Back to Day 39

5:30 PM

Last night we ate at a pho restaurant! It was NOT boring, it was wonderful, and it alleviated a little of my homesickness. We have been avoiding Southeast Asian restaurants – why go out for what’s so good at home – but last night we caved. Yum.

We started our day at the Charleston Tea Planation, which was recommended to us by the cyclists we met our first day in Charleston. It turns out this is the only tea plantation in North America. Dana got his How It’s Made fix, watching the tea processing operation. Then we saw a wonderful filmstrip – we both wanted to be chosen to be the student who advances the projector when we hear the beep. 🙂

Got tea?

Then we drove down the road to Angel Oak, a 300 year old, 65 ft. tall tree that’s big enough to have its own gift shop. There is always a gift shop. Notice my awesome hot pink Myrtle Beach shirt. Is there an age after which you shouldn’t wear hot pink beach shirts? Sigh.

Then we drove to Savannah. On the way we passed a pie and cider store. We sat on rockers on the porch, eating pralines, pie and Cajun boiled peanuts, and drinking muscadine cider.

We detoured to Hilton Head, thought maybe we would bike around it. Then we both looked at the temperature – 94 – and turned around toward Savannah. We’ve been riding around Savannah this afternoon – it seems Savannah is known for it’s squares – and we want to see if we can see every one of them.

Part way through our ride there was a thunder storm, so we took shelter in a cafe in a public park. And as we sat there, Forrest Gump walked by. I mean, this guy was wearing a plaid shirt and a red baseball cap, carrying an old-fashioned suitcase, and mumbling in Gump-speak. A bunch of people asked for his autograph. I humbly apologize for not getting a picture, but if there is another Gump sighting tomorrow, I promise I will share it with you.

After the rain, we continued our ride, and came to the oldest structure in Georgia:

It is now a bar, restaurant, and gift shop – because there is always a gift shop. We had a drink in the bar and watched the first half of the Netherlands World Cup Soccer game. Then we continued our tour of Savannah squares. Turns out I’m much less wimpy on a bike after a beer, which bothers Dana. He complains that I’m a wimp, now he’s complaining that I’m crazy. I really think he should make up his mind.

Fun fact: in Georgia, it is legal to take your drink out of a bar, walk down the street with it, ride your bike with it, whatever. As tempting as that sounds, I will not be putting beer in my water bottle. It’s just a bad place to go.

Interesting fact: While we’ve seen some cyclists in Charleston, Hilton Head, and Savannah, we have not seen any cyclists anywhere in-between. On the other hand, Savannah is a very bike-friendly city.

On to Day 41