Azalea Inn and Gardens Review ~ Savannah, GA

If you're ever in Savannah, GA your search for a place to stay just ended.

Jessalyn and I recently stayed over the Labor Day Holiday at Azalea Inn & Gardens Bed and Breakfast and it was probably the best overnight lodging I've ever had with the exception of staying in the cozy confines of my own home.  From the moment we set foot in this place until the moment we left, we were treated like guests of honor.  Our 3 nights there were lovely on so many levels that I just decided to make a bullet point list as to why you should stay in this wonderful place if you're ever in Savannah:

1. The staff.  Every single person here was simply fantastic.  Professional, courteous, fun, personable, hospitable, accomodating and pleasant.  We personally interacted with Teresa, Shannon, Madi, and Diane and each offered us insight into the area as far as places to eat and sights to see.  Each were willing to help us out and make our stay personally enjoyable even though they were busy with their daily tasks involved with running the inn.  The staff, by itself, makes this place worth the price of admission.
2. The Inn itself.  Simply gorgeous.  Cozy with a homey feel.  Historic yet with all the modern things you need.  The pool provided a great relaxing atmosphere with the gardens and the deck in the back of the property.  Such personality and character with easy walking access to all areas of Savannah you'd like to see.  In fact, the Inn was so wonderful, we chose to spend 1 out of our 3 nights there just relaxing.  We had never been to Savannah, so think about that one for a second.
3. The food.  Breakfast was so delicious and creative with amazing service.  Each day we had wonderful coffee and juices with a 2 course meal and sides.  I've never even heard of some of the dishes they created but they were just right and a wonderful way to start the day off on vacation.
4. The Inn's extras.  I'm calling these extras because I just simply didn't expect to get these things out of our stay
1. Advice - because of the family feel to the Inn, the guests and staff all interact with each other about where to go (or not go) where to visit and where to eat.  This is perfect if you're a first time visitor to Savannah and want to make sure you see the best of it.  The night I arrived, I was hungry for a late night snack and Diane placed a phone call to a local restaurant for me to make sure they were still open. Shannon mapped us out all the best areas to eat on Tybee Island as well as around the city.  Such personal service and so great. 
2. Food - I only expected breakfast out of our bed and breakfast but each night, they provided us with a delicious homemade dessert left out of the table for late night snacks.  They had a terrific wine selection as well as sodas and water for purchase.  All affordable prices.  Complimentary coffee and tea were available around the clock and let's not forget the complimentary sherry as well.  
3. Relaxation - All around the inn are places to kick back and relax.  The front porch wraps around the side and the back deck near the pool provides a great place to sit out and enjoy yourself.  There is a delightful sitting room where you can enjoy your morning coffee and a newspaper or one of the many magazines or picture books about Savannah.  
4. My shower - It's not every day that you remember a shower that you took.  But the shower in the Gentleman's Parlor was glorious.  I didn't want to get out.  I'm not sure if it was the delightful waterfall shower head or the fantastic products that they had (available for purchase) but I updated my FB status after I got out.  That's how good it was.
5. Bed - the only thing that made me want to get out of the bed was the breakfast.  That might need to be the new slogan for this place.  
6. Complimentary books and movies - available in the main hallway, adds a lovely touch.
7. Joey - If you've read reviews about this place then you've read about Joey the little Yorkie.  I consider Joey to be a part of the staff.  He provided us with such joy and pleasure.  Such a friendly little guy, but would never bother you unless cuteness and friendliness bothers you.  If you're not a dog person and you think that this is going to be an issue, then don't worry.  He doesn't walk around during breakfast, he's not begging for food and is absolutely not in the way at all.  The only way you could ever be bothered by this little guy is if you're not a happy person in life.  I genuinely miss him already.                                                                                          
   
    
5. Cost.  At this point, I don't even know why we're having a discussion about cost.  In general, BnBs cost a little more than your average hotel and it was a concern of mine so let me just put your mind at ease.  This place provides so much added value that it is easily worth whatever additional price you might pay.  The breakfast alone makes the cost/benefit analysis discussion a silly one.  Could you go stay at the Quality Inn in the middle of downtown for cheaper?  Yes.  Will you choose to spend 1 of your 3 nights in Savannah just relaxing around the Quality Inn?  Doubt it.  Memories don't have a price tag and if you want an experience, stay here.  Besides, if something is in fact quality, it doesn't have to tell you that in its name.

It is so evident that Teresa and her staff work very hard to make Azalea Inn and Gardens what it is.  I kinda hate to tell everyone about it, because I'd like to keep it all to myself and I want room availability next time I'm in Savannah :-)  But this place blessed our lives so much in 3 days that I wanted to spread the love to anyone who might read this post!  Thank you for making our stay in Savannah so wonderful!

Like I said, your search is over.  Book today and thank me when your vacation is over. Cheers!

To visit Jessalyn's blog, click here.

I'm on a boat.

Strongest Adult Beverage at Walt Disney World

The subject of where to enjoy adult beverages at Walt Disney World is a frequent topic of conversation amongst many a tourist.  It's a short conversation to be had, though, because the hands down, simplest answer is Epcot. 

But where does one get the most proverbial bang for their social lubrication buck?  Watch and find out:

The floater shot seems to change from time to time.  They've offered straight tequila before but on this day it was a pomegranate liqueur.  Either way, add whatever the floater of the day is and you'll be on your way to that healthy buzz.

And when you see me walking around the World Showcase, feel free to buy me one in thanks of giving you this free advice.  Cheers!

Find Some Serenity While Visiting the Magic Kingdom

Have you ever been to the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, FL when it's been ridiculously crowded?  Want to know a terrific place to escape the crowds?  We found such a serene location upon our latest visit to the Magical Land of Small Children and Strollers. 

Watch the video:

How do you get there?

Go to Tom Sawyer's Island and hook a left.  Go over the bridge and when you see the Fort, veer left and you'll run right into this place.  We recommend spreading out the 2 rocking chairs and occupying the space to your left and right with any bags or personal items that you may have on you.  This will minimize the interruption of other guests who will walk by and clearly see that you have commandeered the area.  If you don't, they will park right next to you and camp out, thus eliminating the purpose of this getaway location.  We will be frequenting this location in the future.  And you're welcome.

Halloween 2012

We decided to heckle the kids this year as they were greedily gobbling up all of the candy that I spent $30 on.  (Thank you to Winn Dixie for the discounts.)  We had 2 toy guns pointed at our heads with the triggers pulled, 1 kid yelled at us and told us we were fake, and another told us we were stupid and attempted some form of a beginning to an altercation.  (All of the yard signs in our neighborhood are supporting Romney btw, see a connection?) Plus one of the little bastards stole one of my styrofoam graveyard signs.  Do I feel bad about heckling them? No. Should we have been meaner than we were?  Yes.  Makes me wanna have kids of my own? No.

The parents, however, loved us!  Probably because they were the only ones who actually got the joke or had even seen The Muppets.  We even had 1 come up to us and tell us that our fame had spread throughout the neighborhood.  Will definitely be doing this again in future years. 

Happy Halloween!

Epcot Food & Wine Festival

My encouragement for everyone to attend the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. I may have mixed in a little bit of support for my gay friends, after all, it is close to a General Election. But it's all in love and fun and in the spirit of diversity, which is the Food and Wine Festival. Cheers!

About Us

You've seen this heading, or some derivative thereof, on almost every company's website you've ever been to. Whether you're shopping online, perusing a potential employer's page, or visiting a church's website chances are you've clicked on the "About Us" tab located either at the top or the bottom of the page. Sometimes I notice it, most times I don't. I normally only search for and click on that link when I want to know something about whatever organization I'm quasi-Internet stalking at the time. For instance, in preparation for writing this article, I had to go to Amazon to see if they even had such a link because I've never gone there wondering who or what Amazon.com is. Turns out they don't have an "about us" link. Maybe it's because they are the world's largest online retailer of product. Everyone knows who they are. They are so successful, so profitable, so worldwide recognized that they don't even have to explain who they are when people walk through their virtual front door. Interesting.


I've found it curious, particularly with church organizations, the need to describe who or what they are to the world. Businesses need to do this for business reasons. Especially if they are new or unknown...Here's what we sell, here's our philosophy, etc. But with a church...how do you take a group of even 30 people, and write a paragraph or page length description about who all of those people are? Or better yet, what they all believe? Not to mention that such a description is usually penned by 1 or 2 individuals out of the 30. Even if all of those people collectively believe in God, or Jesus, there are bound to be varying beliefs within that most basic belief that differ from person to person. Some of these "About Us" pages borderline on arrogant while others just sound like a veritable Biblical fairytale is happening at their place of worship. I guess I'm familiar with this disconnect because I've read descriptive pages for groups I've attended in the past or present and I know for a fact that they don't describe me or multiple other people at those groups. And surely, the leadership that approved the writing of these descriptions would not assert that everyone at their group believes all the same things. Which begs the question, "Why does the "About Us" description even exist?"


I don't know the answer to that. Sometimes it's fun to write a summary about ourselves for all the world wide web to view. (See Facebook) Sometimes I think we view the church as a business. Websites, signage, brochures...all to bring in that random drive-by visitor. All of those are fine things but they're really more focused on presenting a picture perfect image that's "advertiseable" rather than just simply stating the fact that every group of people is imperfect and has major issues within it. What church family has ever existed that didn't have sickness, death, divorce, financial problems, and all kinds of social issues? Most people can relate more to all of that, than they can to this Disney World Fairytale Church in Cinderella's Castle description I normally read. Chris Rock described why he was voting for Bill Clinton over Bob Dole in a 1996 SNL Monologue . So much truth stated in this humor, but it illustrates the fact that people relate to problems, not perfection:


"I like Clinton. You know why I like Clinton? Because he's got real problems. No, he don't got President problems, he's got real problems, like you and me: he's running out of money, his wife's a pain in the ass, all his friends are going to jail.. I know Bill Clinton. I am Bill Clinton!"


Do churches write these descriptions to affirm themselves? Kind of like a pseudo creed? Is it to keep a certain kind of person out? Or to attract a certain kind of person in? Is it to make a statement to other believers who may be judgmentally investigating a group? Not sure, but I'd like to propose an alternative. If a church wants to describe itself to the world, it should just simply say "We've got problems. So do you. Let's all help each other." Or some similar variation. It sure would be hard to accuse a group of hypocrisy after a statement like that. But when you promise spiritual Disney World, you're setting yourself up for failure. Problem is, there are people within most every church that won't admit that they have real problems. That their marriage sucks. That they are under mountains of debt. That they look at porn. That they're bored and unhappy with their life. That they're gay but can't admit it because they're not surrounded by loving people. That they don't, in fact, have it all together. They think that you need them, but they're not really convinced that they need you. That's probably another subject, though.


Here's another suggestion. I'd offer this admonition/invitation from the FAQ section of Mosaic in Los Angeles, CA:


"The absolute best way to understand and learn about any community is to experience it on the relational level. Statements of faith can tell you what a community of faith’s beliefs are, but they can’t tell you who they are. If you’d like to discover who we are at Mosaic, please come to one of our gatherings on Sundays. A list of times and locations can be found on our home page at...."


How good is that? Simple and true. In other words, put down the mouse and your curiosity and just show up. More than once. Judgments about a group after anything less than 3 visits are premature and lazy. I'm not trying to nit pick at churches for attempting to reach people with a broad statement of faith or description. I just think it's an interesting study in sociology and religion. Also makes for an interesting discussion. So don't get all offended & defensive if your church has one of these "About Us" pages, I'm just observing life here. It's true in sociology, that if you claim something too rigorously or profess something too much then you might have a Napoleon complex about it. I'm just wondering if that's true when it comes to communities of faith as well. That is, if a church family's message could be so successful, so well known, held in such high regard that maybe they wouldn't even have to explain who they are to someone walking through their virtual front door. You'd just know who they were. Like Amazon. Interesting.