4th of July in Savannah

Nikki, Hina, and I took advantage of the long weekend to meet up with Amy, Anthony, and Gordita in Savannah, Georgia for the 4th of July. It was a long drive for sure, but totally worth it. Nikki and I did the drive over two days, munching on boiled peanuts and blueberries while blasting country music and taking a detour along the South Carolina coast to check out Myrtle Beach and Charleston (we had some of the best BBQ ever in Charleston - mmm, mustard-based sauce....). Amy found us a cool little vacation rental in the historic district of Savannah, walking distance to the river/restaurants etc. We had fun cruising around the neighborhood with huge old trees covered in spanish moss, antebellum architecture, and a park perfect for running around with the dogs.

Naturally, the highlight of the weekend was the fact that Hina and Gordita finally got to meet!! Looking back through our pictures, it appears that our activities were almost exclusively confined to posing our puppies in the most ridiculously cute positions imaginable, and snapping a photo. The two girls mostly got along by the end, though there were a couple of snarly teeth-gnashing sessions (Hina and Gordita were fairly well-behaved too). We went for walks, visited a fort, hung out at restaurants and watched the world cup, and on Sunday, went kayaking around Tybee Island. Within 5 minutes of pushing off the dock, both dogs had fallen in the river - thank goodness they were wearing adorable puppy-life-jackets! That was small consultation to Amy though, as her motherly instincts drove her to immediately dive in after her floating puppy-buoy daughter, who maintained her composure and paddled around with her tongue just peaking out through her clenched teeth - she's a natural!

On Sunday, we celebrated birthdays for both Gordita and America. Amy busted out a delicious doggie-cake and Gordita, Hina, Ant, and I all wore party hats. We all enjoyed Nikki's homemade mojito-tea on the back porch before heading out for an nice dinner at the Pink House and fireworks on the river. It was a late night and Nikki and I dragged ourselves out of bed at 7 for the long drive home.

Another fantastic weekend and only eight more to go before we ship out. Next weekend we're off the Philly to meet up with Jeff Glenn and see what culinary delights the city has to offer. I think I'm going to fast until then to prepare myself.