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Looking for 3 day weekend getaway ideas

Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg

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Mrs B and I will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary on May 4th and are looking for something different to do. We went to Alaska back in September and went to the Bahamas a couple of years ago so we don't want a cruise.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Not looking to go to the beach or Dollywood or Six Flags type of trip. Also would like to keep it to less than 300 miles. Thanks in advance.
 
Early congrats on your upcoming anniversary!

My favorite long weekend destinations are Chattanooga, Asheville, and Savannah. Assuming you're in the Columbia area, all are a reasonable drive for a long weekend, although driving through\around Atlanta always sucks on the drive to Chattanooga. They all have fun and interesting things to do. If you pick one of those, I'd be happy to list some things we've done.
 
If you don't mind walking, Savannah has something like 20 or so public squares each with their own history. Forsyth Park is very picturesque, especially the fountain. Historical buildings available to tour are the Sorrel-Weed house (supposedly haunted), the Mercer-Williams house, and the Davenport House among others. They're all old houses from the 1800s and I thought really interesting. I liked the Davenport house the best, but all were good. You may recognize the Mercer-Williams house from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Speaking of that book\movie, you can visit the Bonaventure Cemetery. I didn't particularly care for that, but my wife did. With the exception of the cemetery, all that is in the Historic District. We've stayed at the Hyatt and Marriott Riverfront, both off of River St. Hyatt is better imo, but neither were bad. The area around River St and Bay St has shopping and dining, but can be really touristy. I would recommend doing a trolley tour. Our first trip we did the Old Town Trolley for maybe $45 a person (prices may have increased since that was 10+ years ago). Those tours are hop on, hop off and stop at various points of interest in the Historic District. We really enjoyed that as the tours let you see the city and the drivers will tell interesting facts and stories about the city. If you don't mind driving out from the city there is Fort Pulaski, built after War of 1812 and used during the Civil War. I like military history and battlefields and really enjoyed going there.
 
For dining, everybody wants to do the Lady and Sons (Paula Deen), but that's overrated imo. I would definitely recommend Mrs Wilkes Dining Room. Great Southern food, but get there early as lines will form quickly. For a fancier place, the Olde Pink House was really good, but also really expensive. A cool place that we found by happenstance was a place called Treylor Park. Their PB&J wings are awesome. I also liked the grilled apple sandwich (add the fried chicken breast if they offer). If you go to the fort, keep driving down to Tybee Island and go to the Crab Shack. Its touristy as well, but really good seafood. For dessert one night, go to Leopold's Ice Cream shop. That place can get a long line too, but it typically moves pretty fast.

I think that's covered it, but if I think of anything else I will post it.
 
If you are a history guy Camden can offer you a nice quick getaway, a great old B&B downtown, some decent mom and pop culinary spots, old movie theater, Revolutionary museum,/grounds/attractions, antiques and some pretty state parks... pretty country if you have never ventured that way and only a hop skip and a jump
 
I second Savannah as a great 3 day option -- I much prefer Savannah to Charleston.

In my opinion, the best tour you can take in Savannah is at the Wormsloe State Historic Site -- it has the most picturesque long, spanish moss draped, oak canopied entrance around. Lots of history here, and you can walk around at your own pace or take guided tours. There is a museum and a theatre with a short film on the history. A dedicated colonial life area, walking trails with great bird watching and river tidal areas.

As markymark mentioned, Forsythe park is one of the great parks in the south. Close by is the Candler Oak, a huge, 300+ year oak. Just a short walk away, is St. John's the Baptist Catholic Church, the oldest church in the state -- just a beautiful church. I'm a sucker for stained glass windows, and there are so many in this church as well as one of the largest pipe organs around. The church allows visitors to walk through during non-service hours, and is completely worth viewing.

While downtown, I would also recommend a stop at the Savannah Candy Kitchen. This is a working store and you can watch them making their edibles. A definite must if you enjoy pralines or taffy.

I also recommend a stop at the Bonaventure Cemetery -- I've spent hours just taking photos of some of the amazing headstones and crypts in the cemetery.
 
It is a 5 hour drive but New Bern NC is a real cool town, if you like Pepsi with Wilmington right down the road... Hard to beat Savannah if you have never been, unless you want to party hard you might avoid St Pat's day week and you must eat at The Olde Pink House and The Collins Quarter (reservation recommended)...
 
Definitely suggest Savvannah.
My wife of 40 years and I love Savannah. Several (about 12) anniversaries spent there including 40th back in August.
We have never run out of things we wanted to go see either again or for the first time. And there is still so much we have not done yet.
As far as accommodations, there are several places right on the river that are very nice. I just found I prefer to be a couple blocks back from all that congestion. 3 that I highly recommend that always save me money over the river, The Present, The Marshall House, or Planters Inn. You can go check out their websites and see pictures, reviews, rates. They are far better than an average motel room to me. However, lately, I just like to find a VRBO or Airbnb to stay in. You got to search some, but you can find them in good locations close to all the sights. Like this May I will be going up in the mountains above Helen Ga. close to the NC line. I found a VRBO up there that looks totally awesome in the pictures and no other cabins close to it either. It was only a little over $700 for 4 nights over Memorial Day weekend. Let me know if you are interested in that and I will send you his info.
As far as food, we just tried different places every trip. Lady and Sons owned by Paula Deen, would be worth going just to say you went, but it gets very busy at times, so I recommend getting a reservation.
I really enjoy Sushi and there are plenty of places there to try. I never found one I did not like. I also love seafood but you need to shop around and check reviews there. But one to check out is called the Pirates House. It is full of history and decent food too.
I really like Sorry Charlie's Oyster Bar too. I have been there several times. And like Markymark said, you really want to try out Leopold's Ice Cream shop. Best ice cream ever.
There is way to much sightseeing and history to run out of things to go do. And the beach at Tybee island is even nice for a dip to cool off but just not worth the drive unless you want to spend a couple hours or more at a beach. My wife likes to lay out in the sun. I go swim some then put on plenty of sunscreen and take a nap.
We just really love Savannah way more than Charleston, but we used to live in Charleston, so it is not the same.\
Congrats on 50. I still remember wondering if 10 would ever get here for us. Now after 40, I am hoping we make 60 or more. My wife is my best friend and the years just get better. She just had triple heart bypass last year so maybe her heart is strong enough now to make it 20 or more years.
Goodluck planning the perfect trip.
 
I second the Savannah stuff. Lots of cool stuff to see minus the Conway/Myrtle Beach traffic nightmare. Just regular urban traffic to deal with in Savannah.

However, I prefer to stay in the more laid back Tybee Island environment and drive to Savannah as needed. Tybee is like Cherry Grove and North Myrtle used to be before the developers took it over.

The 8th Air Force Museum is also near one of the I-95 exits for Savannah. Plenty of places to eat nearby.

Home

www.mightyeighth.org www.mightyeighth.org

Lots of great stuff at the museum. The simulated combat in a dark room with moving air and strobe lights is a simple but effective simulation of what it was like to face Axis fighters in a Liberator or Fortress.

The last time I went to Tybee, I drove into Savannah and hit the River St. restaurant and bar scene at night and saved the museum visit for on the way home so I could take as much time as I wanted to there. Then I just hit the McD's across the street and drove home.

I dropped my truck at the Columbia airport, picked up the rental car, drove to Tybee, and dropped the car off on the way back and drove my truck back to the house.

Hope this helps.
 
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