When you think of spring, what comes to mind? Cherry blossoms maybe? The start of a new year, a new season or maybe, new beginnings?  I’ve always tended to wonder why we don’t celebrate the new year on the 1st day of spring, it seems so much more fitting.  A new year with the onset of spring daffodils sounds so much more serene than a new year in the dead of winter.

Disneyland and I were born just 6 months apart and let me tell you that even though I’m 6 months younger than the magic kingdom, I feel really old just making that statement.  Want to know how old I am?  I remember the original mule ride where Thunder Mountain Railroad now stands.  The mules left the Disneyland corral years ago, but oh man, did I love riding those silly mules and believing I was seriously trekking through the desert.

Halfway between Charleston and Savannah, lies sleepy little Beaufort, South Carolina. It’s a picturesque seaside town with a pretty harbor where the sailboats silently bob up and down in the water awaiting the next adventure.  It’s a town where one genuinely feels as if you’re walking back through time. Yes, I know I say that a lot, but it’s true. There are so many quiet little blink-of-the-eye places in the US that often go unnoticed.

As I said in my first Savannah post  – actually I was mostly raving about the food tastings of our Savannah Taste Experience Walking Tour – I really did not know what to expect of the city.  And, as I also mentioned we approached Savannah from the back door.  So much so that we ended up switching hotels on day 2 of our 4-day stay because we just weren’t where we wanted to be.

I first published this post in November of 2013 and I republished it in early 2015.  The other day I was thinking about how crazy the last 5 years have been for us, which led to me think about this post.  I thought it might be time for another update.  So, just for fun here’s an updated version of 25 things you may not know about me.  They are in no particular order.

I really had no expectations of Savannah; having absolutely no inkling of what the city was like.  After spending several days in Charleston, I suppose it was natural to think Savannah would be quite similar to Charleston, but nope, that’s not the case at all.

It was described to us as being hauntingly beautiful and a must see destination as we traveled south from Charleston to Savannah.  The Old Sheldon Church.  As it turned out, I cannot think of two more appropriate words to use other than hauntingly beautiful.

I wrote this post four years ago.  I purposely republish it each year on February 19 as a way to remember – and share – my sister’s story, and hopefully her story will offer a gentle nudge to those who may need it.

Do you ever think about what you would have chosen as a field of study or your career if given a “do-over?” If I had it to do over again, I’m pretty sure – given what I know now – I would have been a history major because walking in the path of those who came before us is my absolute favorite aspect of travel – and life in general.

Here’s the thing about the deep south, and cities such as Charleston, Beaufort and Savannah, it’s kinda like no other place you’ll ever visit in the US.  But then again the same can probably be said about the Pacific Northwest or the Southwest or the Midwest Bible Belt.  But then again… the history of the south is, well, like no other.