphia to visit our daughter, then on to DC where Andy's sister is letting us store some stuff. Next up is Richmond, Va. to visit Andy's folks. Then on to Savannah, a favorite city, for 2 weeks, where we get to see our son graduate from SCAD (woo-hooo!!). After Thanksgiving we fly from Savannah to Mexico, where we'll visit Sayulita, San Miguel de Allende, and Guadalajara, and then travel on to New Zealand for the new year!. 

Wear your walking shoes!!!

Jungle Boogie!

Jungle boogie! Sold the car and the last of the furniture today. Sh!ts getting real now! Final packing and getting ready. Can't believe two and a half weeks left. Still got a few items to buy but our bookings seems set through Jan 3rd. Getting ready to buy tix for New Zealand. I bet it's a lot like Kauai, HI, pictured above

18 days

Here is The Prettiest Wifeypoo enjoying some sunshine. As we get down to the last couple weeks there's less major stuff to do and seemingly more and more minutiae. Did we do this? Did we forget about that? Crap, what about this other thing? Uh... Also trying NOT to think too far ahead. "Well, we HAVE to book flights!" "But wait! Then we're stuck with that schedule. What if we want to stay longer? ARG!" and so on. Good problems to have I suppose, but still somewhat trying. I grow anxious to be away. All this waiting is making me nuts, but no doubt we'll soon wish we had more time to tie up some loose end or other. Excited to meet up with Colin Wright this weekend while he's visiting NYC!