Bluebonnet Baby

Maison's 2 1/2 year old bluebonnet pics:

Our sweet little bluebonnet baby....

In need of a vacation

I have been sick for weeks with allergies/sinus issues so didn't really think much of my headache that started on Monday when we were on our way home from Savannah.  Nor did I find it odd that I kept blacking out every time I bent over to pick something up.  I didn't realize I was really sick until I was screaming out in pain in the middle of night because my ears, eyes, and head hurt so bad I couldn't stand it and I got to spend the better part of last night in the ER.  After a cocktail of meds I'm feeling much better and have learned a valuable lesson...apparently if you have acute sinusitis and haven't slept in about 2 years your head may virtually explode so you probably want to seek medical attention before you end up in the ER.  I know we just got home but I'm in desperate need of a vacation!

The way it's supposed to be ~ Savannah Vacay Day 5

6:00am wake up
7:00am on road to Atlanta
11:30am in security line at ATL
12:55pm plane departing for DFW
2:05pm arrive at DFW
3:00pm HOME!

And that is how a travel day is supposed to go!

The Beauty of Savannah ~ Savannah Vacay Day 4

Savannah is beautiful...arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S.   But it is not just the huge live oaks covered in spanish moss or the unbelievable architecture that make Savannah beautiful; it's the people, the culture, and the quaint southern charm.  Not many places can you experience fine dining, tour historical homes, and walk along the riverfront all while drinking your favorite libation.  Savannah has no open contain law so you can take your drink with you or order one to go from a local pub or the finest restaurant in town...Savannans are all about making sure you have a good time.  And that is exactly what we did on our last day in this wonderful place.

Savannah prides itself on maintaining it's history through restoring old homes and buildings and maintaining the original ambiance of the riverfront so it is no surprise that locals despise the "eye sore" Hyatt and the Westin Resort that took over the island that faces the most popular stretch of Riverfront Rd.  Since we try to 'do it all' in our vacay locales we decided to go to the highly praised Jazz Brunch at Aqua Star in the Westin.  Even though the locals would poo-poo on said Jazz brunch we thought it was awesome.  We had a table overlooking the river and Maison had endless choices of food to try...what more could a 2 1/2 year old want for dining entertainment.

Waiting for the ferry to take us to the Westin for the Jazz brunch:

Riverfront at the Westin after brunch:

After Maison and Adam took a big fat nap, we headed to an early dinner at The Olde Pink House or Pink House as it's referred to in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  Pink House is a Savannah institution, fine dining in the only 18th century mansion in the city, and of course was featured on Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate Savannah.  I personally think it was the best meal we had in Savannah.  The crispy lobster was A-MAZ-ING but the highlight was actually the cheese board which featured locally produced raw honey.  The honey paired with the cheese were some of the best bites of the trip!

After dinner we had plenty of time to take in some more picturesque Savannah sites:

Mercer House, home of Jim Williams, main character in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Mercer House from another angle:

Beautiful House caddy corner from Mercer House:

Forsyth Park is in several scenes in Midnight of the Garden of Good and Evil but probably the most memorable one is the opening shot that shows Minerva sitting on the first bench to the left...

Forsyth Fountain also in several scenes in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil:

Maison 'hammin it up' in front of Forsyth Fountain:

Maison dancing for her audience at Forsyth Fountain:

More proof of Savannah's quirkiness.  If you want to build or change something it must have a COA or Certificate of Appropriateness....wow, I wish I was in charge of issuing these in Plano!

Tomorrow we head home bright and early...bye, bye Savannah, we had a wonderful time!

Boats & Belford's ~ Savannah Vacay Day 3

The weather this morning was absolutely gorgeous so Mommy and Daddy agreed to take me on the Riverboat ride I've been asking to do since we got here.

I need a map to make sure we are going the right way....

If I could just figure out how to open this... 

 Why do these things always have to be so tricky???

Ok, it seems like we are on the correct path...

 

Wow, all that map work really got me thirsty.

Now that I'm inside with the AC I can work up a sweat by dancing...

That dancing sure was tiring...

Think I'll lay down and take a little cat nap:

I wake up!

After a very long real nap we went to dinner at Belford's Savannah which is located in the City Market in the historic downtown district.  It's building is the original Belford's Wholesale Food Company and now houses the current Seafood & Steakhouse.  This was the only dinner locale we had planned to eat at that had not been featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate, Savannah but it did not disappoint.  The lobster ravioli was A-MAZ-ING!

A Taste of Savannah ~ Savannah Vacay Day 2

After a miserable travel day yesterday, we were pleasantly surprised to see the sun shining this morning as we headed out for breakfast.  The forecast for the entire weekend is rain and thunderstorms so we plan to take advantage of as much sunshine as we possibly can.

Maison and Adam checking out the river front:

BEFORE we could eat breakfast we had to rush over to Paula Deen's Lady and Son's restaurant to wait in line for dinner reservations.  Paula does not take normal reservations via calling or online.  You actually stand in line outside the restaurant to try to get in that day for lunch or dinner.  You can get in line as early as you want and at 9:30 they start taking 'reservations' for that day.  I envisioned waiting for hours to be told we got a dinner slot at  9pm that we wouldn't be able to take because of Maison.  But actually we waited in line about 20 mins and got reservations for 7pm tonight.  

Even though I had already booked us on the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil tour this afternoon.  We decided to take Maison on a carriage ride while it wasn't raining.

Maison making sure Guinness and Murphy were ok to drive our carriage:

 The carriage tour went through the historic district and we saw the highlights of Savannah architecture:

As well as a few interesting establishments....

Oldest known business in the U.S.:

Laurie's Restaurant ~ I'm pretty sure if I was Debi I would not eat here:

I'm positive if I were to get a tattoo, especially one that included words, I would not get it here:

We spent our afternoon with Angela, owner of Savannah Heritage Tours,  on the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil tour.  There were several big events in Savannah this weekend (golf tournament, NOGS garden show, Susan B Komen race, etc.) so tours, restaurants, etc. were super busy.  I tried to make a reservation for this tour and it was sold out until May 5th so I called Angela and talked her into doing a tour just for us today.  If you have read the book and/or seen the movie this is a 'must do' while in Savannah.  

We toured Mercer House including the room where Jim Williams allegedly killed Billy (Danny in real life).  The house is beautiful and literally filled with priceless antiques.  So much so that when they filmed the movie no one would insure Jim's belongings so they all had to be packed up and replaced with replicas.  After filming Jim donated all the replicas to the homeless.  

Angela took us all over Savannah and showed us not only where the filming took place but where all the key players lived in real life.  We also got her opinion on what really happened that night.  According to her and the other tour guides she consults with, Jim did NOT kill Billy/Danny over $20 he wanted to buy marijuana but actually killed him because Billy/Danny had given him HIV.  Upon hearing this news he fired 3 shots all of which hit Billy/Danny.  Rumor has it that Billy/Danny was actually unarmed and thus Jim did not act in self defense.  The fact that Jim died from "a type of pneumonia", which is what is listed on most death certificates for HIV, rather than a heart attack as the movie portrays gives credence to her version of the story.

In the 3 1/2 hours we were with Angela I did not get a single picture because I was too busy listening to everything she was telling us.  And no, we did not get to see the "Bird Girl" statue as she has been moved to the Telfair Square Museum because people try to steal her.  

We finished our day with dinner at Lady and Sons restaurant.  

After the big hoopla to get reservations I expected much better food.  The Peach BBQ Grouper, which was a Paula's pick, completely sucked.  I didn't even eat it.  I opted for Maison's chicken fingers and mac and cheese.  I will say the mac and cheese was almost as good as my mother's and the hoecake and biscuit we started the meal with were divine.  In my opinion, everything else sucked.

Maison enjoying her hoecake which was featured on the Best Thing I Ever Ate, Savannah:

Bye, Y'all!

AA Sucks ~ Savannah Vacay Day 1

I know you would be shocked if I told you that the Maslows were late leaving for the airport this afternoon.  Yes, I know even though my mother says, "I'd be late for my own funeral." I'm typically not late for flights.  We got to the airport with an hour before departure and we weren't checking bags so I thought we had plenty of time even though we left later than I had planned.

When we got to the airport the parking for our section of gates was full.  Full?  on a non-holiday Thursday afternoon?  Ok, weird.  I've seen the FULL signs only once in all my years of frequent travel and NEVER have I seen them on a non-holiday mid-week day.  Ok, not a great start.

Adam drove down to another section and we easily found parking but had the fun task of caring 3 bags, a toddler caring a backpack, a laptop bag full of enough electronic devices to start a bomb, a purse, a stroller....and about a 40lb convertible car seat.  Yes, that is exactly what you want to carry a far distance due to no convenient parking.

Once we got in there was no line to check in so I walked up to the kiosk and quickly printed Adam and my boarding passes.  Ummm, where is Maison's boarding pass?  Adam and I were on a separate record because we were using transferred tickets and Maison was a new purchase and apparently AA couldn't figure out how to find Maison's ticket.  Seriously?  Why does crap like this happen when you are running late and are carrying a million things?  After a good 10 min they finally found Maison's ticket.

By the time we got into the security line our flight was leaving in 40 min.  We stood in line for 10 minutes and did not move a single person.  Finally a TSA person told us there was no line at gate C10...we were at C20 but considering our flight was boarding we decided it was worth the trek to make our flight.  Running 10 gates pushing a toddler in a stroller with one hand while rolling a suitcase with a laptop bag on top of it with the other should be an Olympic sport.  I'm not joking, I literally passed people with a mere carry-on.  

We got to the gate in time for final boarding call and were informed that we could NOT bring on our bags and we would have to check them.  Are you F-ING kidding me?  We just ran half way across this airport carrying this crap to save time from claiming bags in Atlanta and now we will have to anyway?  The AA rep was very rude and said, "You need to check your bags now or you can carry them on the plane and turn around and carry them back when you realize there is no space."  I wanted to say, "That's great customer service.  Maybe you'll be laid off before your shift ends."  I wouldn't have been nearly as annoyed had there really been no space which after boarding I realized there was ample, or had the next 4 people who got on after us ALL had roller board suitcases all of which were allowed to carry them on.  Can you say, A-HOLE?

As if this wasn't one for the record books already, Adam installed Maison's car seat in the center seat so we could both keep her entertained.  After a good 5 minutes, he finally got it in correctly only to be told by the flight attendant that FAA states the car seat must be next to the window.  So I said, "Well I guess you have time to wait while we reinstall it.  Another "on time" departure for AA."

By the time we got to the Avis counter in Atlanta I was ready to check in a hotel and start the drive to Savannah in the morning.  Adam was taking FOR-EV-ER to get the car.  We already had a reservation so what could possibly take so long?  Apparently he got the ONLY Avis rep that tries to up sale the reservation.  He was at the counter for 10 minutes listening to all the 'great' deals we could be getting.  He finally took a SUV just to shut the guy up.  

All was going splendid until we got pulled over by the Macon, GA police when we were not speeding.   Apparently cops don't like it when you don't have taillights which our fabulous upgraded Avis rental did not.  Adam and the policeman (who actually was VERY nice) tried a million setting combinations and finally got them to come on.  

We are here now and this day is literally almost over.  I couldn't be happier that tomorrow is a new day!

Say hello to my little friend

Look what I found hanging out on the fountain in front of my parents house...

This guy was about 4 inches long and his shell was about the size of a quarter!

No hop in your step

The first thing I think of on Easter Sunday is not Easter baskets or egg hunts, but going to have Easter dinner at Camp Gooey's!  Despite the horrible weather and Maison not feeling well we wouldn't miss it.  Maison was greeted by oodles of presents and another Easter basket so I thought she would start to feel better but she just really isn't herself today...definitely missing the usual hop in her step.

"Look at that!  Mickey Bowling."  

Checking out my Easter basket from Nooey & G'Daddy

"Can I open this?"

HAPPY EASTER!

Multi-media Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny left Maison with all kinds of non-sugary goodies: Books, DVDs, coloring books, stickers, playdoh, silly putty, and all kinds of fun things.

Minnie Mouse waiting on Maison to wake up.

"Oh my gosh...look at this!"

Checking out a Max and Ruby coloring book...

"The Easter Bunny knows I need glasses to see my new movies!"

Reading Dr. Seuss:

The Easter Bunny certainly has gone multi-media. I remembered when he just brought candy and toys...boy have times changed!