Life is Like a Box of Chocolates: Our Wanderings in Savannah, GA and Hilton Head Island, SC

A visit to Savannah has been high on our bucket list for a long time. When we were expecting Little Bird, we had considered a babymoon here, but ultimately decided to stay closer to home. To say we were excited to finally get here was an understatement.

It was rather chilly on the morning of our visit, so we were all bundled up with coats and gloves. Poor Bird looked like Randy from A Christmas Story with her getup, and the moment we got her out of the stroller to explore, she really captured the moment, though, unlike Randy who fell backwards into snow, our sweet girl fell straight on her face, cutting her lip and bleeding a bit. She is a trooper though, and as soon as the bleeding stopped and she got her legs under her, she was ready to take off (with a hand to hold until she really got the hang of things) and was all smiles through her increasingly fat lip.

One thing we were excited to explore in Savannah was the many squares peppered throughout the city. There are 22 in total, and I think we visited about half of them as we wandered through the Historic District. Each of the squares has a unique feel and has a statue or fountain paying homage to various historical figures in Savannah’s history. We of course had to visit Chippewa Square where the famous scene from Forrest Gump was filmed with the introduction of the iconic “Life is like a box of chocolates” line. The bench we see in the movie was only a prop, but that did not stop us from getting a quick family selfie in that spot.

Our first destination, and the site of Bird’s tumble, was Forsyth Park. This large park in the center of the city is a real gem and we had so much fun walking down the paths with the oaks and Spanish moss overhead. This park is clearly a hub of activity, as we saw runners, small groups doing socially-distanced yoga in the grass, quite a few tourists checking out the fountain, and so many people walking their dogs (much to Bird’s delight). We spent quite a bit of time here just letting Bird explore and pick up all the acorns.

From the park, we made our way toward the Savannah River, with stops at several squares, the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, and the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts. We loved seeing the antebellum architecture throughout our walk and truly enjoyed being immersed in history.

Once we reached the river, we stopped at Savannah Candy Kitchen to pick up some pralines and gophers to fuel our sugar high for at least a week. From there, we made our way to the Waving Girl statue, which commemorates Florence Martus who greeted ships entering Savannah from 1887 to 1931 by waving a cloth from the lighthouse on Cockspur Island, in search of her long-lost lover. While we were exploring the area around the statue, we saw a large container ship coming down the river. The ship was huge, and since it was heading our way, we had to wait to see it up close. Bird was in awe, but Will enjoyed it most of all.

After that excitement, we made our way back into the Historic District to pick up our lunch at the Savannah Seafood Shack. The restaurant has been featured on the Food Network, and the food did not disappoint. We thoroughly enjoyed the catfish waffle cone, shrimp po’boy, and hushpuppies. Of course, we rounded out our southern fare with some delicious sweet tea.

Once we finished our lunch, we made our way back to the truck then headed north to Hilton Head Island, SC. Neither of us had been to Hilton Head before, and we wanted to see what all the excitement was about. Getting to the island was slow going in traffic, but we made it to the beach, where it was really quiet and enjoyable. We took a nice walk with Bird, who loved running in the sand and picking up random sticks along the way. This was her first visit to the beach since learning to walk and she had so much fun. While we will not be compelled to return to Hilton Head any time soon, we are really glad we made the trip to the island.

This day trip was an absolute treat, and we highly recommend a good wander through Savannah if you are ever in the area. There is so much charm and so many beautiful trees and squares to see. We will definitely come back to visit post-COVID so we can fully enjoy the shops, museums, and other sights that we passed on our walk.