Well, after a long pause here we go again with part three of my 2020 recap: the Savannah chapter.
Creepy rental
So we ended part two with having to leave Tybee Island at the end of June. This was sad because I LOVE THAT ISLAND. There was still a bit of time before my daughter had to go back to college in Texas so we decided to find a place in Savannah so she could keep her summer job.
Tybee Island’s summer rates are insane, but Savannah is also expensive! The most affordable short-term rental I could find that took pets was just weird. It was crammed with the owner’s belongings: cabinets of expired food, frames filled with dead butterflies, creepy dolls, toiletries, clothes, etc. The bizarre thing is the owner lives out of state and is only there a few weeks each year.
I hated the house. It smelled strange, was extremely cluttered, and wasn’t within walking distance of anything.
But my cactus liked the porch.
Losing Milo
Milo, my beloved cat, escaped from the car as soon we arrived at the Savannah house. He sprinted and we spent several days frantically walking around the neighborhood, calling for him, and shaking treats. We looked for him for weeks. After almost a month, we found him. Unfortunately, he’d been hit by a car and didn’t make it. I was devastated. And still am. (Milo will get his own tribute post one day.)
I spent days crying in bed. My sweet daughter brought me ice cream. Messages poured in from those who knew him. Milo had fans. I miss him so much.
Wow. I sure know how to get things off to a cheerful start, huh? Ugh!
Sharing a car
My daughter was still working on Tybee Island, which was only a 20-minute drive without traffic. However, since it was summer, it often took over an hour. She didn’t have a car of her own and driving her every day just didn’t make sense. I was alone in the house I hated while she often worked 10 – 12 hour days (not including the commute!). Then I was desperate for human interaction when she got home. She was a great sport, though!
But still got in some beach time
I drove her to work a few times a week so I could spend time at the beach, go to my yoga class, or do a bit of exploring.
Tybee Island will forever be one of my favorite places.
Accidentally got drunk with a mermaid
I popped in to see my friend Mermaid Jan (so nicknamed because she worked at Mermaid Cottages when I met her many years ago). She was waiting outside for me with lights and then offered me pink lemonade. I had a few glasses while we chatted before realizing it was vodka lemonade. Luckily, it was pretty much next door to my daughter’s work so she was able to drive us home after her shift.
Finally got in to a doctor
I’d been on a waiting list for a doctor since arriving in Georgia, but everyone was backed up because of COVID. I finally got in and was surprised to still be severely vitamin D deficient after all the time I spent outside on Tybee Island.
But the lighting in the doctor’s office was bomb.
Ate way too much DoorDash
When my daughter had the car, I had some sad days and ordered too much food. The kitchen in that house was tiny with zero useable counter space which made cooking pretty much impossible.
One late night home alone without a car, McDonald’s suddenly sounded good. And that’s when I discovered hot mustard was back! I loved hot mustard as a teen! I dipped my fries in it! And through DoorDash you could order as many as you wanted (for a quarter each) so I stocked up!
Air fryer fun
We got an air fryer because using the stove and washing dishes (no dishwasher and no counter space for drying) was such a challenge.
I invented the best dessert: air-fried bananas, on top of an air fried peanut butter and jelly uncrustable, topped with vanilla ice cream. Try it! So good!
Everyday Thanksgiving
Despite the kitchen issues, I still made a Thanksgiving dinner when my daughter requested it on one of her very rare days off. To us, Thanksgiving dinner is any meat with Stovetop stuffing and cranberry sauce. I even made a crustless pumpkin pie. (Neither of us like pie crust!)
Savannah area adventures
Like I said, my kiddo worked fulltime (with overtime) at a beach store on Tybee Island, so we didn’t have a lot of time together, but we tried to explore when we could.
We fell in love with Sweet Potatoes kitchen in Savannah. She usually got the fried chicken, while I got a side item platter.
We made it to the historic and river districts one evening and snagged some Vinnie Van Go Go’s pizza.
We took a day trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina. And quickly left! It’s so different from Tybee Island – and we weren’t fans.
Visit from the besties
My besties (not to be confused with Bestie Boo) are married to each other. They came to visit me in Savannah with their two kiddos. Everyone agreed the house was creepy AF.
I had ramen for the first time with them.
We toured Savannah like tourists – we did a trolley tour, ghost tour, and all that jazz. Savannah is beautiful, but it’s an oven in the summer. And that’s coming from a native Floridian. We sweated so much, especially in masks. (We only took them off for the photo.)
And, of course, I took them to Tybee Island.
Groupon gambles
I took some gambles on Groupon to use on days I had the car.
I snagged us food from several restaurants.
I did a boudoir photoshoot.
I tried cryotherapy.
And a psychic told me I was going to die if I didn’t give her $500 immediately to fix my shattered heart chakra. Spoiler alert: I did NOT give her the money and somehow I’m still kicking.
I’ll write more about the boudoir, cryotherapy, and psychic in future posts.
I went to the Georgia mountains
My friend Allison invited me to A Mother’s Rest Retreat with her in the Georgia mountains. It was bliss. This will also be it’s own post, so stay tuned.
I was introduced to Chorus meditation
Allison introduced me to Chorus meditation on that trip. It was so relaxing. I immediately got my own membership and tried to set up a little zen space in the creepy Savannah house when I returned.
The universe tempted me with orange cats
So many lovely Georgia people helped me search for my kitty boy and were heartbroken for my loss. I kept getting messages about orange kittens needing homes like this little guy.
And then a WHOLE LITTER of three orange kittens was under the porch! We started feeding them.
They were extremely feral. I told my daughter I’d keep one if we were able to get one to let us pick it up. She kept watch and tried to snag me one.
It was a fail. This is good because it would have been a logistical nightmare.
I got stressed about logistics
In an unexpected turn of events, I got offered a staff editor position for a company I’d been freelancing for right back in my hometown in Florida. The one I left in January 2020, swearing never to return to. 2020 was a wild ride and being near friends with stable income seemed like a good plan.
But somehow I had to get me, two dogs, and all my stuff back to Florida AND the kiddo and her stuff to college in Texas with just one small-ish vehicle. (Thus why adding a kitten to the mix – especially one who needed to be bottle-fed – would have been a terrible idea.)
After way too many full-blown panic attacks, I reached out to Bestie Boo. He helped me pull myself together, as usual. He’s been doing it since we were 14.
He also let me know a hurricane was on the way, but it turned out to be minor. (No, I wasn’t aware until he told me.)
So I rented a storage unit in Florida, and made a couple whirlwind one-day drives (six hours each way) to move my stuff.
I was able to line up a temporary Florida rental, parked my cactus at Bestie Boo’s for safekeeping, and made arrangements for the dogs to stay in Georgia while I drove baby girl to Texas.
Taking baby girl back to college
Leaving my baby in Texas after it being just the two of us for six months was HARD!!!!! We took turns crying for days. We quickly learned a furnished apartment in the college world is NOT THE SAME as the furnished vacation rentals we’d been living in all year. We had to scramble to buy everything for the kitchen, a shower curtain, etc.
We also got her a cactus of her own (which is still thriving now).
Why the J? That’s just a random mug someone had abandoned.
Solo road trip from Texas to Florida
Then I hit the road back to Florida alone.
I stopped in Atlanta and spent a night with my friend Brit.
Then I stayed in a hotel on the beach back on Tybee Island before picking up the dogs and closing our Georgia chapter. It was a big splurge with summer pricing. I treated myself to sushi from Raw one last time.
I picked up the dogs the next morning and we drove back to Florida, ending our Georgia chapter. For now.
Stay tuned for part 4.