One of my favorite family events in Savannah is just around the corner. The Annual Sidewalk Arts Festival is scheduled this year for Saturday, April 25th.

This event, sponsored by Savannah College of Art and Design, is a great family activity for anyone visiting Savannah, whether you are on a budget or not.

For several hours, students let their imaginations run wild and draw chalk pictures on the sidewalks of Forsyth Park in Savannah’s Historic District.  Over the years, we’ve seen intricate renditions of dragons, sunsets, Savannah scenery, exotic fish and many more themes.

There is a competition for current SCAD students, alumni and prospective students. And, there’s also a faculty and student art exhibition, which is also a real treat.

Admission is free, and it’s open to the public. There’s also music, food kiosks and other entertainment for the kids.

But, what I like about it most is that it shows kids (particularly younger ones) that they don’t need video games or computers or even play dates for entertainment. They can sit down on the sidewalk with a couple pieces of colored chalk and draw whatever is on their mind.

That’s a great lesson to learn, even if it’s just one day a year.

For more information, visit the Sidewalk Arts Festival site.

Traveling on a budget to Savannah? Try saving money by staying in a Historic Savannah Vacation Rental.

Looking for ways to keep more money in your pocket while visiting Georgia’s first city? Then read on.

Here are three tips that can save you more than $300 for a four-day/three-night stay in Savannah’s downtown Historic District:

1) Book your vacation in June, July or August, and save 10%: Many downtown vacation rentals are offering off-season rates in summer months this year. With off-season rates, many two-bedroom vacation rentals cost around $245 a night, making them far more cost effective than a downtown hotel for a family of four (or more). Thanks to the 10% discount, a family of four will save about $70 for three nights, and even more for a longer stay.

2)Dine in. Most Historic Savannah vacation rentals come with fully equipped kitchens. So a family that eats breakfast, “desayuno” or “le petite dejeuner” in for three days will save about $80 in restaurant expenses. Eating lunch at the vacation rental can save another $80 for a four day/three night stay.

3) Don’t forget Fido.  If you bring along Fido (or Spot) for your four-day trip, you can save $80-$100 in boarding expenses at your vet. Not all Historic District vacation rentals accept dogs, so you should ask ahead of time. (Both Heritage House and Gaston Street Getaway permit dogs up to 20 pounds).

The net/net: you can save more than $300, and still see all the sites in Savannah’s Historic District (and even make a daytrip to Tybee Island).

If April showers have kept you from exploring the city’s famous Historic District,  you may want to check out the Savannah Mall.

The Abercorn Street mall has more than 100 stores, and is offering double rewards points this month for purchases made at the mall.  With 1000 points, shoppers can get a $25 gift card for use at any mall merchant.

Ordinarily, rewards participants get 1 rewards point for every dollar spent at Savannah Mall.  Through April 30, participants get 2 rewards points for every dollar spent.

Shoppers can turn in their same day receipts at the Customer Service Center and start accumulating points!   Certain restrictions do apply, so please see the Customer Service Center for more details, or check out savannahmall.com/events.

(Note: for families with children, the mall has a carousel on the second floor, which is a nice treat for children).

Treat Your Kids to the Beach and Ice Cream at the Sugar Shack

The Sugar Shack at Tybee Island

If you plan on vacationing in Savannah this summer, make sure you visit Tybee Island, about 20 minutes by car from the downtown Historic District.

It’s a wonderful beach, and a great day trip.

Unlike its neighbors to the North And South, Tybee Island isn’t over-commercialized. It’s also free, and open to the public. There are a few paid parking lots, as well as street parking. But make sure you bring plenty of quarters, because the meter maids are vigilant.

After spending a day at the beach, we recommend that you treat your kids to the “The Sugar Shack”, a Tybee ice cream parlor that opened in 1960.  (Although it looks like some of the furnishings still date from that period, the ice cream is very good).

Bruce Grosse owns the place with his parents.  He and his brothers started out selling boiled peanuts (a Savannah delicacy) up and down the beach.  They saved up $2,000 and ended up buying “The Sugar Shack” at a silent auction.

You can’t miss the place.  It’s on the left just before you go around a big curve on Butler Avenue.

And by the way, we were raised on the Sugar Shack, and our kids are getting their fair share of soft serve ice cream and banana splits, too.

Child-friendly activities and a beach too!

Traveling with children under 6 is always a bit challenging. You need kid-friendly restaurants, plenty of diversions, parks and easy site-seeing opportunities.

If you’re interested in something more historic  and less expensive  than Disney World, you may want to try a Savannah vacation, particularly in the spring/summer months.

Savannah has the best of both worlds. It has a 100% walkable Historic District, with landmarks from the civil and revolutionary wars, as well as Tybee Island, a beach 20 minutes by car. So it’s a great way to split your time and keep both the parents and kids happy.

Historic District for Kids

The downtown Historic District – known for its beauty and rich history – also has wonderful places for kids to play. After living in Savannah for four years, we got to know them quite well (see pics below). Here are some of our favorites:

Roundhouse Railroad Museum – A favorite with boys. This outdoor museum has locomotives and a massive operating turntable from the 1800s. Kids can climb on the trains and let their imaginations run wild.

Whistle Stop Cafe – near the Roundhouse Railroad Museum on MLK Blvd., this cafe is actually a locomotive train. It’s great for breakfast and lunch.

Oatland Island- a wildlife habitat just outside of the Historic District. Plenty of animals to keep the family entertained – birds, alligators, deer, snake and many others.

Forsyth Park – This historic park, off of Gaston Street,  features a nice playground for kids, as well as large fields where they can run around. A coffee shop, the Sentient Bean, is nearby.

More than 20-well-coiffed squares – While these squares are a must-see for parents, kids love to play in them. Almost all the squares have historic monuments, so you can get a nice walking tour in while pushing a stroller.

River Street – While it’s highly focused on tourism, kids love to walk down this cobble-stone street and watch the boats on the river and the trolleys on the street.

There’s also events all spring and summer long that are perfect for kids. A good resource to find them is  Southern Mamas.

Historic District Vacation Rental

To get the best value for your vacation, try staying in a vacation rental in the Historic District, like the Gaston Street Getaway or Heritage House. You can walk to all the activities downtown, make meals in a fully equipped kitchen, and spread out in a house (instead of trying to cram the family into a hotel room).

Moreover, it’s only a twenty-minute ride to the beach. And, you can save money by staying downtown, instead of paying the in-season fees for beach rentals.

Hope Joelle doesn't fall in!

Colby pushing his sister's stroller near St. John the Baptist

Joelle and Colby playing in Forsyth Park

Resting at Forsyth Park

Serving as an extra in “Carny”

If you are in Savannah this week, watch out for  camera crews. A production company is shooting an ABC television pilot around Columbia and Oglethorpe squares, both along York Street.

The pilot, “Solving Charlies, follows two other ABC pilots that were shot in 2006 and 2007 but never made it on the air.

There’s no guarantee that Solving Charlie will make it to television screens either.

However, the city has a good record for inclusion in many feature films and productions. Both Forrest Gump and Vagger Bance were shot – in part – in Savannah.

And my husband, Mark, was an extra in the movie Carny, which was filmed in Savannah in 1980, when he was attending Benedictine Military School, a Catholic high school in Savannah.

The film, which was about carnival life, featured Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist of the group, “The Band”. “Carny” also featured another fine actor, Elisha Cook, Jr., who gained fame in the 1940s and 50s in such films as “Shane”, “The Great Gatsby”, “The Maltese Falcon” and “Sergeant York”.

Mark’s role was to walk around the carnival set and play carnival games when the camera rolled.  During one scene Mark is playing ring toss and Robbie walks up to the game, converses with the attendant, then walks away right past him.  He  got paid about $35 a day.

When most people talk about Savannah, they point out the majestic Oak trees, or the downtown Historic District, or the well-known restaurant, The Lady and Sons. But they often don’t mention that this famed, historic city is also dog-friendly.

Many of the vacation rentals in the Historic District, including the Heritage House and Gaston Street Getaway, will accept dogs (up to 20 pounds). Some hotels and B&Bs will also allow Spot to spend the night.

There are quite a few dog parks, too.  One of our favorites – which is located downtown – is the Matilda Beasley Dog Park. This park was created in 2008, and is behind the East Broad Street Elementary School.

Heading South from the Historic District is the Savannah Dog Park, located on 41st and Drayton streets in Savannah’s Starland Community. This park has a shaded, fenced-in area where Fido and Spot can play off the leash.

You can also bring your dog to some downtown restaurants, like Vinnie Van Go-Go’s, provided they sit outside.

Or course, you can bring your dog to Forsyth Park and the city’s wonderful squares. But please keep him/her on a leash.

For more Savannah dog-friendly resources, visit  Savannah Dog Park.

Just to set the record straight, we thought it might be helpful to mention some of the biggest lies you could hear during your Savannah visit.  One or two are just “marketing spin.” Others are downright distortions of the truth.

Biggest Lies Heard in Savannah:

1) Green grits taste good.

Yes, green grits are often served on St. Patrick’s Day. And, no matter how much butter or salt you put on them, they just are awful.

2) Savannah was spared the real estate downturn.

Huh? There are tons of houses for sale in Savannah right now, and many have been on the market for a long time.

When people couldn’t sell their home in the northeast, investment and second homes went south in Savannah. Other factors also hit the Savannah market hard. But suffice to say, Savannah wasn’t spared the downturn.

3)  It’s not too hot in June.

This one falls in the “marketing spin” category. True, it’s not too hot, if you don’t mind weather over 80 degrees or sometimes higher.

4)  You can park downtown.

Perhaps in the year 2010. But right now, there’s not enough parking spots. If you stay in an Historic District vacation rental, you don’t have to worry about parking, because you can walk everywhere downtown. But if you don’t, expect to circle around quite a bit before you find a spot.

5) Trolley tour guides don’t exaggerate.

Yeah, right.  We’ve heard some crazy tales from tour guides, and I’m sure somewhere, there was kernel of truth.

Before taking a stroll through the Historic District, you may want to stop at one of our favorite spots for breakfast, B. Matthews Eatery, on the corner of Habersham and Bay Streets.

B. Matts (as some locals call it) has a delightful breakfast menu. A few of our favorites include the Shrimp and Grits – stone-ground grits served with bay shrimp and cheddar cheese.

Another nice dish is the French Toast – white chocolate banana bread dipped in  egg/cinnamon/vanilla batter, toasted to golden brown and served with whipped cream.

Prices for every breakfast entrée are under $10.

Besides the wonderful food, B.Matthews has some unique décor and history. The restaurant is very close to River Street, and legend has it that the building used to host a brothel, patronized by sea men who docked their ship about a block away.

Given that the windows are darkened, and passersby can’t see what’s inside, there’s probably some truth to it.

Nonetheless, it’s a wonderful place for breakfast (as well as lunch and dinner) and the atmosphere is warm and inviting. You’ll also get to enjoy Savannah brick first-hand.

Let us know your thoughts. And, by the way, B. Matts is about a mile walk from our historic Savannah vacation rentals, Heritage House and Gaston Street Getaway. So you can burn off the calories even before you even sit down at the table.

Traveling to Savannah on a budget? Then, check out these tips to help stretch your vacation dollar:

- Avoid the tourist restaurants, primarily on River Street. There are plenty of wonderful places to eat throughout the Historic District. Many locals, in fact, go to Bay and Broughton Streets, where they can find diverse food for reasonable prices. A few reasonably priced local restaurants include: B.Matthews, 325 E. Bay Street, Juarez Mexican Restaurant on 420 E. Broughton Street, Saigon Restaurant on 4 West Broughton Street, Kayak Cafe on 1 E. Broughton Street.

- Pick up a free Connect Savannah at many new kiosks or stores downtown. You’ll find many free or low-cost events that are truly enjoyable.

- Stay in a Historic District Vacation Rental: There are plenty of comfortable and well-located vacation rentals available in the Historic District (thanks, in part, to the housing downturn).

These vacation rentals range from carriage houses to homes that can accommodate 10 or more people. They are highly cost-effective for couples traveling with other couples, or families. In fact, vacation rentals will decrease your lodging costs quite a bit. Most also have a fully equipped kitchen, so you can prepare a meal or two daily.

- Visit the Savannah Convention & Visitors’ Bureau on Martin Luther King Blvd. before you begin your touring to pick up free brochures, maps and advice from representatives there.

- Walking the streets provides its own storytelling. You can check out the architecture, wrought ironwork on the houses and plaques in the Historic District’s scenic squares. It will be a truly delightful walk.