This week has been a whirlwind. I’m sorry that I haven’t been posting more but right now the most important thing is that I’m here for my family as a daughter. Thank you for your feedback thus far on the new blog design. It’s been a long work in progress but I’m so excited to see how far it’s come!
In order to keep some sort of semblance of normalcy in my day, I’ve been running each morning from 8-9am. While my runs have only been 3-4 miles each day due to timing, it’s been a wonderful way for me to just get out and have time to think and process everything taking place this week. Two of my runs were sans music which allowed me to focus on breathing. It has also been a nice practice run before the summer heat as my body is slowly getting adjusted to the Savannah heat and humidity again. Yesterday’s high was 90 degrees with humidity of near 80%!
In addition to working out, my mom and I have tried to ensure that we continue to eat healthy. During mourning, Southerners love to bring food. It’s there way of helping the family out. But thus far we’ve received delicious, rich food from more people than you could imagine. We’re balancing this out with healthy breakfast and lunch each day.
I forgot how much fun it is to sit around a kitchen table enjoying a meal with others. We’ve been talking, reflecting, and laughing during every meal together! Every family and person deals with death in a different way but for us, we’ve dealt with it by talking and being open about our feelings. Hey, it’s okay if you break down during a pedicure- you have a great excuse!
In addition, we’re enjoying the time with family members who are in town for the funeral. Last night my aunt arrived from North Caroline and provided us with a wonderful excuse to enjoy rooftop happy hour drinks and then a delicious dinner downtown.
If you ever make it down to Savannah, I highly recommend getting drinks at the Bohemian Hotel’s bar, Rocks on the Rooftop. The prices are reasonable and the views are gorgeous.
Best Friends!
For dinner, we walked down the block to Vic’s on the River. Located along historic Savannah’s River Street, their food is always reliable and the service is even better. Their specialties include the freshest crab cakes I’ve ever enjoyed and a filet mignon that leaves my dad and brother raving. Last night especially, I can’t say enough about the service. We were waiting on my brother to arrive and therefore wanted to make dinner last longer. My personal favorites last night were the fried green tomato appetizers we shared and my crab cake entrée. I didn’t touch the risotto as it was just too rich but the crab cakes were made from lump crab and seasoned perfectly!
Our waitress coursed our appetizers and kept our wine glasses full so we never realized that it had been an hour by the time Ryan arrived. Two hours later we left satiated by the Southern food and thankful for the amazing family we have.
As you can tell from the breakfast picture above, my parents and I are in the midst of planning our trip to Maui. Are there any places you’d recommend or things we can’t miss while we’re there in April?
I don’t have anything to recommend in Maui, but wow, I had no idea it was that hot in Savannah in APRIL! Insane!
Once again, sorry for your loss.
Hi Ashley-
The blog makeover looks great! I am so sorry for your loss but how wonderful that you are able to grieve through stories and family connectedness. What a gift to be together right now. Kudos for maintaining balance with your runs in the morning!
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. It sounds like you are having a good time with your family.
I’ve been to maui 3 times and we love it! We were just there a couple of weeks ago. One of my favorite things to do is paddleboarding and kayaking. The water is calmer on the south part of the island so you can get a good workout without too many waves. Ziplining is really fun and it’s in the rainforest so it’s very scenic. I didn’t surf but some of my friends did and I would suggest getting a lesson if you do. All of them were able to get up a few times with the instructor helping them out.
A couple of things I think are overrated are luaus and driving the road to Hana. We did our first luau this last time and it was ok but not really worth the money. We didn’t do the road to Hana but several of our friends did and they said it was a really long day of driving and a lot of the sites were washed out from too much rain so there wasn’t much to see.
I hope this helps and I hope you have a great time on your trip.
Your blog looks amazing! So fun. Glad you are getting good family time in despite the hard circumstances.
One of my favorite restaurants in Maui is a Mexican restaurant called Cilantro. Casual and great for lunch – they have a grilled pineapple salsa that is amazing.
My number one recommendation is Makena Stables for a horseback riding tour with magnificent views. The Four Seasons has an amazing beach area where we saw whales breeching daily and swim out snorkeling. Yoga on the beach there was also fantastic. Sadly, the culinary options are lacking, at least by NYC or Chicago standards. Ko at the Fairmont sources as many local ingredients as possible. Matteo’s is great for pizza and simple salads or pasta. Have a wonderful vacation!
Check out Hotel Hana Maui… It is on my bucket list!
Eye of the Needle State Park, snorkeling at Black Rock Beach in front of the Kaanapali Sheraton (buy the fish food and a waterproof camera), and macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup!