Let them eat (hoe) cake!

Now for the REAL night of fun on the Savannah trip...a visit to Paula Deen's restaurant. Of course, I have to build the suspense with a little extra info. I was fortunate enough to be able to see "Lady and Sons" from my hotel room! We didn't get there to eat until Monday night (our 3rd night in town), so I had to look longingly at the restaurant for days before I actually got in there. Here's my view - it's the longer, darker tan building that's a little lower than the others:

Here's also a nice shot of the sign at night - yes, you know I had to get the neon all lit up!


Before the feasting began, we spent a few minutes in the gift shop...we got to see "Paula" for a photo opp and buy some souvenirs...among those, an autographed cookbook.


Stacy & Stacey especially liked the hoe cakes...yes, Stacy, they are called "HOE CAKES" not hoe pies (she's still having trouble remembering that!). For those of you who don't know, hoe cakes are cornbread-type pancakes that are served at Lady and Sons when you are seated. They are most yummy with a little maple syrup - mmmmm!


While our "picky eater" Stacy ordered a salad (what?!?!?), Stacey and I hit the buffet - and we hit it HARD!!! Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, greens, macaroni and cheese, green beans, black-eyed peas, roasted pork (you get the idea...). Here's a picture of ONE of my platefuls of food:


I was very happy to be eating there:


But VERY full when I finally made myself stop! (The gooey butter cake went back to the hotel in a "to go" box. I guess I should confess that I did eat the cake around 3:00 a.m.)

And, of course, we had to document the carnage of the evening...we left very little on most of our plates. The following morning, I actually had a food hangover. Yes, it CAN happen - it is possible to eat so much that you feel like you're slightly ill the next day and in need of a little "hair of the dog" (i.e. more food - ?) just to get your day started. In the end, even I know my limit...but I really did push that limit THAT night and I'm dieting like crazy now!!!


What a great time - and what great food! And for all you Paula fans out there, here's a little saying to remember...

What more is there to say????

Stacy, Stacey...and NOT Stac(e)y!!!

More on the Savannah trip...my travel buddies for the week were Stacy and Stacey, so I really did feel like "Larry" from the TV show "Newhart". (You know, "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother, Darrell, and my other brother, Darrell.") Anyway, we had a great time seeing the sites together. We walked up and down River Road every night, so we had to get someone to take a picture of us together there:

We had fun taking those "touristy" pictures you have to take when you see a board with a hole cut in it...we didn't even eat at this restaurant, but we had fun with board...









































We also visited the candy stores...a few times. Note the excitement as we got to see salt water taffy being made. AND the best part was the free samples! Yummy!!!

Savannah, the Sweetheart of the South

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking a business trip to Savannah, GA. While I've spent time in GA before, I'd never been to Savannah and I can see why it is known as "the Sweetheart of the South." We stayed on River Road, so the picture below was a common sight - these barges came by all day long. A tour guide said the water in the river was only 42' deep and yet these huge barges continued passing through. In case you can't tell how large this is, the cargo it is carrying is tractor-trailers...I'm used to seeing those hitched to semi trucks, not floating by on the river!


Just outside our hotel was this statue. It is a memorial to the perseverance and struggles of the African-American slaves in the south. A poem by Maya Angelou is written on the bottom, which says:

"We were stolen, sold, and bought together from the African continent . We got on the slave ships together. We lay back to belly in the holds of the slave ships in each others excrement and urine together. Sometimes died together and our lifeless bodies thrown overboard together. Today we are standing up together with faith and even some joy."

I was reminded of the priceless beauty of freedom and appreciated this statue for the honor it gave those who deserve it.


Another statue that really got my attention was the "Waving Girl". The story is that of a young girl who watched her "beau" leave on a ship and promised she would wait for his return. She spent the rest of her life daily waving to the ships that came in, hoping her young man would return. But, she never saw him again.

I've always been a sucker for a good love story, but I wasn't too crazy about how this one ended...







Would you believe me if I told you the fountain below was built of parts ordered from a catalog in the 1850's? At least, that's what our tour guide told us...wonder what that would cost today??? The fountain is in Forsyth Park, one of many beautiful parks in the city.


And, because I was in Savannah, I had to get a picture of the Spanish moss hanging from the trees. One interesting fact about this moss...it's full of chiggers, so you DON'T want to touch it!!!




We also took a trolley tour that gave us a taste of the various types of architecture in Savannah. It was very interesting that there were so many different styles of buildings. Here's a Victorian-style home:





And, we also saw many Colonial-style homes. This was called "Rainbow Row", due to the number of different colors on each home. The blue color is called "haint blue" and is commonly seen in doorways of homes around Savannah...it is believed to keep the evil spirits at bay.

That's the extent of my "tour guide" job...I think I'll leave the rest of that work to the professionals! Hope you enjoyed it!!!