Savannah, GA

Last weekend, Gabi and I drove to Savannah to meet our friends Maig and Virgil, who were there for Virgil's ordination to the priesthood. Maig and Virgil kindly shared their hotel room with us, right on the beach! While they were taking care of something, Gabi and I walked down to see the ocean.

Gabi's first trip to a real beach!


It is windy by the ocean.


Gabi pointing to the waves and the surfboarders.


A wave washes over Gabi's feet and threatens to knock her off balance.
She manages to stay upright, but she is scared.
All on her own, Gabi pulls her dress up out of the water.
Although I first met him as Virgil, in his childhood, V was called by his middle name, Peter, and he was ordained as Father Peter. Also, when Maig converted to Orthodox Christianity before they were married, she changed her name to Magda. We thought all these double names would be confusing to Gabi girl, so Maig suggested that we just call them Auntie Maig and Uncle Virgil when talking to Gabi.

However, Gabi overheard Virgil being addressed as Father Peter a number of times, and she picked up on that. At home almost a week later, Gabi would recount the weekend to me: "We went on a trip. To the ocean. With Virgil. And Maig." Then she thought for a minute and added, "Peter. Virgil's name is Peter." Wow! What a smart girl.

Maig and Gabi tie ribbons in their hair and read a book together.
Gabi wears the little "hat" that was covering the glasses.
We ate seafood for dinner, and Gabi really liked the fried shrimp. By the way, while we were in Savannah, I told Gabi that these trees were palm trees. At home, we have a book called Chicka Chicka Boom Boom which refers to them as coconut trees, so when I showed Gabi this picture, I told her she was standing next to a coconut tree. Remembering what I had said last weekend, however, Gabi corrected me. "It's a palm tree." Then I think I heard her say "The coconut tree is in the book" or something to that effect.

After dinner, Gabi talks to Daddy on the phone.
Before bed, we put on our swimsuits and went back to the beach again. This time, Maig and Virgil joined us.

Gabi on the beach at sunset.


Maig, Gabi, and Virgil wade in the water.


Virgil and Maig help Gabi jump over the incoming waves.
Although the waves were scary when Gabi was on her own for balance, she loved them when she had the security of someone supporting her. Maig helped Gabi jump over each wave as it approached.







After getting a mouthful of saltwater once, Gabi requested, "I go out the waves, please!" and pointed towards shore. We then retreated a bit and sat at the edge of the tide, where we could still experience the waves a little. Maig held Gabi and let each wave push them over slightly.

Here comes a wave!


Aaaaah! Waves are fun!


Woah! That was a big one.


Whee!


Maig, Gabi, and Mommy sitting in the waves.


Virgil, Maig, and Gabi say bye-bye to the ocean for tonight.


Mommy and Gabi pose beneath the moon.
After each trip to the beach, we stopped at the little faucet/shower at the edge of the beach to wash the sand from our feet. This routine really stuck in Gabi's memory. Over the past week, she has washed her dolls' feet in her play kitchen sink at least a couple times each day!

The next morning, we awoke early and walked down to the beach before other people arrived. It was very quiet and peaceful, quite a contrast to the crowd of the day before.





Gabi found a seashell.
Growing tired of our early-morning beach walk, Gabi informed me that she was ready to go back inside. "Take a nap, please" is actually what she said. What a wonderful two-year-old who knows her limits and will request a nap when needed! However, since we had a four-hour drive back to Atlanta ahead of us, I declined to let her rest in the hotel, hoping that she would instead sleep in the car. (She did take an hour-and-a-half nap in the car.)

First, we went to eat breakfast, which was delicious. The hotel's breakfast buffet had everything you could want -- from fresh fruit to pancakes; from scrambled eggs to biscuits & sausage gravy -- and they didn't even charge me for Gabi since she is so young! As we were seated by a window overlooking the beach, Gabi again became interested in the ocean and requested another trip to play in the wet sand. (Gabi much prefered the wet sand to the dry sand.) So, revived and with full tummies, we headed back to the beach one last time.





Gabi says this is a rainbow seashell.


Gabi collecting seashells.


Gabi wading at the edge of the water.


Gabi rinsing her hands in the waves.
Finally, it was time to return to the hotel one last time, shower, and get ready to leave. As we walked away from the beach, Gabi said, "We're going inside again!" Once we were in the hotel and walking down the hall towards the room, Gabi very matter-of-factly stated, "We're in the... swimming house" (with a pause for thought before each of the last two words). Gabi is such a smart little girl! She can come up with appropriate names for places when she doesn't know what they are traditionally called.

She also has a wonderful memory. I responded, "Yes, we are. This is kind of like a beach house. It is called a hotel." Since then, she has referred to that building as the hotel. When we were home the next day, I heard her telling Daddy about the hotel at the ocean.

As I was drying off, I looked up to find
Gabi trying on my clothes!
We stopped by Daffin Park in Savannah to exercise a bit before the car ride. We ran around and kicked a ball back and forth, then we grabbed lunch on the way out of town. Gabi got chocolate milk, chicken nuggets, and French fries, a treat which she thoroughly enjoyed. Due to some traffic congestion, the return trip took five hours instead of four, but Gabi was a very good girl.

Gabi carries her ball to a field in Daffin Park.


Gabi throwing the ball to Mommy.


Gabi learned to kick the ball, too.