I'm Studying You

Redefining "Historic", Day 1

Good evening, and welcome Studyees from historic Savannah, Georgia, where I'm on a "one day spent travelling, one afternoon watching my little sis get married, one night being obnoxious, one day travelling, and one day answering to my actions in a court of law" bender. Or what we in Buffalo call a five-day vacation.

My recent absence has somewhat of something to do with the last day, which is unrelated to the first four, hopefully. Fingers crossed. I tried to blog about it recently but had to shut myself down for being too critical of the fine state of New York. And being waaaaay too, um, sleepy. Or something. But that's not why I'm here, in earlier-sunny Georgia and now torentially-downpouring Georgia. The truth is, I'm here to celebrate my love of the union between my little sister and her soon-to-be husband, and the potential that they may have to reproduce. Yes, my sister, who once steadfastidly proclaimed she would never have a child, is considering the option to choose, when they get to that bridge. Good for them. Still, neither here nor there.

First, a record of possible claims against me on day (almost) one in lovely-til-it-rained Savannah, GA:

Sleeping way too much on what turned into a 17-hour drive with Jessica and my aunt and uncle. That we're sharing a room with. Oh, and by way too much, I maybe got three hours of restless tossing and turning. But the rental car we have is niiiiiice. Only problem is that everything's in walking distance. Or it is, depending on who you talk to.

Taking full advantage of the open-container laws here. In The 'Lo, they're very strict about what you can do with and where you can have alcohol, and when. In The 'Nah, you can at least walk around with a plastic cup full of -insert your favorite imbibement here- and cops actually look at you and nod and say hi...putting a six-pack of empties that you drink in your own edifice raises cops' suspicions in The 'Lo.

Ditching my favorite aunt & uncle/roommate combo on a picture-taking trek back to the hotel from dinner with both fams for a bar that actually serves a 40 oz. in a paper bag, and lets you take home the rest of what you didn't finish in a plastic cup. This bar was amazing...a dive bar, friendly bartenders and partons who were sociable enough to open up to me (and in a new town, I waver between opening up and shutting down), and- this is the kicker- when I told the bartender I was from Buffalo, she turned on the Buffalo Sabres hockey game, even though she wasn't from Buffalo. We had great conversation, and even after she left, the locals were about 300% friendlier than some of the locals you'll meet in our bars. I don't go out to bars anymore, because even though we're "The City Of Good Neighbors", Buffalo has gotten ugly in the last few years. My old favorite, fun dive spots are now holes where the unemployed get belligerent. The same holes I once enjoyed when I was unemployed and never made a stink about anything, because I'm a respectful person, have reduced the regulars to malcontents. And when I want a night out that screams my name "seedy", I prefer it to be someplace where people aren't belligerent. Don't get us wrong...we asked questions and did our research. The Rail in Savannah is the real deal. On a slow night, that place owns. If we go back there by ourselves, we will, as the bartenders figure most do, start our night there, go someplace else, and end up back there.

In the effort of making full disclosure, my favorite hotel roomie/uncle has stated he doesn't mind if the bottle of Crown Royal he (as an ex-cop) has transported over state lines (several, if you ask me) doesn't come back with us in the sweet-ass rental car. I assured him it wouldn't, and not because he doesn't drink (much) anymore. We will celebrate this five day vacation interrupted by one day of a common relative's marriage by:1) him having to sleep after a cocktail at the hot tub; 2) eating a lot more than we thought we would at local restaurants (as evidenced by the fact that instead of stopping for food along the way, we'd pack lunch meat and bread and make sandwiches...which hasn't happened yet); 3) enjoying Crown as much as possible, since in honor of good behavior I only partake of it during special occasions.

That was day one in a nutshell. I also had a few curious observations, which I promise I'll share later because it's the end of day two and I'm finishing the edit of day one because I had a little too much Crown and a ridiculous 40 oz. in a paper bag. Luckily, there wasn't much to edit, so your day two recap starts...NOW...