SAVANNAH, GEORGIA: The definition of 'southern charm'

Fountain in Forsyth Park

 

Savannah in one word is..."charm". Entering into the city's Historic District was like walking back into the past. It is a lavish southern town with a remarkable history. First established in 1733, Savannah has been through war (American Revolution, and Civil) and ruin, to peace and preservation. The Historic District was restored to its former glory and in doing so became a place unlike any other. Countless movies have been filmed there, including Forest Gump with Tom Hanks, Something To Talk About with Julia Roberts, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil with John Cusack and Kevin Spacey, to name a few. Famous figures in history have lived in and done great things in this city. Juliette Gordon Low, for example, was the founder of the Girls Scouts of America. She started the girl scouts in 1912 in a carriage house in back of the Low house. Johnny Mercer, the famous lyrisist writer of over 1,000 songs grew up in Savannah. One example of his many famous songs is Moon River, which is a beautiful song.

However, my first thought of this song goes straight to Chevy Chase in Fletch.

Anyhow, my first day in Savannah was actually a day trip with Shane, my photography buddy from South Carolina. And boy, did we get some great photos!

When we came into the city it just so happened to be Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We watched as a parade marched on by and then proceeded to take a tour of a museum.

Where we got to see the bench Tom Hanks sat on and told his story in Forest Gump.

Proceeding along the streets of Savannah we saw incredible buildings, all with a history and unique character.

River side and cobblestone

 

One of the many squares in the Historic District

We saw the Mercer Williams house, the scene of the murder in the book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Recently finishing up the novel, I have to say it was a great read! I recommend it, or at least the movie if you don't like reading.

 

Another great read is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. A building associated with the book, the pirate house, was built in Savannah in 1754 and was the inspiration for that story.

 





 The Pirate House

 

 The "haunted" Sorrel-Weed house (built in 1840)

 

Luxorious steps leading to the Ballastone Inn

Numorous celebrities have chosen to stay in this small but lavish looking inn.

The Six Pence Pub

Appeared in one of the scenes in the movie Something To Talk About with Julia Roberts.

 

 

 

Of course me being the oddball that I am, I had to visit the cemetery for a beautifully creepy picture. It was a very old cemetery with most being graves from the yellow fever epidemic in 1820.

 

Tybee Island lighthouse

 

My final stop in Georgia was only a couple of miles outside of Savannah to a small island called Tybee island where I visited an old lighthouse and white sand beaches.

I really did fall in love with the city of Savannah. Not that that's hard to do, nor will I ever be the last to say that. If you ever feel like traveling to Georgia, consider visiting here. It's just one of those places you have to see to believe. You won't regret it.

~Kelsey P.

Next up, my trip to Florida takes an unexpected turn...

 

SOUTH CAROLINA (2): Charleston, Colbert, Shark teeth, and Forrest Gump

Dolphins in Beaufort high tide!

 

After the jaw-dropping plantation tour (SC Part 1), I headed into the city of Charleston and right through their historic downtown area. I stopped in front of a large building with beautiful railings that led up to a Confederate museum. On the bottom floor of this building was a tunnel carved right through the center that opened up underneath into an old city market.

 

City market built 1788-1804



 

Now, I've always been one who loves anything with a bit of mystery behind it. So naturally, I had to explore this underground city market. The market was built between 1788-1804 and was used to sell fish, vegetables, beef and various other foods.

As I walked inside there were people selling the usual tourist items: southern cook books, shirts, magnets, postcards, boardgames, etc. There were also homemade weaved baskets (click for pic) and flowers made of sweet grass and strips of palm leaf. I found out from a man in the process of making these items that they were a traditional African weave that slaves made to carry anything from food to flowers.

After my excursion through the market, I happened to stop at a barbeque-style restaurant called Sticky Fingers. As I was ordering, I happened to look over and see a large painting of Stephen Colbert. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, for anyone that has been living under a rock. I asked my server about it because it looked familiar. He proceeded to tell me that it was the portrait that hung over the mantel on the show. It was auctioned off for over $50,000 to the previous owner of the restaurant. Of course it was signed (it had better be for $50,000!). So, I took a picture with the portrait!

Excuse the poor quality (phone picture)

The next day I crossed the bridge over to Folly Island. It was a sunshiny 75 degree day at the beach. I tanned, relaxed...and took pictures of my toes.

Next on the agenda... beautiful Beaufort! My mom got me in touch with her cousin and his family that happened to live here. The last time I had seen them was almost 11 years ago. I had only planned on staying with them one night, but I had so much fun with them I stayed the whole weekend! They were great hosts and I enjoyed meeting another side of the family. My mom's cousin, Mark, his wife Leslie and his son Shane showed me around their quaint town.

 

We explored an old church and graveyard in the downtown area.

We went on their boat at high tide through the grassy marshland and saw rusty shrimping boats, large-winged blue herons, pelicans diving for a meal, white egrats atop docks looking like statues, bait fish jumping out of the water all around us, and a group of dolphins that swam up near the boat taunting my slow photographing skills.

 

 

 

Mark's son Shane is 15 and a great photographer. He became my photography buddy! We were constantly taking pictures of everything around us. I'm glad I wasn't the only one that looked like a tourist!

We also went to a state park on Fripp Island, which also happens to be a backdrop for a scene of the movie Forest Gump. The island served as a very convincing Vietnam scene for the movie. The state park has nothing but tall and small palms covering the landscape. I felt like I was in a jungle when I first entered into it.

Along the beach, I just so happened to find 4 shark teeth!

Overall, I had some amazing experiences in South Carolina! It's funny, I had orginally wanted to go to Tennessee instead because I didn't really think there would be much to see in South Carolina. How wrong I always am!

~Kelsey P.~


P.S.
Thank you Suda family for showing me around! xoxo

SOUTH CAROLINA (Part 1): You're gonna want to see this!

 

South Carolina....is an incredibly beautiful state! Imagine giant live oak trees with Spanish moss tangled in every limb blowing in a breeze that smells like blooming roses and magnolias. It's got that "southern charm".

Middleton Place Plantation

 



When I first entered into the state, I decided along a more coastal route. I followed the highway into Myrtle Beach where I had a misty morning walk along the shore.

Myrtle Beach

 

Myrtle Beach is quite a touristy location, but it's also a fun town with beautiful beaches. Not wanting my trip to involve too many tourist traps however, I moved right along to small historic Georgetown. Georgetown's downtown area overlooks Winyah Bay. Huge smokestakes on the other side of the bay can be seen puffing out white smoke. Boats line the dock and historic buildings line the main street. I sat in a small bar overlooking the water and the sunset and ate a shrimp po-boy. Needless to say, I had a relaxing day in this town.

 

 



Georgetown

 



After Georgetown I headed further south down the coast.

Tied Down (Middle of nowhere)

Just outside of the the city of Charleston, South Carolina is a plantation called Middleton Place. This being my first trip to a plantation I was excited to see the history of the place. Little did I know it would completely exceed my expectations and leave me in awe! Here are some various pictures of my experience at Middleton Place.

 Entering into beauty

 Start of the maze of azaleas and roses

 Middleton household (built 1755)

 

 Moss and flowers hang everywhere

 The Swamp

 African American Church on the Plantation

 Crossing the road

 Water Buffalo

 Can you spot the gator?

Sunbathing

The tomb of Mr. Middleton hidden among the flowers

 Statues that survived the Union invasion

 

 

And with that, I headed into Charleston, SC.  (to be continued!) 

~Kelsey P.~ 

ANOTHER START TO A NEW ADVENTURE!

Front Yard Furniture

If you have wondered in the past couple of months, "So what the heck ever happened to Kelsey and her road trip?" Well, I stopped for some gas money and ended up an irresponsible blogger with plenty of incredible memories I have yet to share with you!

My apologies for the ridiculously long absence in filling you in on my journey. I was caught up in the moment a little too much and forgot to record all of the great times I had in Raleigh, North Carolina. Yes, that is where I've been all this time.

Let me first say that finding a job in Raleigh is just as hard as they said it would be, but finding friends was easy. Most people here are so friendly and easy to get along with. I only say "most" because on a personal level, everyone here is awesome. But put me on the roads driving in the city and I want to run right off of it! No offense fellow North Carolinians. As a Westerner, driving in the East coast is a little nerve wracking. But besides that, the relationships I've made here are ones that are going to last me a lifetime.

While in Raleigh, I received a job as a photographer at a portrait studio and learned a great deal about portrait photography. This seems to be a field I can really see myself pursuing. I love interacting with people (the babies are the cutest) and helping them make memories. It's weird to be saying that I'm actually going to miss a job, but I really am going to miss this one.

Well along with making gas money, I also spent time enjoying the holidays and the beauty of the season. At Halloween, I carved pumpkins and watched scary movies. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (I think it's all the cinnamon apple scented candles and candy).

 

At Thanksgiving, I spent it eating some amazing food with my friend Jackie and her adorable family. I'm so glad that I had somewhere to spend Thanksgiving. So a million thanks to you Jackie! I really felt right at home and boy did I eat like it.
In December, I went home to my own family in Colorado and enjoyed a white Christmas. It was great seeing my brother again since he left home for college all the way on the other side of the country in California. My time spent there was pretty typical of a Pisciotta family holiday. Good food, loud and lovable family, and a little chaos are always a good way to spend the holidays. The day after Christmas while my mom put the oven in cleaning mode and left the kitchen, the oven caught on fire from all the turkey grease built up inside of it and I almost passed out of smoke inhilation. Okay I'm exagerating, but it did catch on fire!

 

 

 

The season also brought with it some beautiful scenery and plenty of time to enjoy a walk outside. But don't forget about the colds that come along with it! Of course I caught one.
 



 

This adventure has brought on so many new friends, experiences, and opportunities. I even got to photograph an Avant Garde dress showcase at the North Carolina Museum of Art! I had such a great time at this event and took plenty of photos of some truly interesting dresses.

 

 

And of course, I visited the beaches at the Outer Banks. (Visit my last post to check out my time at the beach in Kitty Hawk!) 

 

 

I want to thank my host Barb for letting me stay with her for as long as I did. And it was a very long time as you know, since it's been months since my last post. I am so grateful for the many people along my journey who have helped me out.

 

So I'm starting out again fresh and with a renewed sense of curiosity for the great unknown!

 

The next adventure is in South Carolina, and so far it's been worth the drive...

 

 South Carolina sneek peek!

 

 



 ~Kelsey P.~





LIFE IN NORTH CAROLINA: The Outer Banks

To the waves!

A boy and dog play in the waves

The other weekend I was able to visit the beaches of North Carolina. Again. I had been to Kitty Hawk and Nags Head as a smaller version of myself but this time I got to really experience it. As a spoiled bratty child, I was not happy about traveling through humid weather with an annoying sibling (no offense little brother, you aren't quite as annoying anymore!) Come to think of it, I was probably in my early teens when we visited North Carolina and that would explain it a lot better. Anyway, this second trip produced some deja vu moments; such as hanging out in a hammock shop and visiting the Wright Brother's National Memorial.

The trip to the Wright Brother's National Memorial was much more interesting for me this time around. I was able to understand the significance of such a triumph for modern man and appreciate it. A large field with four stone markers indicates the four attempted flights made by the Wright brothers on December 17th, 1903. The first and second markers indicate a flight time of 12 seconds and 175 feet, the third attempt at 15 seconds at 200 feet, and finally the fourth attempt at 59 seconds with a distance of 852 feet. The start of a revolutionary reality that man can fly.

The Wright brother's second attempt at flight

The Outer Banks of North Carolina are filled with beautiful beaches and tourist attractions as well as a huge variety of restaurants to choose from. One of the most amazing sights I unfortunatly did not get to see is the wild horses that inhabit Corolla beach. These wild mustangs were originally brought in by 16th century Spanish colonialists. If you would like to learn more about these wild horses or donate to conservation funds, visit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

Just a day in the life...

Under the pier

I thoroughly enjoyed a day of my feet in the sand and mildly cool water splashing over my jeans. I couldn't have asked for a better day. If you ever feel like you need some stress relief, a day just walking on a beach is a good way to calm yourself. There is something about the ocean that just makes everything feel right. Maybe it's the size of the ocean that reflects how insignificant small problems in life are, or maybe it's the noise of the waves that can put you in a meditative and reflective state. Either way...I think I'll visit more beaches more often.

Bird in flight

~K.P.