Tybee Island - Georgia's Hidden Gem

Tybee Island, GA - Perfectly Serene Girlfriend Getaway

When you're lucky enough to have a group of girlfriends that have been there to witness each other's first loves, heartbreaks, weddings, illnesses, birth of children and everything in between, you really should celebrate that special bond with a girlfriend getaway every once in a while. And when you're all tired mamas just looking for a little serenity, a peaceful place to unwind for a few days becomes the top priority. Tybee Island fits that bill. The Southern Georgia coastal town is quite the hidden gem. Located just 20 minutes from Savannah, GA, Tybee Island (also known as Savannah's Beach) has a small town feel. A place to come as you are, no pretentiousness in sight. 
 

There's an abundance of affordable beach rentals here, which makes it easy on all budgets. We found a great place with a nice ocean view so we could sit out for hours and hours on the porch talking and catching up while enjoying the ocean breeze. The beach was clean and quiet and we enjoyed sitting by the water soaking up the south Georgia sunshine every day.

If you're looking to get out and experience a bit of nightlife, there are several great places to dine overlooking the water. AJ's Dockside (http://ajsdocksidetybee.com/) is a great place to sit outside and sip a cocktail while catching a gorgeous sunset. Fannie's on the Beach (http://fanniesonthebeach.com/) is another great place to eat while overlooking the ocean. The food is good and the people watching is even better. If you're in the mood for ice cream (isn't ice cream a beach requirement??), stop by the Sugar Shack (http://www.tybeesugarshack.com/) to get your sweet fix.
 

I'm very blessed to have a great group of girlfriends that love to get together and enjoy a little break from the frenzied life of a mom. There's plenty to see and do besides eat and lounge, but honestly that's exactly what we were going for with this trip! If you're looking for a quiet, peaceful place to get a little replenishment of the soul, check out Tybee Island and to find out more about the local attractions and things to do, visit (http://visittybee.com/).

Couples Getaway Weekend - Boston, MA

I love a long getaway weekend as a couple.  3 days is long enough to see some sights and get a little relaxation in, but not long enough to have to do any heavy planning or packing. When we travel as a couple. we like to have a good balance of downtime and planned activities.  But as always with us, our top priority is the local food!

We did not rent a car and never needed one.  It's about a $20 taxi ride into the heart of downtown from Logan International Airport.  The rest of the trip, we made do by walking (probably walked over 20 miles in 3 days!) and used Uber for long distances. The public system is also supposed to be very good and easy to use.  

We stayed at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf and found it to be very nice and convenient.  After getting checked in, we headed across the street to Faneuil Hall, a popular hub of shops and restaurants where Quincy Market is located. It's also where a replica of the Cheers Bar is located, but it seemed like too much of a tourist trap to stop in, so after taking a quick pic, we headed inside and found the lobster rolls. It was a nice place to find some outdoor seating and people watch on a beautiful afternoon.  

The first evening we visited the famous Union Oyster House(http://www.unionoysterhouse.com/) , the oldest restaurant in the US. We were able to check out the Kennedy booth, where JFK liked to sit when he visited.  Although quite touristy, the seafood was all super fresh and tasty.  My husband opted for the full lobster dinner (which he couldn't finish) and I had the clam chowder.  And dessert was of course, Boston cream pie, because we kind of had to at least once.

The next day we were up and going early.  We downloaded a free app to guide us through the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile path of historical landmarks.  You can pay for a guided tour, but we preferred to have the freedom to stop when we wanted to. We spent the rest of the day strolling through Boston Public Gardens and watching the Swan Boats (they run from April - September).  We also ended up stumbling upon a free outdoor concert, so bonus free entertainment and more people watching!

After working up an appetite walking all around town, we found a cute little lobster shack (http://www.jameshooklobster.com/). There was a line going out of the building, so we figured we scored a great find and were not disappointed.  The place was tiny and had no a/c (unheard of for this Southern gal), so we found a place to sit outside and enjoyed every.last.bite of our delicious lobstah roll.  Now we see the reason for the line.  We also found a cute little bakery (https://flourbakery.com/locations/south-end/) and got a famous sticky bun that's been featured on the Food Network to go for an afternoon treat back at the hotel. So so good, I wish we had gotten 2.

Dinner that evening, we ubered on over to Cambridge and had a great meal at Café ArtScience (https://www.cafeartscience.com/).  This place was modern, innovative and trendy, but still managed to have a relaxed feeling.  This was our favorite meal of the trip, hands down.

For our last full day, we were up and ready to go early.  We hit the Museum of Fine Art and were both blown away at the collection.  We spent many hours there and could've spent even more time.  We took a walk by Fenway Park (sadly, there were no games going on the weekend we visited).  Then we headed over to Fan Pier for lunch at Mario Batali's Babbo Pizzeria (http://babbopizzeria.com/) for some yummy mussels & pasta and an afternoon craft cocktail.  For dinner, we chose Ostra in the theater district (http://ostraboston.com/). The menu was full of fresh seafood choices and everything we ordered was amazing, the raw oysters were especially memorable.  The atmosphere was a little stuffier than we prefer, think hushed conversations and a piano player in the background, but the quality of the food made up for it. 

Our last evening we did a little souvenir shopping for the kids (Harvard shirts, and lobster lollipops!) and checked out some of the nightlife near our hotel.  We ended up finding a little pub underground somewhere and listened to some live music. It was a fun time, and low key which is just what we were looking for.

Overall, we had an amazing long weekend in this modern town full of history. There is no way we could do everything on our to see list in one long weekend, so we will definitely be back, perhaps as a family trip!