It’s been a while since I posted something (work is busy, life is busy, etc) so I thought I’d post some photos of what’s been going on these last few months in terms of general holidays and whatnot
For Thanksgiving, Kim and I met with 20 members of our family in Vegas. We stayed in the Paris hotel and casino where I learned that I’m not good at Texas Hold’em poker to the tune of $160
Kim and I in the lobby of the Bellaggio hotel and casino (simply magnificent and there’s a 14 foot chocolate waterfall in there!)
An outside view of the Paris hotel. The hotel was great but not one of the largest casinos. Next time I go I plan to stay at Caesar’s Palace.
For the December holidays, we were low key and stayed home. We did eat Christmas dinner with Kim’s old college roommate (and future matron-of-honor), Jennifer. Of course, Kim and I also celebrated our first Hannukah together, so here’s a shot of Kim lighting the first candle:
Incidentally, this photo was taken two nights before our 1 year anniversary of our first date.
For New Years Eve, Kim and I traveled to Savannah with the afore-mentioned Jennifer and her family. We took several tours of Savannah learning about the historic downtown and brought in the new year at a dueling piano bar where I watch drunk people pay nearly $1,000 in a battle of college fight songs (UGA vs Fla – Fla won). Here are some photos:
This is the Jennifer and her family. From left to right we have Raj (Jen’s husband), Tommy (Jen’s younger brother), Jayna (Jen’s daughter), Sarah (Tommy’s fiancee), Dominic (Jen’s son), Jen herself, and Baga (Jen’s mother. That word is actually Indian for Grandmother (I think) but that’s pretty much what she goes by).
One of the tours we took through the streets of historic Savannah was in this beautiful horse drawn carriage affair. The tour guide told a great deal of interesting stories, but Tommy later told us that the guide was wrong on a lot of points. Tommy has his masters in history, specializing in the Civil War and he gives walking tours of Savannah himself. I believe him.
Wandering through the streets of Savannah we found this interesting marker in the median section of one of the streets. Apparently this marks the site of the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Georgia (if not the US). Oglethorpe, founder of the state of GA, gave the plot and an associated synagogue to the local Jews in recognition for their contribution to the colony of Savannah. Apparently, when the settlers first landed in Savannah, yellow fever killed a large number of them. The first to die was the colony’s only doctor. The next boat that arrived was full of Jews, including a new doctor. He outright stopped the spread of the disease with quinine, using a newly discovered treatment from the England (maybe discovered in Africa? I forget). Anyway, the marker is all that’s left of the graveyard b/c all the tombstones have been removed and a church was built on the site.
As we wandered around Savannah, this turned out to be a very common story – when the city grew bigger, rather than expand outwards, the city planners would frequently move the headstones in a cemetery, leave the bodies, and build a building or street right over the top of the graves. This well documented practice is possibly what helps give Savannah the reputation of one of the most haunted cities in the US. Kim and I went on a late night haunted tour where we walked around half a dozen haunted buildings. This time our tour guide seemed very knowledgeable and even has a book coming out soon on the subject.
Beyond just haunted buildings, there are plenty of really nice ones. I can’t remember exactly why this one is significant. It’s either the home of the founder of the Girl Scouts or it’s the house owned by the guy upon whom the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is based. The building dates back to the 1800s and is surrounded by similarly beautiful architecture.
If you have a chance, I highly recommend visiting Savannah – it’s full of British and Irish pubs, the scenery is nice, and the history is very interesting.
— Matt Ranlett