Fall semester is in full swing and it’s starting to feel like you’re doing the same thing every week. Class. Study. Drink. Hangover. Poor Theme Party Costume Choice. Homework. Switch things up by taking advantage of a long weekend or your fall break (if you’re that lucky) by checking out our Weekend Getaway guides.   We’ve already covered Boston, Toronto and Austin. Now, we wanna take you on a road less traveled (unless you’re Paula Deen)…to Savannah, Georgia.

To the young, curious child version of myself, Savannah, Georgia was synonymous with Girl Scouts —the scratchy uniform I hated, the vest that always seemed to have less badges than the rest of the other Brownie Scouts, and, of course, Girl Scout Cookies! Yum, I love those things!

However, that’s only one part of Savannah. Yes, Girl Scouts of America was founded there by Juliette Gordon Low and I’m sure visiting brings back many fond memories to the to former Girl Scout tourists.  But, Savannah is filled with centuries of history, charm, and even some ghosts! If you’re looking to get out of the hustle and bustle of your college campus for a long weekend, head down to the ol’ South and check out quaint Savannah, Georgia!

Touristy Spots:

River Street- Located right on the Savannah River, River Street is one of the most historic areas of Savannah.  The cobblestone streets take you back in time hundreds of years as you take in the historic beauty. There are numerous shops, restaurants, and even street performers that will provide entertainment for hours.  One of my favorite shops is the River Street Sweets candy shop.  Here, you will find the most delicious saltwater taffy, as well as fudge, chocolate, praline treats…you name it, they have it!  Seriously, bring your wallet and your sweet tooth! At the end of River Street is the Waving Girl statue.  According to legend, Florence Martus waved at passing ships, waiting for her own true love to return.  She never missed a ship in the forty years that she greeted the passing ships. Tell me that’s not romantic?!

Take a Tour- Seeing Savannah by tour trolley is the best way to soak in all the history it has to offer.  I suggest Oglethorpe Trolley Tours. For only $15 you can see 90 minutes worth of historic hot spots, beautiful churches, and cemeteries. All tours are narrated by a tour guide, so you’ll learn some interesting facts about historic Savannah. Plus, you can get on and off the trolley and explore on your own. Seriously, this is the way to go—you’ll get the most bang for your buck!

Juliette Gordon Low’s Birthplace- In case you weren’t able to visit as a brownie scout, you must visit now and pay some homage to the lady, Juliette Gordon Low, that made those Thin Mints so famous!  Her southern mansion gives insight into early Girl Scout history, as well as shows some of what daily life was like during the early 1900s.

Restaurants:

Huey’s on the River- Located right on River Street, Huey’s on the River offers some New Orleans’ flair in Savannah.  Expect long waits, but the food will make up for it, especially the beignets, or the gumbo, or the muffalettas. Yum! Order anything on the menu, you can’t go wrong.

The Lady and Son’s Restaurant- Paula Deen. Need I say more?! Paula Deen is my absolute favorite chef, so when I heard that she had a restaurant in Savannah I had to try it! Everything she cooks clogs my arteries makes my mouth water! I don’t know if it’s my butter obsession or because when I eat any of her recipes, calories don’t matter to me, but her food is pure bliss.  And The Lady and Son’s Restaurant is no different!  The food will leave you more than satisfied and the dessert will warm your soul! Lady and Son’s is definitely a must-try!

The Pirate’s House- This restaurant has been in service since 1753.  Originally, The Pirate’s House was an inn for seafarers and offered them food and drink in exchange for stories about sailing the seven seas.  Today, it acts as a restaurant serving only the most delicious food! The menu ranges from seafood to pasta to steaks and burgers. Try any of the jolly ol’ grub and you won’t be disappointed.  A fun fact: the restaurant is claimed to be haunted because of the secret passageways under the restaurant that led to the river. Spooky!

Nightlife:

Oktoberfest- One of the biggest festivals in Savannah takes place on River Street each year.  Enjoy a part of the original Oktoberfest, Savannah style.  Between the Weiner Dog Races, bratwurst, and hundreds of beers from around the world, you can’t go wrong. There’s even a fried beer stand this year! At night, you can enjoy the Fireworks put on annually by Wet Willies Restaurant (also another cool restaurant to try)! Sounds like a good October weekend to me!

Ghost Tour- No history is better than haunted history! Savannah is known for the supernatural occurrences so you MUST try out one of these tours.  There are many companies that offer ghost tours, so pick creepiest one and put your ghost hunting skills to work!

Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub- The good ol’ Irish settled in Savannah, so there’s a huge Irish cultural influence there.  Check out this pub for some delicious Irish-American pub grub, grab a pint and enjoy the awesome performers that will have you singing along to “Molly Malone” all night long. Slainte!

Lodging:

The epicenter of Savannah is River Street. Some recommended hotels are the Hyatt Regency or for a more historic feel the River Street Inn, which dates back to the 1800s.  Both are quality hotels, located right on River Street, and provide you with easy access to numerous historic hot spots, restaurants and shops!

So if you want to hear about why Halloween rocks you should go somewhere else because I f*cking hate it and I’m about to make you hate it too by listing some reasons why it’s terrible and should be canceled.

Costumes: Yah, I said it. F*ck costumes. I have never trusted motherf*ckers in costumes. Why are you wearing that? People in costumes can do anything they want, and often do on Halloween, because it’s basically the official Holiday for burglary and assault.  That’s really what I want, a day where it’s impossible to spot criminals because everyone is wearing a godd*mn mask.

I don’t even like people at Disneyland and sh*t wearing costumes. Ask any nerd which day was the worst in high school and I guarantee you that Halloween is up near the top of the list. “I sure wish I knew who was beating the sh*t of out me right now, beyond ‘guy in gas mask’ and ‘guy in hockey mask!’”

Additionally, wearing costumes is probably the most uncomfortable thing ever. It’s hot and you can’t hear sh*t and you can’t run away from other people in costume without making a ridiculous shuffling noise. F*ck costumes. Unless you’re on a stage or in a movie, no costumes ever. Street performers shouldn’t be allowed to wear costumes. No one. EVER.

Candy: Yah, that is exactly what we need, an excuse to shovel more diabetes-inducing sugar into our insatiable legion of fat children. Candy on Halloween teaches people two things, how to gorge yourself, and how to beg. Why not call a spade a spade, call it ‘Insulin Day,’ and just chop everyones’ foot off right now.

TV Programming: On Halloween, every channel on the dial shows whatever scary movie they have in the vault, all night. As someone who’s imagination is more then enough to literally make me sh*t when alone in a dark room, the last thing I want is every Friday the 13^th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street playing all at once.

Haunted Houses: I don’t really feel the need to elaborate on this. Haunted Houses, hay rides, and other various haunted locales go from boring (high school) to grotesque (every haunted house run for profit) with no middle ground to actually enjoy yourself. F*ck haunted houses.

“CLEVERNESS”: It’s in quotes and caps for a reason. That’s about as subtle as people are on Halloween. LOOK HOW FUNNY/SEXY/EDGY I AM.

People dress either in lingerie (I’M A SEXY CAT/BUNNY/CONSTRUCTION WORKER/COP/DENTIST/CHEF/PERSON WHO WORKS AT HOME DEPOT), go ‘edgy’ and do something so tasteless they know it’s gonna start a fight once everyone is drunk enough (‘dude are you seriously going as someone who’s HIV positive?’), or ‘clever’ — which usually amounts to going as a hotdog or a tampon or a giant sperm. Also, anything phallic that comes with its own retarded catchphrase. Everyone has crap ideas on Halloween. The night literally destroys creativity and feeds off tacky bullsh*t.

You’re probably wondering if I go out at all. I do. I dress as a Pokemon and throw bricks through car windshields.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

I have been reading some great books, but I’ve also been watching some horrible television.  Seriously, people.  There are shows dedicated to moving walls with holes in them and the jumpsuit-clad morons who try to jump through.  There are shows that obviously employ monkeys to write their dialogue.  There are shows that are politically based and hours long and amount to nothing!  Even HBO and Showtime can’t save me, because besides a few great series, the movies they show during the day should never have been made in the first place.

But wait!  There is some salvation – in the form of lesser known networks and their even lesser(er?) known shows.  Shows that are fantastic but rarely seen by the normal person.  Let me use my time on the couch to your benefit and educate you on the Top 5 Shows You Don’t Know Exist But Are Awesome.

Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations (Travel Channel): We’ve featured Bourdain a few times on our site, mostly because he’s an OGIF  (Old Guy I’d Like To…).  But here’s the thing, his show is actually awesome.  Unlike a lot of TV cooks, Bourdain seems to fully understand what it is to apreciate all types of food, and is pretty fearless when it comes to A) traveling around the world and B) eating random things from random places.

Bourdain isn’t interested in comfortable hotels and beaches, he wants the raw and real experience of each place he visits.  Because of this, No Reservations tends to be less about weird food and more about the people of this world; how different we are, and how weirdly the same.  Bourdain’s narration is funny, deep, and often pretty badass…plus?  He can’t stand Rachel Ray. Obviously, the guy knows what’s what in this world.

Taboo (National Geographic Channel): Do you like gross scenarios?  How about watching people do cringe-worthy things to their bodies?  I haven’t been able to get through an episode without closing my eyes at least twice, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t find the whole experience fascinating.  This world is huge, there are people out there who believe and do things you wouldn’t believe…truly, the best part about Taboo is that it’s completely real.  We are freaking weird, and this show celebrates that weirdness.  Isn’t it time you did, too?

Deadliest Catch (Discovery Channel): A documentary series on Alaskan crab fishermen.  It doesn’t sound interesting, but believe me, there’s nothing more interesting than watching these manly dudes take on ice, giant waves, and each other.  If you’re like me and have a thing for guys who look like lumberjacks (or crab fishermen), than this show is the perfect place to look for a potential husband.  Sure, some of the guys are probably legitimately crazy, but that just makes them more fun to dream about (mmm, crazy bearded manimals…)!

John and Kate Plus 8 (TLC): It’s not news that we at CC have a soft spot for this show about a family of twins and sextuplets.  There is just something inherently watchable about the Gosselins.  John and Kate are hilarious in their own ways (she’s kind of neurotic, he seems like he’s asleep half the time), and their kids are not only superbly adorable, but also really, really funny.  You would think that watching episode after episode of tantrums, screeches, and exhausting situations would totally turn anyone against having kids, but I have to say, the more I watch, the more I want some little mini-me’s of my own!  …Just not as many.

Ghost Hunters (SciFi): I’ve been watching Ghost Hunters for about 2 years, and I’m going to continue watching it until the last episode of the last season.  Is the show scary? Not really.  Sometimes they catch  weird sh*t on their tape recorders, and one time they literally caught a ghost on camera (I don’t care what you say, it HAPPENED!, but most of the time it’s just guys sitting in a dark room saying things like “what the frig?!” and “something just moved!”.  But because everyone involved in the show is just so damn real and normal, there’s a ton of strange entertainment value.

What do normal people look like when they’re watching a faucet turn on by itself? (it HAPPENED)  What do normal people do when they think something is chaising them?  Whether you believe in ghosts or not, this show is a funny and interesting look into how many people actually do.

[Any other lesser known shows the public needs to know about?  Spill!!]

(Photo from latimesblogs.latimes.com)

A few days ago, we had a phone meeting. We had our pens and paper out, ready to take detailed notes, but the phone meeting got kind of boring, and no one really wrote anything down. Except this:

Safe to say, we know how to keep it real in the office.

Now that we’re safely into our fall school schedules, fall sweaters, and fall sleeping patterns (staying up too late doing work, waking up too early to go to class), I think its high time to share a few of my favorite televised reasons to push away that term paper.

In no particular order of awesomeness:

• Chuck – Monday nights at 8/7 central, NBC – It’s very rare that a TV show makes me laugh out loud on purpose (I mean…Caveman? That just hilariously awful), but every week that I tune in, Chuck manages to make me chuckle.

The Mild-Mannered-Geek-Turned-Superspy plot allows for lots of explosions and cool fights, but it’s the interpersonal relationships between Chuck and the people around him that make this series truly pop.

Whether he’s stumbling awkwardly around his hot co-spy Sarah, dodging his sister’s (and lovably odd boyfriend’s) questions, or dealing with fellow nerd Morgan, Chuck’s life is never boring—so neither is the show.

Joshua Gomez stands out as the entertainingly awkward Morgan, and Adam Baldwin wins points for making his tough as nails spy John Casey funny when it counts most. As chuck’s sister, Sarah Lancaster is stable and adorable, while Yvonne Starhovski plays hot-spy-masquerading-as-a-wiener-girl Sarah with poise and just enough charm to be likable.

While everyone in the cast carries their own comedic weight, Zachary Levi is definitely a primo reason to watch Chuck in the first place.

As the show’s adorable nerd lead, Levi exudes just the right amount of clumsiness and budding self-esteem, and although it’s hard to believe anyone as yummy looking as him would be considered a geek, Levi plays his “everyman” role with an easy, friendly grace.

Plus, you can totally tell he’s ripped beneath those button-up shirts.

• Ugly Betty – Thursday nights at 8/7 central, ABC – Now in it’s second season, Ugly Betty continues to tackle stereotypes in funny, heartfelt ways. Reveling in minority and gay-centric characters and plotlines, Betty isn’t afraid to be edgy, but also isn’t afraid of trying to touch an audience with some old fashioned goodness.

The ensemble cast is strong, with stand outs Michael Urie as the flamboyant assistant to a fashion director and Mark Indelicato as Betty’s clothes and Broadway loving teenage nephew. Vanessa Williams and Rebecca Romijn are funnier than you’d think, and America Ferrera is quickly establishing herself as one of the best actresses of her generation.

Plus, haven’t you always wanted to know how bitchy things can get in Fashion?

• Ghost Hunters – Wednesday nights, 9/8 central, SciFi – I’ve spoken up for this reality show before, and I’ll keep doing it until I’m disappointed. Every week, the TAPS team, a group of “real” live ghost hunters, sets out to investigate hauntings all over the United States and beyond.

Spending nights in places you’d probably feel weird about being alone in during the daytime, the TAPS team do their best to document paranormal activity with video cameras, tape recorders, and personal experiences.

While they haven’t gone and found solid evidence supporting the existence of ghosties and spirits, every once in a while something pops up on the TV screen that one can explain—not even my hyper-scientific roommate.

If you’re a fan of waiting for inanimate objects to move, footage of people screaming “dude, run!” as they sprint away from something unknown, and creepy recordings of even creepier voices, then Ghost Hunters is definitely your newest favorite shows.

These are just a few of my current Work-Can-Wait obsessions. Know any shows the rest of us should be watching?