Since planning our trip to Savannah, there was one location I had been dying to see: Wormsloe Plantation. When we had visited Charleston, the lines were horrible to try to visit the plantations there so I was excited to be getting up early to stop by on our way to lunch. It was a perfect weather and only a 15-minute drive from where we were staying in Savannah to Isle of Hope. The mile-long drive takes you to the plantation site, the ruins of the Jones' tabby house, that was built in 1745 and is one of the oldest standing structures in Savannah! I loved every moment of it. Admission is $10/adult but well worth the price for the views, history and charm.
Next, it was back in the car and onto Tybee Island. Tybee Island is where the locals go on vacation; it's their beach. And, it is beautiful. Our first stop was Tybee Island Social Club for lunch and it was incredible. I ordered their avocado tuna salad and fish tacos and yes, that is also the huge order of crab nachos we ate. It was amazing. The portions were huge and everything was filling. A must stop! The patio was a great spot and they have live music during the week. This is such a fun place that if we were staying in town, I would have gone back!
Our next stop was the Tybee Lighthouse. Dating back to 1736, this is Georgia's oldest and tallest lighthouse. Admission is $9/adult and they have parking (just do not get it confused with beach parking where you have to pay). This was a really great place to visit for the history alone, but walking to the top was an adventure on its own. They limit how many can climb/enter the lighthouse since there is not ample space at the top. The climb is not for the faint of heart and neither is the catwalk, as it has a slight slant and feels very wobbly. Take time to go into the cottage and listen to the video, it is quite informative.
After a busy trek around Tybee Island, it was time to hop back in the car and head to Fort Pulaski. Admission is $7/adult. I am not much on forts compared to my traveling companion, but Fort Pulaski had one of the best informational videos I have ever watched. It really was good. A lot of where Fort Pulaski stands now- including roadways, was completely under water. Even with restoration efforts (after a large section was completely destroyed), a lot of the damage is still visible, including one hole with a round still intact!
With our history lesson behind us, it was time to head back to Savannah! We dropped our car off and head back into town via the FREE DoT Express Shuttle and to the river walk for dinner! We were dropped out front of the famous Savannah Cotton Exchange. Completed in 1887, it became a world leader in setting prices on cotton bales shipping around the globe. Locals coin it a "jewel in the crown of the City of Savannah" for it is one of those sites the city is known for. While you cannot tour it, it is a Masonic Lodge currently, it does open to the public for special events.
Back down to the riverwalk for dinner and since it was such a busy time of evening, we found Tubby's Seafood to be idea for outdoor sitting and shorter wait times. We ordered a burger and fries and salad. Portions were good but it was not anything too great food-wise. However, we were content people watching from their balcony and enjoyed the live music playing from the river walk.
We finished dinner and started making our way back to the historic squares for an evening stroll for our ghost tour with Savannah Walks, which was by far one of the coolest thing we did and a group we would HIGHLY recommend. Call or Book Online ahead of time. You begin in Johnson Square and your tour guide tells you about the different murders, spooky tales and stories about the town. It was truly a fun experience as Savannah is truly a haunted city. One of the building you may have already passed was built on top of a gravesite. Savannah is booming with history and this particular tour group adds that history into each tale, which makes this fun experience one you take home a bit more history than you knew before. Tours are $20/adult and last 1.5 hours. Bring your walking shoes and a bottle of water. You are going to need them as the tour can be quite fast.
After such a spooky event, it was time to head to one of the most famous sites in Savannah: Leopold's Ice Cream. Operating since 1919, Leopold's is considered one of the top 10 soda fountains in the US! The lines tend to be super long in the summer but well worth the wait. If you want a table, you will probably wait a bit longer to get spot. We recommend grabbing your frozen treat to go and sit at one of the many squares to enjoy it, like we did! We ordered mint chocolate chip and chocolate chewies and cream. A single scoop will set you back $4 but for double scoop, its only $5.50 so we recommend that option. And while they offer more than just ice cream, we suggest stopping in for the sweet treat.
We strolled all the way back to our Airbnb with our sweet treats. It was well worth the wait for the cool treat to help cool us off on our walk back. After a long day, we crashed, because Day 3 was right around the corner.
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