Week In Review // Savannah Staycation

We wanted to do a big beach vacation this year. We wanted to go to the Florida gulf and rent a condo with a pool for a week. But that wasn’t going to happen on our baby budget. So instead we headed to my hometown Savannah for a week to stay with my dad, and did a little “staycation” there. And guess what? I think we had way more fun than we would have had in Florida, and we got quality time with my Dad and lots of our friends, so it turned out pretty perfect and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

One thing we were really excited about was a day trip to Cumberland Island. Cumberland Island is a National Seashore off the southernmost tip of the Georgia boat, accessible only by boat. We drove about 2 hours to St. Mary’s and took the ferry over. Cumberland Island was one of my favorite places as a child, and the last time I went was in college when I kayaked to it with my mom (talk about a workout), and it is just as amazing to visit now. The island has so much history and nature. Wild horses roam freely and ruins of past mansions are what you stumble upon while hiking the southern tip of the island. On the Northern tip sits Plum Orchard mansion, built by the Carnegie family in the late 1800’s, which is still standing and can be toured.

We were worried about how MG would do on the trip but decided to go anyways. She loved it (despite her expression in the above picture)! Her absolute favorite part may have been the boat ride over, but she also loved hiking around the island. She definitely loves to be outdoors and exploring, and hates sitting around indoors. We had nice weather while on the island which helped too. A little warm (upper 80’s) but also a little overcast so it never felt too hot.

We hiked out to the beach while there, well worth the trip.

Hardly anyone else was on the island the day we went. It felt like our own personal island, which was pretty neat.

While on Cumberland Island we saw horses of course, as well as turkeys and an armadillo. On the boat ride back we saw a bald eagle, and MG loved watching everything go by.

MG and grandpa got lots of quality time during the week, even though grandpa had to work all week!

Wednesday we went to Oatland Island, Savannah’s zoo, and another childhood favorite of mine. MG loved it of course. We saw alligators, wolves, bison, a bald eagle, pig, goat, and many other animals.

And of course we watched the disappointing Georgia game on Saturday.

And we ended the trip with more Grandpa time!

On the other days during the week we went shopping around downtown Savannah, and went to the beach a couple times. I caught a cold towards the end of the trip and am still miserable from that, while also knowing I have a ton of unpacking, cleaning, and catching up on blogging to do.

Has anyone else had a great time doing a “staycation”? What did you do? Tell me in the comments below!