Photos

All the photos from our trip are now on-line here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNmLhw0atWU0

Back Home

We slept in late & took it easy this morning, finally checking out around 11:30am and jumping in the limo for the ride back to the airport. It was cold & windy, but at least it wasn't raining this time as I loaded the bags into the cargo pod. We took off around 1pm. We had a 50mph headwind most of the way, so it took just over two hours to get back to Tampa. We were enjoying smooth air at 9,000 feet, but then we started picking up a lot of ice near Jacksonville, so we decended down a bit lower. We were happy to see clear skies below us and enjoyed a nice ride into Tampa, touching down shortly after 3pm. I will try to get all our pictures on-line this week and post a link.

Warmer with Less Walking

The weather was much nicer today: Less windy, sunny, and warmer getting up to the 50's in the afternoon. The boys & I were up early again today. After breakfast, we decided to head to the Ships of the Sea Museum for a while. It was only a few blocks from the hotel, which was a nice change from the longs walks yesterday.

The Ships museum was really nice and we just about had the whole place to ourselves. We saw many beautiful models of all kinds of ships and they had a tug bridge reconstructed in the basement that the boys could play with.

After the museum, the boys wanted to go to Forsythe Park again to play. We were already about 1/3 of the way there, so it didn't take too long to get there today. The park was busy and the boys had a great time playing on the equipment. At one point, there were a couple kids not being nice to Cameron (calling him "baby", etc.). I was happy to see Brandon & Justin come to his aid right away. Those Bailey Boys may fight like cats and dogs, but they stick together.

It was about noon, so we started walking back to the hotel. Brandon & Cameron were walking with Roland and I was walking with Justin. I guess we weren't really keeping up the pace, because pretty soon we couldn't see them anymore. We were getting kind of tired and slowing down more when we noticed a bicycle-pedi-cab parked at the curb. Soon, we were being whisked down the street toward the hotel in great comfort. Justin & I really enjoyed yelling at Roland and the boys when we rolled by. To my surprise, Brandon gave chase and ran with us all the way back!

>We met up with Michele & Megan and then headed down to the waterfront for lunch at teh Cotton Exchange, which was great. Afterwards, we strolled the waterfront a bit and then headed back to the room for a quick nap.
The boys were quite content to lay around and watch cartoons, but I was feeling antsy, so I went out around 5:30 to take some photos in the city. I got a few nice shots here and there and ended up by the river for sunset. There weren't any clouds and the sun was a bit too far South, so it wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped.

Just about then, Michele called and told me she was down to one baby wipe left and not to come back without some! I walked a few more blocks to the convenience store and got their last box of wipes. After returning to the hotel, we went downstairs and ate at the hotel restaurant.

We are heading home tomorrow. I think we'll take our time and sleep in a bit. The weather should be pretty good for the flight home. We have enjoyed Savannah, but I think next time we'll rent a car so we can see some of the sights that are a bit further away like Tybee Island and Ft. Jackson.

Walking, walking, and more walking...

Wow, we must have walked 5+ miles today and my feet are killing me! Last night, Cameron & Megan slept in Michele's room while Brandon, Justin, and I slept in the other. The boys & I got up around 7:30 this morning and were soon headed downstairs for breakfast. We brough an omlette up for Michele and she said she would like to lay back down for a while, so we decided to go out for a walk --destination unknown.

When we stepped outside, we were confronted by near freezing temp's and strong wind. I was tempted to turn on my heel and head back inside, but I knew that asking the boys to sit quietly in the room all day was asking for trouble. Instead, we braved the elements and headed down to the riverfront.

We got to the riverfront park around 10am, just as a old fashioned sailing ship (the Peacemaker) was opening up for tours. We climbed around the boat for a while and took our time exploring the cabin, protected from the biting wind outside.

After touring the ship, we continued walking the waterfront. As we neared the end, Roland & I considered our options and decided to walk in a different direction toward Forsythe Park, about a mile from the hotel. We had a backtrack a bit and then headed into the city.

Block after block went by and every so often, we would pass through beautiful squares, which were like miniature parks in themselves. Around noon, we stopped at the Mellow Mushroom and got some pizza for lunch. Afterwards, we continued on and finally came to Forsythe Park.

The park was very pretty, with a big, ornate fountain in center. They also had a small cafe (with restrooms!) and a playground. Roland & I relaxed and watched the kids play for a long time. They were having a blast and getting rid of some energy.

Finally, Michele called and told us she & Megan were up & around. We walked back to the hotel to meet up with them. By the time we finished the long walk back, we were all pretty tired. Michele & Roland hadn't eaten lunch yet, so we walked over to Fudrucker's and got some burgers.

After (my 2nd) lunch, we decided to walk to the Railroad Museum, which we thought was a few blocks away on MLK. However, it turned out to be much further than we thought. The kids were really dragging by the time we got to the museum around 4pm.

We spent about an hour walking around the outdoor museum, checking out trains. Then, it was time for the long, cold walk back to the hotel. Poor Justin was just about to lay down on the sidewalk and quit. He said we walked him to death!

Back in the room, the boys took a hot bath and relaxed while Michele & Megan took a nap. Later in the evening, we decided to venture out for dinner, but took a cab instead of walking more! We enjoyed a delicious mexican dinner at Carlito's and then caught a cab back to the hotel.

Not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but I'll bet it involves more walking! I think we may try to take the boys to see the new Lightning Thief movie tomorrow night.

Getting There

The weather was pretty bad in Tampa today --cold, windy & rainy. I checked the weather a few times throughout the day and was a little concerned about our afternoon flight to Savannah. Later in the afternoon, it seemed like the worst of the rain had already passed through and it was started to clear a little. With no icing or thunderstorms in the area, we decided to go ahead as planned.

I took the suitcases and headed to the airport early to load up. I stopped by subway on the way and got some food to eat on the plane. Michele picked up the boys and then met us at the airport. Roland & Sandy were going to join us, but Sandy wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home. Roland showed up and we all got strapped in.

With the rain & winds gusting to 25 mph, I told everyone that it might be a little bumpy on the climb out. That turned out to be a bit of an understatement! We rocked & rolled like crazy after take off and began climbing out to the North. Luckily, the air smoothed out quite a bit as we climbed through 5,000 feet and we had a fairly smooth ride the rest of the way. Megan didn't seem to mind and slept the whole way.

We flew an instrument approach and landed in a cold, driving rain in Savanna. As a special treat for Michele's birthday, I reserved a stretch SUV limo to take us to our hotel, the Avia. The hotel is really nice and we are quite happy with the rooms. We went downstairs for dinner in the hotel restaurant and now everyone is relaxing watching TV (Olympic opening ceremonies).

It started snowing a little while ago. The kids want to go out and play in it, but I think we are going to turn in soon. Not sure yet what we are going to do tomorrow, but I have a few ideas. Hopefully, the weather will be nicer.