I didn't expect to like this city.  We've been to a bunch of places that I wasn't overwhelmed by and a few that I've been instantly smitten with (Luxembourg, anyone?).  So, yeah, given the hoards of people, the lack of A/C and the freaking cost, I was sure I wasn't going to want to go back to NYC.

Guys, I totally want to go back.  Maybe not tomorrow, but definitely at least once a year.


For a fucking introvert, I thrived on the crowds.  I mastered jaywalking between waiting cars.  I approached strangers and swayed them with my over-pronounced southern accent and pet strangers' puppies in parks.  I spoke French twice and gave directions.

But, my Yankee friends, there are three non-optional things y'all have gotta work on:  bras, bathing and air conditioning.  Because of the lack of air conditioning, D and I took an obnoxious amount of showers every day.  Leave our magical little hotel room and instant sweat.  Barf.  While I'll agree that it was hot, it was a dryer hot than down here.  I think the perception of humidity is off because as soon as I got off the plane in Savannah, I was embraced in my lovely, missed warm bowl of soup.

Okay, here's the rough run down:

We arrived.  Our hotel was called the Yotel and it was like a tiny Ikea-dreamed dorm room.  It was magical.  It was amazing.  The bed was mechanical.  Things were hidden in the walls.  There was no separation from the bathroom and now I know my husband a little bit better.

Like an immediate about-face from the first photo.

Sliding glass door and a curtain.  We've got a solid marriage, guys.

There was food.  Burgers.  Beers.  Another bar, called the Pony Bar.  Because pony kegs.  A Broadway musical off a book I loved (Wicked).  We wandered Time Square.  I got my nose pierced in a tiny upstairs tattoo parlor.  We ate Italian late at night.  We slept for hours and hours on the softest mattress I've touched in my life.

I spent a lot of time on roads this weekend.

I rode Archie on Friday night and he was the same old champ.  Less springy to throw himself immediately into the canter, but no worries.  He held the trot nicely and did all the little things I asked.

On Saturday, the hubs made us protein pancakes (he's the better pancake maker) and then we headed out to the gym to both get in a quick upper body workout.  I absolutely love our gym time together and am glad we snuck that one session in before...


We went downtown to do our first 5k together.  We've been running together at nights for the past few weeks and he's been running on his own at the gym.  So, pretty ready.  What we weren't ready for was running in the mid-day heat.  We derped that one pretty badly.  I encouraged him to go at his own pace and he darted off while I struggled through the three miles.  I've been pretty proud of myself for not breaking during competitions (except to get water), but this was the exception.  I was barf-hot.  At least it was a gorgeous run!

So handsome.  So hard not to push over the random chick staring at him.

After the run, we continued the festivities.  The primary reason that I was eager to involve D in this run was because it was the Craft Brew Run, so there was able sampling of amazing (and not-so-amazing) beers.  I found a few new favorites and we just had a great time.

Where have you been all my life?

After lunch and a nap, it was off to the barn to ride Archie and Big G.  Both boys were great.  I was super impressed with Archie because we came across a guy with his dog on the trail (his wife boards with us) and Archie just went into hyper-aware mode and not oh-shit mode.  Poor dog belly crawled by us.


Sunday, my sunburnt self drove up to Augusta.  My brother was on furlough from rehab (baby-steps for reintroduction to society?) and my mom asked me to drive him back, since it was kinda-sorta on the way.  Brother and I spent time with my mom and her husband, then had lunch with a few of his friends before swinging by to see my dad and heading back out of town.  We did stop to see my last project at the job I'd held in Augusta before moving to Savannah - the organization of the book store for our ginormous Goodwill campus.  Many books were bought.

Laughing because I asked him to lean forward so my head didn't look so big.

Loved this.

His girlfriend.

It was comforting to spend time with my brother, now, now that his brain is clearing.  I was lamenting the radio stations in Augusta and it went something like this:

Me:  There are like 47 Christian stations, 22 country stations..
Him:  You're exaggerating.
Me:  It's called hyperbole.
Him:  But your hyperbole makes Augusta sound like an actual city.

We could not have had that conversation a year ago.  It was also great to return him to his facility, to actually see it, because he took so much pride in it.  There was a group of young men sitting at a picnic table, smoking, and they all shouted his last name when he opened his car door and then embraced him.  Everyone was so happy to see him.  They helped him carry in his bags and asked about his weekend and then immediately went into rehab-mode, laying out the plan to check his bags and proctor his drug test, all while he was telling me good bye.

Part of the dirt road to his facility.

I spent the next two hours driving through the Georgia countryside, just happy.