We are at "The Lake Wright" Sleep Inn Norfolk.
First I must say, I have been negligent in mentioning this before, Shirleen has become a brilliant navigator. She has found where we are going and where we are staying each and every night. What a help!!!!!!!
We took off from Jackson NC and headed up to New Bern, I remembered a guy from boot camp, a Rutlidge from there. A little later we took the back road Hiway 264 to Roanoke Island to check out the National Park Lost Colony site. We stopped at the visitor center and they asked where we came from we told them we came on 264 and there eyes just opened widely. They were surprised we took the back roads. We found them magically enchanting. A touch of real America, this is what we are trying to accomplish on this road tour – gypsy travels (we are bohemian) or what ever you want to call the travels we are taking.
We grabbed a quick lunch at the “Weeping Radish Restaurant” in Manteo NC on Roanoke Island. It was a Bavarian restaurant with the blue and white squared flags out front. I had a Weissen (Wheat beer), need not go back for another. Shirleen had a brat with kraut and a scoop of potato salad, good brat. I had a chicken schnitzel with spaetzels and a good purple cabbage. The schnitzel was lightly coated ¼ inch thick chicken fried in butter, the spaetzels were of the noodle type. You flatten the stiff flour, egg and water dough and cut the spaetzels with a knife and boil like ours. They were blended with a light gravy. Schmeck’s Gute!
We then went up to the Roanoke sight that was settled around 1584. We walked the grounds and saw the earthen wall and ditch from where the earth was dug with a couple of log post sticking out of the ground, looked like a ill made fortress. That is where they were supposed to of had placed around the living site. It was interesting, I had seen a piece on Discovery about this. This where the first English (England) baby was born, Virginia Dare. Dad always liked that wine, now I know where the name came from. It was a really sweet wine, supposedly like a little lady? The group had come to this sight, had problems with the local Indians, we killed one of their chiefs and they retaliated by killing one of ours. With little food and salt the English wanted the governor to go back to England and get them help. The English were in a war with the Spanish and needed all ships, even the passenger ones. Three years later the governor returned and found no trace of the family and daughter he left. The houses, outbuildings and other things the 50 or so people had there. A mystery that for over 400 years has never had a conclusion to.
In this location there was “The Elizabethan Gardens”. The walkway into the garden was lined with crept myrtles that were pollarded. The brick gate walling into the garden was flanked by flowers and flower pots. Behind the building was a little garden with knot gardens containing blue poppy’s and tulips. The camellias were in full bloom, as we’re now more north. The azaleas are just starting to bloom, they also had a miniature azalea that we had not seen before.
We walked down the paths and found many little nooks that contained statuary. A nice lookout to the Abermarle Sound. There wedding area was all white flowers among beautiful green leaves with a fountain in the center of the area. More knot garden areas with green hedges around tulips and poppies. They also had a live oak of around 400 years old. Just another must see.
Up we traveled through Nags Head, another of those places where the rich and wealthy live. Neat looking place along the intercostals.
We found this motel after another around the circle to get back to where we should be. They suggested “The Aberdeen Barn” for dinner, doubt again ran through my mind. I told Shirleen about it but we decided to try the restaurant at the motel. Well what a mistake, thank goodness we looked at the menu and went to the suggested restaurant. We were seated and Thanked for coming. We had ordered a bottle of Trumpeter Argentinean cabernet wine, nice selection. They had the old bread sticks with a mild cheddar cheese. Shirleen’s 7 oz tenderloin and my Cowboy Delmonico steak were some of the better we have had anywhere. We found this motel after another around the circle to get back to where we should be. They suggested “The Aberdeen Barn” for dinner, doubt again ran through my mind. I told Shirleen about it but we decided to try the restaurant at the motel. Well what a mistake, thank goodness we looked at the menu and went to the suggested restaurant. We were seated and Thanked for coming. We had ordered a bottle of Trumpeter Argentinean cabernet wine, nice selection. They had the old bread sticks with a mild cheddar cheese. Shirleen’s 7 oz tenderloin and my Cowboy Delmonico steak were some of the better we have had anywhere. The manager of the restaurant has been a friend of Twins player Michael Cuddyer. jerr
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
March 30 Friday Day 33 Charleston to Jacksonville NC
We are at a Quality Inn.
The state tree of South Carolina is the palmetto, same as Florida but, there is called a cabbage palm?
We left our motel and went down one block to Rick Hendrick’s Chevrolet. He had a dozen C-6 Vette’s on the lot, we went in and a sales guy ran up. He asked if we were looking for anything, I ask how would we put a trailer hitch on a new Corvette? He grinned and said we’ll figure it out. I said we were NASCAR fans and had been to Daytona a couple days ago and when we pulled in to our motel we saw this dealership. He said hang on I’ll get you a Hendrick plate and license frame, how could I refuse. At that time Shirleen had no idea that Hendrick’s was the owner of the 24 car, Jeff Gordon, now she really liked it. We did a little touring of Charleston, we went down many streets but, gave up on trying to find some of what we had done the day before. Nice town could spend more time but, that would be next time.
We traveled along the coastal roads to see how things are other than on the hustling freeways. For lunch we ate at Damon’s Grill in Myrtle Beach for starters we had two cabernet’s and a ½ loaf of onion rings, Shirleen ordered southern Pulled Pork BBQ and I a Beef Brisket sandwich with horseradish, both with coleslaw and fries.
Away we headed north on 17 and went to Wilmington NC but, the only rooms we found in four motels was smoking rooms. We went to the local county horticultural societies planting area. This was a location that showed how to plant and where to plant the garden flowers and greenery. Down the line from there was the Airlie Gardens. A most beautiful setting. We walked around the tulips that were in full bloom, all kinds but planted in single color masses. We then saw the signature piece a garden designed by a lady whom tended the garden for many years. Minnie Evans put together a concrete and bottle chapel. The walls were punctured by glass bottles, Crown Royal, many beer and wine bottles along with some gallon jugs. One can’t say enough about the beauty of this piece of work. we strolled down to the dock to look out upon the waterway and looked back toward shore and saw the osprey nesting pair. From there we looked at the live oak tree that is thought to be 400 years old.
Away we headed north on 17 and went to Wilmington NC but, the only rooms we found in four motels was smoking rooms. Only 50 miles away was Jacksonville, we found a place at the Quality Inn, lacking on quality. We went to the Outback for dinner. Shirleen had a bowl of onion soup and I two Guinness beers and a hamburger, fried onions, mushrooms and Swiss cheese, I left the bun and fries off my menu. jerr
The state tree of South Carolina is the palmetto, same as Florida but, there is called a cabbage palm?
We left our motel and went down one block to Rick Hendrick’s Chevrolet. He had a dozen C-6 Vette’s on the lot, we went in and a sales guy ran up. He asked if we were looking for anything, I ask how would we put a trailer hitch on a new Corvette? He grinned and said we’ll figure it out. I said we were NASCAR fans and had been to Daytona a couple days ago and when we pulled in to our motel we saw this dealership. He said hang on I’ll get you a Hendrick plate and license frame, how could I refuse. At that time Shirleen had no idea that Hendrick’s was the owner of the 24 car, Jeff Gordon, now she really liked it. We did a little touring of Charleston, we went down many streets but, gave up on trying to find some of what we had done the day before. Nice town could spend more time but, that would be next time.
We traveled along the coastal roads to see how things are other than on the hustling freeways. For lunch we ate at Damon’s Grill in Myrtle Beach for starters we had two cabernet’s and a ½ loaf of onion rings, Shirleen ordered southern Pulled Pork BBQ and I a Beef Brisket sandwich with horseradish, both with coleslaw and fries.
Away we headed north on 17 and went to Wilmington NC but, the only rooms we found in four motels was smoking rooms. We went to the local county horticultural societies planting area. This was a location that showed how to plant and where to plant the garden flowers and greenery. Down the line from there was the Airlie Gardens. A most beautiful setting. We walked around the tulips that were in full bloom, all kinds but planted in single color masses. We then saw the signature piece a garden designed by a lady whom tended the garden for many years. Minnie Evans put together a concrete and bottle chapel. The walls were punctured by glass bottles, Crown Royal, many beer and wine bottles along with some gallon jugs. One can’t say enough about the beauty of this piece of work. we strolled down to the dock to look out upon the waterway and looked back toward shore and saw the osprey nesting pair. From there we looked at the live oak tree that is thought to be 400 years old.
Away we headed north on 17 and went to Wilmington NC but, the only rooms we found in four motels was smoking rooms. Only 50 miles away was Jacksonville, we found a place at the Quality Inn, lacking on quality. We went to the Outback for dinner. Shirleen had a bowl of onion soup and I two Guinness beers and a hamburger, fried onions, mushrooms and Swiss cheese, I left the bun and fries off my menu. jerr
Thursday, March 29, 2007
March 29 Thursday Day 32 Charleston Sleep Inn
We decided to take a tour of Charleston today. To be picked up at 9:20 well he was early and I was ¾ through the blog writ-up and had to quit right then. I write it in Word and transfer to the blog later.
We had a very comprehensive tour of the small historic and closely aligned areas. Again the flowering azalea’s are at there peak. The metal work is all over, gates, fences, window guards and ornamentation. Much hand forged metal items are being done by a man who is 96 years old. He now only lays out the material and others do the forging. We learned much about the civil war and the generals who participated. We were looking at some of the old houses and the guide pointed out that the side porch was called a piazza and the front porch the porch. this came from the British housing. Also the closeness of the house and in some case there were two houses one behind the street house. There was a house with a house number of 40 and on a gate next to it was a 40 1/2. That house wa behind.
We were looking at a very fashionable house by the bay, roughly 6.5 million, that had a cannon on the middle of the third floor. No, not put there, it was fired from three streets down. They had only placed gunpowder into the barrel and lite the fuse with no cannon ball in the barrel. The cannon flew the three blocks down into the third floor. Off that same bay we spotted two dolphins sauntering off the sea wall.
There is an intersection called "the four corners of law" hosting buildings from each level of government: the courthouse (state law), City Hall (municipal law), the Federal Building and U.S. Post Office (federal law), and Saint Michael's Episcopal Church (canon law). We saw the first fire protection for housing. On the center of the front there was an emblem. When smoke was seen in the air the fire trucks from the different fire protection would race to the fire. If the first truck saw it was not one of there houses they would just turn around and go back to there firehouse. The beginning of insurance. As we went through the city he asked the question; what is the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery? A graveyard is next to a church and a cemetery is away from the church. He also mentioned that they call themselves the “Holy City” and that’s because it has over 100 churches.
We then grabbed a quick wine and split a fish sandwich at TBonz Restaurant. Do not waste your time on their food. Thin slice of fish and small on top of that.
Off to our Magnolia Plantation and Gardens tour. On the way out there our guide who is southern gave the following slave description. The average cost of a slave was 1,250$ each. He then said that they would buy the slaves for there ability to work, either strength, knowledge of rice growing or some other skill. With the cost of a slave being so high, he asked the question, why would the owner treat the slave like we see in Hollywood movies? It sound to me that they are still trying to rationalize the use of slavery. He made it sound so real many never twitched a muscle, it took me a while to think through his summary.
The Plantation has nearly 500 acres of garden acres, flowering peach, camellias, and the full blossomed azaleas. We walked through the garden, picturesque foot bridges and the plantation house itself. The house is theorized to be the third one, two previous houses had burned down. This structure was covered with a phosphate mud, different than I would have guessed. We walked through the gardens down narrow winding paths with many colorful trees. The plantation had been in the hands of the first family for nine generations. We had a tram ride through the other parts of the plantation. We saw the old rice growing paddies. Rice was the most important and largest cash crop in Charleston, next being indigo plants – used as a blue dye for English soldiers uniforms and later blue jeans. With cotton being the next most cash crop. The rice crop was devastated in 1911 by a large hurricane. The hurricane caused salt water to get into the rice paddies and rice does not grow in brackish water. Brackish water is neither fresh nor salt water it is a blend.
A lady of slave background with a last name of a plantation owner as slaves had no surname and took the owners name. she was making sweet grass basketry, the middle is made of pine needles from the large needle pines, then sweet grass cord and a brown swamp grass cord and the individual cords were bound with pieces of palm leaves.
There was an old 1825 slave cabin. It was approximately 16 feet long and 10 feet in width. In the middle was a dividing wall, as two families lived there. In the rafters was a boarded area of 6 by 4 foot. This was the sleeping quarters, not sure how that worked? Nailed on the wall was a dried rat skin it was each slave’s duty to catch six rats a day so that they would not eat the rice. It turned out that rats were part of the slaves diet. Two fireplaces were in the center, one on each side of the wall. It was a superstition that if the fire went out that bad things would happen, therefore someone always guarded the fire. The house was painted green and this was supposed to keep the evil spirits out of the house. This house was close to the plantation house and would have housed very important slaves. Further out in the rice paddy area there were smaller houses with two doors on them implying two families in them? It was said that the slaves who cared for the rice slept in lean-tos. I again wonder if these slaves cost as much as the average?
We had tour of the house, fun to look at but, all but one room had period furniture and no one had lived in the house with that furniture.
Back to the hotel, and get ready for dinner. We had heard a number of times how good the food at “Magnolias” was. I called for reservations and found the place in ten minutes without getting lost. Shirleen had a Amavi Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State and I BigFire pinot noir. To start the meal we started with an appetizer, first one in a long time. We ordered homemade potato chips with crumbled blue cheese and scallions both of us loved this dish. The cheese was much like stilton cheese. The cheese was local from Clemson, therefore Clemson blue cheese. Shirleen ordered Dressed Rainbow Trout with crab and artichoke stuffing, scalloped potatoes and sautéed asparagus and I the Shellfish over Grits sautéed shrimp, sea scallops and lobster over creamy white grits with a lobster butter sauce and fried spinach. Both were good, Shirleen’s was the best, the stuffing was tasty and the fish done to a nice moist doneness, the scalloped potatoes the best, super thinly sliced and a flavorful and tasty sauce, baked to a crispy outside and moist inside. Not that I would not order mine again, the dish is their signature dish, I found the lobster – I think a rock lobster was tough, small shrimp but good sea scallops.
Now it is light out and we stopped at the Poogen’s porch for their business card which turned out to be on the street we exited from Magnolia’s parking lot. From there it was easy a left then a right and out to the motel. Well not quite, after missing the hiway 17 sign last night this evening we took the turn to soon and ended up somewhere. After a short time being lost I stopped at a gas station. I was in line and the guy behind me said how’s your night going? I said not to well, he said what’s wrong? I said I was lost and trying to find hiway 17, he said, follow me were going that way, I said sounds good to me. Thank god that I didn’t care that he was black and he drove a Dodge ram truck. We followed him back to the area we first turned around at and onward we went and back to 17, I blinked me lights bright twice and off he went. Trust given is trust returned.
Yesterday we saw that Beaufort was one of the wealthiest towns before the civil war. They had converted from growing indigo to becoming cotton growers. There cotton had long threads and easily separated cotton from the hull. This cotton was worth 60 times regular cotton and approached the fine quality of English cotton. jerr
We had a very comprehensive tour of the small historic and closely aligned areas. Again the flowering azalea’s are at there peak. The metal work is all over, gates, fences, window guards and ornamentation. Much hand forged metal items are being done by a man who is 96 years old. He now only lays out the material and others do the forging. We learned much about the civil war and the generals who participated. We were looking at some of the old houses and the guide pointed out that the side porch was called a piazza and the front porch the porch. this came from the British housing. Also the closeness of the house and in some case there were two houses one behind the street house. There was a house with a house number of 40 and on a gate next to it was a 40 1/2. That house wa behind.
We were looking at a very fashionable house by the bay, roughly 6.5 million, that had a cannon on the middle of the third floor. No, not put there, it was fired from three streets down. They had only placed gunpowder into the barrel and lite the fuse with no cannon ball in the barrel. The cannon flew the three blocks down into the third floor. Off that same bay we spotted two dolphins sauntering off the sea wall.
There is an intersection called "the four corners of law" hosting buildings from each level of government: the courthouse (state law), City Hall (municipal law), the Federal Building and U.S. Post Office (federal law), and Saint Michael's Episcopal Church (canon law). We saw the first fire protection for housing. On the center of the front there was an emblem. When smoke was seen in the air the fire trucks from the different fire protection would race to the fire. If the first truck saw it was not one of there houses they would just turn around and go back to there firehouse. The beginning of insurance. As we went through the city he asked the question; what is the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery? A graveyard is next to a church and a cemetery is away from the church. He also mentioned that they call themselves the “Holy City” and that’s because it has over 100 churches.
We then grabbed a quick wine and split a fish sandwich at TBonz Restaurant. Do not waste your time on their food. Thin slice of fish and small on top of that.
Off to our Magnolia Plantation and Gardens tour. On the way out there our guide who is southern gave the following slave description. The average cost of a slave was 1,250$ each. He then said that they would buy the slaves for there ability to work, either strength, knowledge of rice growing or some other skill. With the cost of a slave being so high, he asked the question, why would the owner treat the slave like we see in Hollywood movies? It sound to me that they are still trying to rationalize the use of slavery. He made it sound so real many never twitched a muscle, it took me a while to think through his summary.
The Plantation has nearly 500 acres of garden acres, flowering peach, camellias, and the full blossomed azaleas. We walked through the garden, picturesque foot bridges and the plantation house itself. The house is theorized to be the third one, two previous houses had burned down. This structure was covered with a phosphate mud, different than I would have guessed. We walked through the gardens down narrow winding paths with many colorful trees. The plantation had been in the hands of the first family for nine generations. We had a tram ride through the other parts of the plantation. We saw the old rice growing paddies. Rice was the most important and largest cash crop in Charleston, next being indigo plants – used as a blue dye for English soldiers uniforms and later blue jeans. With cotton being the next most cash crop. The rice crop was devastated in 1911 by a large hurricane. The hurricane caused salt water to get into the rice paddies and rice does not grow in brackish water. Brackish water is neither fresh nor salt water it is a blend.
A lady of slave background with a last name of a plantation owner as slaves had no surname and took the owners name. she was making sweet grass basketry, the middle is made of pine needles from the large needle pines, then sweet grass cord and a brown swamp grass cord and the individual cords were bound with pieces of palm leaves.
There was an old 1825 slave cabin. It was approximately 16 feet long and 10 feet in width. In the middle was a dividing wall, as two families lived there. In the rafters was a boarded area of 6 by 4 foot. This was the sleeping quarters, not sure how that worked? Nailed on the wall was a dried rat skin it was each slave’s duty to catch six rats a day so that they would not eat the rice. It turned out that rats were part of the slaves diet. Two fireplaces were in the center, one on each side of the wall. It was a superstition that if the fire went out that bad things would happen, therefore someone always guarded the fire. The house was painted green and this was supposed to keep the evil spirits out of the house. This house was close to the plantation house and would have housed very important slaves. Further out in the rice paddy area there were smaller houses with two doors on them implying two families in them? It was said that the slaves who cared for the rice slept in lean-tos. I again wonder if these slaves cost as much as the average?
We had tour of the house, fun to look at but, all but one room had period furniture and no one had lived in the house with that furniture.
Back to the hotel, and get ready for dinner. We had heard a number of times how good the food at “Magnolias” was. I called for reservations and found the place in ten minutes without getting lost. Shirleen had a Amavi Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State and I BigFire pinot noir. To start the meal we started with an appetizer, first one in a long time. We ordered homemade potato chips with crumbled blue cheese and scallions both of us loved this dish. The cheese was much like stilton cheese. The cheese was local from Clemson, therefore Clemson blue cheese. Shirleen ordered Dressed Rainbow Trout with crab and artichoke stuffing, scalloped potatoes and sautéed asparagus and I the Shellfish over Grits sautéed shrimp, sea scallops and lobster over creamy white grits with a lobster butter sauce and fried spinach. Both were good, Shirleen’s was the best, the stuffing was tasty and the fish done to a nice moist doneness, the scalloped potatoes the best, super thinly sliced and a flavorful and tasty sauce, baked to a crispy outside and moist inside. Not that I would not order mine again, the dish is their signature dish, I found the lobster – I think a rock lobster was tough, small shrimp but good sea scallops.
Now it is light out and we stopped at the Poogen’s porch for their business card which turned out to be on the street we exited from Magnolia’s parking lot. From there it was easy a left then a right and out to the motel. Well not quite, after missing the hiway 17 sign last night this evening we took the turn to soon and ended up somewhere. After a short time being lost I stopped at a gas station. I was in line and the guy behind me said how’s your night going? I said not to well, he said what’s wrong? I said I was lost and trying to find hiway 17, he said, follow me were going that way, I said sounds good to me. Thank god that I didn’t care that he was black and he drove a Dodge ram truck. We followed him back to the area we first turned around at and onward we went and back to 17, I blinked me lights bright twice and off he went. Trust given is trust returned.
Yesterday we saw that Beaufort was one of the wealthiest towns before the civil war. They had converted from growing indigo to becoming cotton growers. There cotton had long threads and easily separated cotton from the hull. This cotton was worth 60 times regular cotton and approached the fine quality of English cotton. jerr
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
March 28 Wednesday Day 31 Charleston Sleep Inn
Well like I said, if we find something to do in Beaufort we would stay. We did find a nice tour of the old houses and second oldest church in the country.
More to come - jerr
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Well like I said, if we find something to do in Beaufort we would stay. We did find a nice tour of the old houses and second oldest church in the country. The azalea’s were in full bloom here and we found out that the mis-reported lilac is a wisteria of SC not Chinese or Japanese wisteria. The many homes of the civil war time that are still standing is said to be because of the north not burning these homes but used as hospitals, especially the large homes. Others large homes were used by the officers; they always get the good stuff. I think that’s because if you put the officers in confined spaces like the enlisted live in they could not exist. It is different the way they interchange between Union and federal soldiers. I will have to research this later. Some of the homes had had a family with 14 children and a hundred slaves. An interesting tid bit was the whistling path. This is the path between the kitchen which was 15 feet from the house. The servants were to whistle as they brought the food to the family so they knew that they were not eating the food. My thought was they could have eaten it before they brought it?? It was said that they would also carry hot corn meal biscuits in there pockets and toss them to the dogs along the way. That’s where the hush puppy came from. I must say the streets in these parts of town are small; two cars can pass, as long as one is parked. There are no sidewalks usually just a small dirt path. The trees are right alongside the road; one had a sign on it, 12 feet to here. Heavy undergrowth of trees, vines and azalea’s, but quaint.
We were going along the coastal area and the tide was out. The guide said that the mud we could see was plough (pronounced - flew). The mud being high in nutrients compared to the sand of the area was hauled up to the gardens by the slave. A thought struck me, our forefathers had to break the virgin soil when they got here in the early 1850’s. we did our own work.
It was again a town that has had many movie shots taken there. There was a Forrest Gump shot of him looking over the Mississippi river when in fact it was the intercostals of Beaufort. Barbara Streisand rented a house for a month and that money put the family’s four children through college must have been a bundle.
Catch a bite to eat and off to Charleston. We had heard bout a little Italian place with good eating’s “Panini’s”. after a glass of cabernet we eat a thin crust brick oven style pizza in an elongated form. There shirts said anyone can make a round pizza try ours. It was a garlic base with tomatoes and pepperoni and I had a side of sausage. Apparently they thought it we had waited to long for our food and they asked if we wanted some soup or salad? I took a cold tomato soup, not bad but I like warmed better.
We decided to stay on the south side of Charleston, turns out to be minutes away from historic downtown. Also next to the Rick Hendrick’s Chevrolet. Owner Hendrick Motorsports Fields Race Teams in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series with Drivers Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears, Jimmie Johnson.
We did the wash, that blew an hour and a half. Thank goodness they had commercial sizes. We had heard about a place to eat in historic downtown. Poogan’s Porch Restaurant. I called for reservations and could get in at 8. We left right away as we don’t know downtown it was 7:05. At 7:55 I called them and asked for directions. It turned out the street we were on was Queens St after I crossed the next intersection, although there was no street sign and it looked like an alley. I followed his directions and saw the parking garage he directed me to go to. I saw this parking spot, on my left. That is a different direction to parallel park from. Well with a car waiting behind me I pulled off a 10, once in backward and half frontward there I was. We got out on this semi dark street I looked across the street at this old house that had extra lights on and there it was Poogan’s Porch. It turned out the name came from the dog that is buried in the front yard with his buddy cat. The owner had died and the dog would not leave and also died there. As we waited Shirleen had time to read about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward eating here. I asked the waiter if we could be seated on the porch as this was the only night we were in town, Well she would never know the difference. she sat us on the second floor porch what a romantic moment we had. We had a cabernet and merlot/Cabernet blend from Bordeaux. The biscuits were fresh baked and the spread was honey butter. Shirleen ordered Plantation Fried Chicken a piece of breast stuffed with white cheddar cheese, pesto & country ham with buttermilk whipped potatoes and string beans. I had Shrimp & Grits, tri-colored peppers, Vidalia onions, Cajun sausage, tasso & blue crab gravy. One wonders about grits, well they were a ground corn meal slowly cooked over the day, and were firm, not the wet I am used to. I would eat there anytime! - jerr
More to come - jerr
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Well like I said, if we find something to do in Beaufort we would stay. We did find a nice tour of the old houses and second oldest church in the country. The azalea’s were in full bloom here and we found out that the mis-reported lilac is a wisteria of SC not Chinese or Japanese wisteria. The many homes of the civil war time that are still standing is said to be because of the north not burning these homes but used as hospitals, especially the large homes. Others large homes were used by the officers; they always get the good stuff. I think that’s because if you put the officers in confined spaces like the enlisted live in they could not exist. It is different the way they interchange between Union and federal soldiers. I will have to research this later. Some of the homes had had a family with 14 children and a hundred slaves. An interesting tid bit was the whistling path. This is the path between the kitchen which was 15 feet from the house. The servants were to whistle as they brought the food to the family so they knew that they were not eating the food. My thought was they could have eaten it before they brought it?? It was said that they would also carry hot corn meal biscuits in there pockets and toss them to the dogs along the way. That’s where the hush puppy came from. I must say the streets in these parts of town are small; two cars can pass, as long as one is parked. There are no sidewalks usually just a small dirt path. The trees are right alongside the road; one had a sign on it, 12 feet to here. Heavy undergrowth of trees, vines and azalea’s, but quaint.
We were going along the coastal area and the tide was out. The guide said that the mud we could see was plough (pronounced - flew). The mud being high in nutrients compared to the sand of the area was hauled up to the gardens by the slave. A thought struck me, our forefathers had to break the virgin soil when they got here in the early 1850’s. we did our own work.
It was again a town that has had many movie shots taken there. There was a Forrest Gump shot of him looking over the Mississippi river when in fact it was the intercostals of Beaufort. Barbara Streisand rented a house for a month and that money put the family’s four children through college must have been a bundle.
Catch a bite to eat and off to Charleston. We had heard bout a little Italian place with good eating’s “Panini’s”. after a glass of cabernet we eat a thin crust brick oven style pizza in an elongated form. There shirts said anyone can make a round pizza try ours. It was a garlic base with tomatoes and pepperoni and I had a side of sausage. Apparently they thought it we had waited to long for our food and they asked if we wanted some soup or salad? I took a cold tomato soup, not bad but I like warmed better.
We decided to stay on the south side of Charleston, turns out to be minutes away from historic downtown. Also next to the Rick Hendrick’s Chevrolet. Owner Hendrick Motorsports Fields Race Teams in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series with Drivers Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears, Jimmie Johnson.
We did the wash, that blew an hour and a half. Thank goodness they had commercial sizes. We had heard about a place to eat in historic downtown. Poogan’s Porch Restaurant. I called for reservations and could get in at 8. We left right away as we don’t know downtown it was 7:05. At 7:55 I called them and asked for directions. It turned out the street we were on was Queens St after I crossed the next intersection, although there was no street sign and it looked like an alley. I followed his directions and saw the parking garage he directed me to go to. I saw this parking spot, on my left. That is a different direction to parallel park from. Well with a car waiting behind me I pulled off a 10, once in backward and half frontward there I was. We got out on this semi dark street I looked across the street at this old house that had extra lights on and there it was Poogan’s Porch. It turned out the name came from the dog that is buried in the front yard with his buddy cat. The owner had died and the dog would not leave and also died there. As we waited Shirleen had time to read about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward eating here. I asked the waiter if we could be seated on the porch as this was the only night we were in town, Well she would never know the difference. she sat us on the second floor porch what a romantic moment we had. We had a cabernet and merlot/Cabernet blend from Bordeaux. The biscuits were fresh baked and the spread was honey butter. Shirleen ordered Plantation Fried Chicken a piece of breast stuffed with white cheddar cheese, pesto & country ham with buttermilk whipped potatoes and string beans. I had Shrimp & Grits, tri-colored peppers, Vidalia onions, Cajun sausage, tasso & blue crab gravy. One wonders about grits, well they were a ground corn meal slowly cooked over the day, and were firm, not the wet I am used to. I would eat there anytime! - jerr
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
March 27 Tuesday Day 30 Beaufort SC Sleep Inn
When I was talking about the cars a couple days ago I forgot to mention a ’31 DeSoto convertible. A rare find.
We went back into Hilton Head. Many azalea’s in full bloom throughout the Island. Many pine trees, a surprise to me, but still some palm trees and shrubs. Moss on many live Oak trees we saw. In order to go to the lighthouse side of the island, we had to pay 5$. A cheapie like me that hurts. There are many homes and villas tucked away along the road. We wandered through the stores and saw many nice items. I knew we were just a shirt away from leaving the stores. Before we climbed the tower we ate a small lunch at The Sea Pines Resort Quarterdeck Topside Restaurant, outside of course. We started with a Sycamore cabernet each a fine tasting wine. Shirleen with a BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich with chips and I a bowl of Sherry Crab Bisque.
We then went to the tower and climber all 114 steps, 65 feet high. I looked down the center and though this is a place I need not be. Although like I told Shirleen, I had to make free ascent escapes from a 100 foot tower, two different times. The first a free ascent the second with a Steinke hood. This was a nice bird’s eye view of the different islands. The one straight ahead of us was Daufuskie Island a sizable population of Gullah inhabitants from the end of the Civil War until very recently. Gullah are the descendants of freed slaves. The harbor had a majestic live Oak, a Teak and mahogany old time boat and some gigantic cruisers. We also found that shirt.
We then drove back through some out of the way streets to look at the local color. I for one like the more tropical Florida settings. I can see how people who come down here from the north during the cool weather appreciate the climate, look and golf courses.
Mid afternoon we started off to Beaufort SC, a artistic community with an ongoing display. It was only 30 miles or so. It is a little town with a historic seaside type front street. There were 13 stores, the parking was all metered. We found one with 22 minutes on it and started the run through the stores. The first store had the sweet grass baskets we were looking for but, Jerry said lets look at some of the other stores before we buy here. Down the street we went, lots of acrylic, water color and painted pictures of scenery, homes, flowers, trees with moss, birds. There was a lot of pottery, 75$ for one of your leaves Michelle, they did not have the color on the back like you do. We came to the fourth store and there were more baskets. I looked at the regular ones and pricing was similar to the first store. Ah ha, I founds some smaller ones, maybe more my pricing, nope these were 200$ and probably rightly so as they were no more that 1.5 inches long and ¾ inch high. A lot more effort went into the making. Down the street and a quick in and out of the stores because of the meter, we had no change. Well when we went back to the car I noticed the car behind us left and the meter had 42 minutes on it. You guessed it, my Bohemian kinship stepped in, I backed up the car to the other meter. We went in and found ths basket that fit our needs, a nice example of African American art, I think that is politically correct?
Enough of this town and off we went to find a room. We thought we would try and use some of the Hampton Inn points, well they were full. Next, Country Inn and Suites, I needed my card – probably in MN somewhere r a printed confirmation. This did not set well and I told them that there is no reason for me to stay at any of theirs again. Time for dindin.
We had found a nice looking and as the lady behind the chamber counter said, it is fine dining. I asked if I was properly dressed, she said now a-days it is acceptable. Even though many of the people who were there were dressed with my normal blue sport coat when we travel abroad. We ate at The Beaufort Inn – Veranda restaurant. Starting with a glass of Sterling cabernet Reserve each 11$, later I had a Lois Latour chardonnay 8$. We then shared a Cab Cake with a black eyed bean, small half tomatoes, collard greens and sauce accompanied with fresh buns with a butter blend with crushed pecan and black strap molasses. Our main meal was a split, it was a special with two six ounce lobster tails on a corn and red pepper hoe cake with a fine white sauce and three pieces of grilled asparagus. They plated both meals separately and only up charged 2$.
Of to beddie bye, we were going to go another 35 miles or so but said lets stop her in Beaufort. Tomorrow I think we are headed to Charleston unless we find something else here in town to do. Jerr - Got Joe's letter out this morn.
We went back into Hilton Head. Many azalea’s in full bloom throughout the Island. Many pine trees, a surprise to me, but still some palm trees and shrubs. Moss on many live Oak trees we saw. In order to go to the lighthouse side of the island, we had to pay 5$. A cheapie like me that hurts. There are many homes and villas tucked away along the road. We wandered through the stores and saw many nice items. I knew we were just a shirt away from leaving the stores. Before we climbed the tower we ate a small lunch at The Sea Pines Resort Quarterdeck Topside Restaurant, outside of course. We started with a Sycamore cabernet each a fine tasting wine. Shirleen with a BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich with chips and I a bowl of Sherry Crab Bisque.
We then went to the tower and climber all 114 steps, 65 feet high. I looked down the center and though this is a place I need not be. Although like I told Shirleen, I had to make free ascent escapes from a 100 foot tower, two different times. The first a free ascent the second with a Steinke hood. This was a nice bird’s eye view of the different islands. The one straight ahead of us was Daufuskie Island a sizable population of Gullah inhabitants from the end of the Civil War until very recently. Gullah are the descendants of freed slaves. The harbor had a majestic live Oak, a Teak and mahogany old time boat and some gigantic cruisers. We also found that shirt.
We then drove back through some out of the way streets to look at the local color. I for one like the more tropical Florida settings. I can see how people who come down here from the north during the cool weather appreciate the climate, look and golf courses.
Mid afternoon we started off to Beaufort SC, a artistic community with an ongoing display. It was only 30 miles or so. It is a little town with a historic seaside type front street. There were 13 stores, the parking was all metered. We found one with 22 minutes on it and started the run through the stores. The first store had the sweet grass baskets we were looking for but, Jerry said lets look at some of the other stores before we buy here. Down the street we went, lots of acrylic, water color and painted pictures of scenery, homes, flowers, trees with moss, birds. There was a lot of pottery, 75$ for one of your leaves Michelle, they did not have the color on the back like you do. We came to the fourth store and there were more baskets. I looked at the regular ones and pricing was similar to the first store. Ah ha, I founds some smaller ones, maybe more my pricing, nope these were 200$ and probably rightly so as they were no more that 1.5 inches long and ¾ inch high. A lot more effort went into the making. Down the street and a quick in and out of the stores because of the meter, we had no change. Well when we went back to the car I noticed the car behind us left and the meter had 42 minutes on it. You guessed it, my Bohemian kinship stepped in, I backed up the car to the other meter. We went in and found ths basket that fit our needs, a nice example of African American art, I think that is politically correct?
Enough of this town and off we went to find a room. We thought we would try and use some of the Hampton Inn points, well they were full. Next, Country Inn and Suites, I needed my card – probably in MN somewhere r a printed confirmation. This did not set well and I told them that there is no reason for me to stay at any of theirs again. Time for dindin.
We had found a nice looking and as the lady behind the chamber counter said, it is fine dining. I asked if I was properly dressed, she said now a-days it is acceptable. Even though many of the people who were there were dressed with my normal blue sport coat when we travel abroad. We ate at The Beaufort Inn – Veranda restaurant. Starting with a glass of Sterling cabernet Reserve each 11$, later I had a Lois Latour chardonnay 8$. We then shared a Cab Cake with a black eyed bean, small half tomatoes, collard greens and sauce accompanied with fresh buns with a butter blend with crushed pecan and black strap molasses. Our main meal was a split, it was a special with two six ounce lobster tails on a corn and red pepper hoe cake with a fine white sauce and three pieces of grilled asparagus. They plated both meals separately and only up charged 2$.
Of to beddie bye, we were going to go another 35 miles or so but said lets stop her in Beaufort. Tomorrow I think we are headed to Charleston unless we find something else here in town to do. Jerr - Got Joe's letter out this morn.
Monday, March 26, 2007
March 26 Monday Day 29 nite in Bluffton by Hilton Head Island
Today we pick up where we left off yesterday, only today we go by tour trolley. We again used Old Town Trolley, they do a number of large town tours. Last year we used them in San Diego, this year Key West, St. Augustine and now Savannah, next Washington DC. We find this agency to do a good job.
As we got on and became settled into our seats, the driver asked where everyone was from. After everyone tried to outdo the others I said Mankato. He said hey I like that city and the Dunkin Donuts. He said when he was going to the seminary in Sioux Falls that he would speed over to Mankato pickup donuts and go back speedily. I mentioned that the owner lives next door and I would pass on the message.
We traveled the whole route and then got off at and grabbed the trolley at one of the first stops to get us where we wanted to go. Again the white, pink and red azalea’s; the yellow daffodil’s and multi-colored pansies dotted the landscape. A new flower was spotted, a purple viney lilac used in arch ways and on fencing. We also found out that the amount of iron, pronounced - arn, fencing and house decoration such as alongside the windows determined your wealth. We then went through the artsy area, a number of galleries, many nice pictures of moss covered oak limbs along row houses, or elegant two and three level luxury old homes. Others pull in the palm and sea setting with a egret or so in the picture. Mary tune in test to follow, the first artist had three paintings around her easel. The one on the floor was sold, the one on the easel was not, but a couple wanted to buy it and she said it was not yet done, they indicated they would buy it whe she was done. That prompted my question to her and Mary? How do you determine when a painting (or art piece) is done?? The picture on her easel was a large floral garden in the lower left quarter of the panel, she then had a tree over it in the background and an open upper right half. Even though the next element was not in the original she then put an old two story federal type home in that area partially covered by the garden and tree. It was not yet done because she needed to tone down the house color and needed something in the upper right corner. Unknown at this time. She in essence said I just get the feeling. Upstairs another artist was asked this question. He said he judged it complete when he thought it was ready to hang in his house.
We walked around the area and grabbed the trolley to exit close to our lunch spot. On the way we passed a number of spots where notable films had been spotlighted. Forrest Gump’s bench in the park, Julia Roberts looking through the window of “The Six Pence” restaurant where her husband was stepping out on her. A number of others but surprisingly I remembered these even though I know I have not seen either.
We arrived at our lunch spot, the end of a long line. The guy in front of us came back from the check in and was told 45 minutes to an hour. It was “the Wilkes House”, another family style well known eating spot. The owner had died three years ago and the guy next to us said it was one of the biggest funerals in town. On the first seating, 16 people to a table, she would have her husband say a prayer. Not sure if they do, we were not the first seating, we waited 60 minutes. People in front of us from Edina, behind us Ohio. There were so many bowls you could not taste or find a place to put the food on your plate. One guy counted 17 vegetables, all the southern ones, potatoes au-gratin, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, now the meats, beef stew, BBQ pork slices done just right and of course her southern fried chicken. This chicken was lightly coated with flour and again I passed up the dessert – banana pudding for more chicken. The biscuts were really good and flakey, Not bad for 15$ even, to drink they only had sweet or unsweetened ice tea. This is another place I had seen on Food Network but had forgotten about it until the tour driver mentioned it.
We went through a catholic church that had its windows made in Austria and the stations of the cross hand carved in Germany. They asked for donations as it cost them 600$ a day to run the church. Made me wonder how much the guy that had had his funeral that morning had to pay, almost like the government.
We hopped the trolley and went through the areas we had seen before but easier than walking that distance.
Our next location to visit wa about twenty miles onto the intercoastal area again, Tybee Island, home of the largest lighthouse and miles upon miles of white sand beaches. On our way back we could not resist stopping at Paula’s brother Bubba’s restaurant. We stopped at Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House, said to be one of the best for seafood. They did have a couple of Paula’s recipes, the chicken would take 25 minutes to prepare. Seeing we had just basically got off the table we grabbed a cabernet and an order of crab balls wit a smooth not spicy tarter sauce.
Off to Hilton Head we go. Not sure what’s there but we will find out and let you know. Anyone know where to eat their? We already got a heads up for Charleston – the Flight Deck. jerr
As we got on and became settled into our seats, the driver asked where everyone was from. After everyone tried to outdo the others I said Mankato. He said hey I like that city and the Dunkin Donuts. He said when he was going to the seminary in Sioux Falls that he would speed over to Mankato pickup donuts and go back speedily. I mentioned that the owner lives next door and I would pass on the message.
We traveled the whole route and then got off at and grabbed the trolley at one of the first stops to get us where we wanted to go. Again the white, pink and red azalea’s; the yellow daffodil’s and multi-colored pansies dotted the landscape. A new flower was spotted, a purple viney lilac used in arch ways and on fencing. We also found out that the amount of iron, pronounced - arn, fencing and house decoration such as alongside the windows determined your wealth. We then went through the artsy area, a number of galleries, many nice pictures of moss covered oak limbs along row houses, or elegant two and three level luxury old homes. Others pull in the palm and sea setting with a egret or so in the picture. Mary tune in test to follow, the first artist had three paintings around her easel. The one on the floor was sold, the one on the easel was not, but a couple wanted to buy it and she said it was not yet done, they indicated they would buy it whe she was done. That prompted my question to her and Mary? How do you determine when a painting (or art piece) is done?? The picture on her easel was a large floral garden in the lower left quarter of the panel, she then had a tree over it in the background and an open upper right half. Even though the next element was not in the original she then put an old two story federal type home in that area partially covered by the garden and tree. It was not yet done because she needed to tone down the house color and needed something in the upper right corner. Unknown at this time. She in essence said I just get the feeling. Upstairs another artist was asked this question. He said he judged it complete when he thought it was ready to hang in his house.
We walked around the area and grabbed the trolley to exit close to our lunch spot. On the way we passed a number of spots where notable films had been spotlighted. Forrest Gump’s bench in the park, Julia Roberts looking through the window of “The Six Pence” restaurant where her husband was stepping out on her. A number of others but surprisingly I remembered these even though I know I have not seen either.
We arrived at our lunch spot, the end of a long line. The guy in front of us came back from the check in and was told 45 minutes to an hour. It was “the Wilkes House”, another family style well known eating spot. The owner had died three years ago and the guy next to us said it was one of the biggest funerals in town. On the first seating, 16 people to a table, she would have her husband say a prayer. Not sure if they do, we were not the first seating, we waited 60 minutes. People in front of us from Edina, behind us Ohio. There were so many bowls you could not taste or find a place to put the food on your plate. One guy counted 17 vegetables, all the southern ones, potatoes au-gratin, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, now the meats, beef stew, BBQ pork slices done just right and of course her southern fried chicken. This chicken was lightly coated with flour and again I passed up the dessert – banana pudding for more chicken. The biscuts were really good and flakey, Not bad for 15$ even, to drink they only had sweet or unsweetened ice tea. This is another place I had seen on Food Network but had forgotten about it until the tour driver mentioned it.
We went through a catholic church that had its windows made in Austria and the stations of the cross hand carved in Germany. They asked for donations as it cost them 600$ a day to run the church. Made me wonder how much the guy that had had his funeral that morning had to pay, almost like the government.
We hopped the trolley and went through the areas we had seen before but easier than walking that distance.
Our next location to visit wa about twenty miles onto the intercoastal area again, Tybee Island, home of the largest lighthouse and miles upon miles of white sand beaches. On our way back we could not resist stopping at Paula’s brother Bubba’s restaurant. We stopped at Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House, said to be one of the best for seafood. They did have a couple of Paula’s recipes, the chicken would take 25 minutes to prepare. Seeing we had just basically got off the table we grabbed a cabernet and an order of crab balls wit a smooth not spicy tarter sauce.
Off to Hilton Head we go. Not sure what’s there but we will find out and let you know. Anyone know where to eat their? We already got a heads up for Charleston – the Flight Deck. jerr
Sunday, March 25, 2007
March 25 Saturday Day 28 in Savannah tonight
Happy Birthday Uncle Pat.
This morning we headed back to Savannah for a fun packed full day. We had seen that there was the 72nd Savannah Garden and Home Tour. We found the sight on-line and got the pertinent information. Now we had an hour to kill and we walked down around the historic district river street. I almost forgot , I wore my yellow Chihuly T-shirt today. One guy hollered Chihuly as we passed, neat her said. We picked up a chicken salad sandwich on one of the sidewalk cafes. The tour had a bus take us to one of Savannah's most beautiful historic neighborhoods - Ardsley Park. The tour allows us to visit one of Savannah's other Historic Districts. The wonderful little hamlet, located approximately three miles from downtown Savannah, was the city's first automobile suburb built in the 1900's. Ardsley Park is rich in history and embraces grand homes and lush gardens replete with huge, century old oaks and magnolias. We met a couple from Sheboygan WI and toured with them. The bus took us there but then the long and sweltering hot walk was by placing one foot before the other for three hours. The homes go without saying, for the rich and the famous. The richly decorated homes, with art specially painted for the owner, hand built ceiling moldings. Paintings from places these people had been from Europe and the Orient. One person had a damaged statue from a church in Budapest of the Virgin and Child. China from the orient and the pretty white and blue porcelain dinnerware. The gardens and greenery around the homes were immaculate, even on homes not on tour. We noticed the moss is greener and looks more alive than further south, I think the trees are more heavily leaved also. The wrought iron is remindful of Dad’s work. Many cute gates looking into back yards covered with vines and flowers all over them. I was surprised to see how many of the six homes we visited had attached guest homes.
We returned to the Episcopal Women of Christ Church. As we exited the tour bus this guy came up to me and said nice shirt he said Chihuly was his cousin, I said we loved his work. He said you ought to come to Tacoma and view his work shop. We then went in and bought a giclee (gyclee) print of the tour poster, I got 40/50. Why? Our 40th anniversary.
Yes, time for eats. Lets see if we can get into Paula Deen’s “The Lady & Sons” restaurant. There were no available tables for the rest of the days, but Shirleen remembered to ask for seating at the bar. So up we went to the third floor bar. On Sunday’s they only serve the buffet. Other days they do menu and buffet. We settled in with a cabernet and a #8 for me, she caught it after a few seconds. #8 is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser car number. Brought out the NASCAR in me. The buffet was well stacked with baked and deep fried chicken, a beef, potato and carrot casserole. Green beans, lima beans, delicious cabbage (with a shot of vodka to neutralize odor), collard greens tasty, mashed potatoes must have pureed or something special for the texture, turkey and dressing with biscuits and hoe cakes delivered to the bar (table). Now back to the fired chicken, Shirleen said what a flavor, a little sweetness to it. Ask Kim, our bartenderiss, how it is made. She said it is marinated with egg, red hot sauce (Tabasco) and spices overnight. Then floured and deep fried. I held myself back and only went back for the chicken twice. To top off the meal they bring, only to Shirleen – three desserts a peach cobbler, banana pudding and a brownie. All for 14.99$ and her fame.
Tonight we found a place in Savannah just a couple blocks from the river walk street. We drove around the historic downtown area and saw many magnificent homes. It struck us how many had steps up to the second floor doorways, Shirleen reminded me it was for the likelihood of flooding in the area. Again, the beauty of the massive live oaks, the moss in the trees, the vibrant colors of the flowering plants in the setting sun were just downright picturesque, wow. Footnote, live oaks, I had wondered what the significances was of that designation, it means they do not drop there leaves and go dormant.
We walked down town and viewed a bunch of old cars out on tour for a week around this area. Model T’s, A’s, Buick, Franklin’s, Auburn, Packard’s, a 7 passenger Moran, it had a dash between the driver and two passenger compartments. Had a nice talk with Dave the owner of the Moran, they were greasing his vehicle. jerr
This morning we headed back to Savannah for a fun packed full day. We had seen that there was the 72nd Savannah Garden and Home Tour. We found the sight on-line and got the pertinent information. Now we had an hour to kill and we walked down around the historic district river street. I almost forgot , I wore my yellow Chihuly T-shirt today. One guy hollered Chihuly as we passed, neat her said. We picked up a chicken salad sandwich on one of the sidewalk cafes. The tour had a bus take us to one of Savannah's most beautiful historic neighborhoods - Ardsley Park. The tour allows us to visit one of Savannah's other Historic Districts. The wonderful little hamlet, located approximately three miles from downtown Savannah, was the city's first automobile suburb built in the 1900's. Ardsley Park is rich in history and embraces grand homes and lush gardens replete with huge, century old oaks and magnolias. We met a couple from Sheboygan WI and toured with them. The bus took us there but then the long and sweltering hot walk was by placing one foot before the other for three hours. The homes go without saying, for the rich and the famous. The richly decorated homes, with art specially painted for the owner, hand built ceiling moldings. Paintings from places these people had been from Europe and the Orient. One person had a damaged statue from a church in Budapest of the Virgin and Child. China from the orient and the pretty white and blue porcelain dinnerware. The gardens and greenery around the homes were immaculate, even on homes not on tour. We noticed the moss is greener and looks more alive than further south, I think the trees are more heavily leaved also. The wrought iron is remindful of Dad’s work. Many cute gates looking into back yards covered with vines and flowers all over them. I was surprised to see how many of the six homes we visited had attached guest homes.
We returned to the Episcopal Women of Christ Church. As we exited the tour bus this guy came up to me and said nice shirt he said Chihuly was his cousin, I said we loved his work. He said you ought to come to Tacoma and view his work shop. We then went in and bought a giclee (gyclee) print of the tour poster, I got 40/50. Why? Our 40th anniversary.
Yes, time for eats. Lets see if we can get into Paula Deen’s “The Lady & Sons” restaurant. There were no available tables for the rest of the days, but Shirleen remembered to ask for seating at the bar. So up we went to the third floor bar. On Sunday’s they only serve the buffet. Other days they do menu and buffet. We settled in with a cabernet and a #8 for me, she caught it after a few seconds. #8 is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser car number. Brought out the NASCAR in me. The buffet was well stacked with baked and deep fried chicken, a beef, potato and carrot casserole. Green beans, lima beans, delicious cabbage (with a shot of vodka to neutralize odor), collard greens tasty, mashed potatoes must have pureed or something special for the texture, turkey and dressing with biscuits and hoe cakes delivered to the bar (table). Now back to the fired chicken, Shirleen said what a flavor, a little sweetness to it. Ask Kim, our bartenderiss, how it is made. She said it is marinated with egg, red hot sauce (Tabasco) and spices overnight. Then floured and deep fried. I held myself back and only went back for the chicken twice. To top off the meal they bring, only to Shirleen – three desserts a peach cobbler, banana pudding and a brownie. All for 14.99$ and her fame.
Tonight we found a place in Savannah just a couple blocks from the river walk street. We drove around the historic downtown area and saw many magnificent homes. It struck us how many had steps up to the second floor doorways, Shirleen reminded me it was for the likelihood of flooding in the area. Again, the beauty of the massive live oaks, the moss in the trees, the vibrant colors of the flowering plants in the setting sun were just downright picturesque, wow. Footnote, live oaks, I had wondered what the significances was of that designation, it means they do not drop there leaves and go dormant.
We walked down town and viewed a bunch of old cars out on tour for a week around this area. Model T’s, A’s, Buick, Franklin’s, Auburn, Packard’s, a 7 passenger Moran, it had a dash between the driver and two passenger compartments. Had a nice talk with Dave the owner of the Moran, they were greasing his vehicle. jerr
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