Savannah, Georgia

Before leaving for Savannah, we had one last meal I have got to share with you (if only I could) in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Sargent White's Diner was our vote for the best BBQ on the trip. We were the first to arrive at the diner that morning. We needed to drive to Savannah and so we wanted an early start. I tried the ribs and three sides, mac and cheese, corn bread and greens. Leslie tried the pulled pork, butter beans, corn bread. The deep smoky flavor of the ribs was lay your head on the table and cry good. The meat melted in your mouth and fell from the bone. The greens were smoky as well, with chunks of ham scattered throughout. The corn bread was moist and the mac and cheese rich and creamy. We were able to have a short chat with the Sargent before leaving and thanking him profusely, told him about where we'd been on our trip and declared his BBQ the best we'd ever had. The next day I picked up the shirt I had worn at the diner and could still smell the smoky flavor of Sargent White's ribs. It still permeates the menu I took home with us. If you are anywhere near Beaufort, SC in your travels, Sargent White's is a must!

We headed down the highway next to the final destination on our trip--Savannah. We arrived in the late afternoon, drove around familiarizing ourselves with this beautiful city and got ourselves checked in to our hotel.

We stumbled onto The Lady and Sons, the Paula Deen owned restaurant destination I had been looking forward to. The more I read about it the more I thought this was going to probably be a mistake--another victim of it's owner's success. Call me crazy but I have admired Paula Deen for a long time. I guess it is partly a result of her rags to riches story (only in America). You can look up the story if you want to know more about her. Its easy to find.

I let Leslie out in front of the restaurant to try and get us in or get a reservation and I drove around the block waiting for her. She hopped back in the car announcing we had an 8:30 reservation. Cool!

We drove around town some more fascinated with the squares that dot the city. When originally laid out, every so many blocks a park-like square was placed. It is surrounded on all four sides by lovely homes, many antebellum, or sometimes a church, shops or municipal buildings. It makes for a much more small town feel breaking up each area into neighborhoods. The trees were draped with wisps of moss and life just slowed down in Savannah. I now know why southerners talk with that slow, genteel drawl and why they move just a little slower. Its got to be the heat and humidity! If you tried to move through life at a faster pace, you'd just have to lay down and die.

That evening we drove over to The Lady and Sons for dinner. The downtown was a lot less lively compared to earlier in the day so it was easy to find a parking place. The evening breezes also made it more pleasant outdoors so the walk through the streets was much more fun.

We arrived early and walked into the gift shop attached to the restaurant. Every Paula Deen endorsed cooking item was available. From pots and pans to utensils, knives, you name it. I located a copy of her second cookbook (I already had the first one) and noticed they were autographed by Paula. I had to have one of those. Her cookbooks, just as her TV show, are filled with recipes that are very southern and don't hold back when it comes to using original ingredients. No fat-free recipes here.

Our table was waiting for us. We were sent to the third floor dining room! Third floor? This place has three stories high, each floor with its own dining room. It makes the restaurant much more flexible. A wedding reception for a couple of hundred could be going on on one floor and the general public could still be accommodated on the other two. Still, it seemed quite a factory sort of set up. To my surprise, the food was quite good. I had some of the best fried chicken of the trip and despite the fact that I opted for the buffet line, the food was fresh, hot and as good or better than many of the Road Food recommended spots we tried. I settled on several of the sides and was not disappointed. My favorite greens were smoky and chunks of pork were scattered throughout. The mac and cheese was creamy and delicious and the corn bread, moist. Leslie was just not that hungry and sadly, opted for a big salad that was fine but wasn't representative of what we were there for. My dinner was delicious and my expectations were not disappointed. I'd go back if I was in Savannah again. Thanks Paula.

The next day we headed out to Fort Pulaski and Tybee Island along the Inter-coastal waterway. The fort was pre-civil war, built much in the style of Fort McHenry in Baltimore and many others of its era. It is star shaped offering its weapons the ability to shoot overlapping patterns at enemy ships.Thick walls made it pretty much impenetrable up through the civil war. I followed along with a very interesting ranger guided tour for a while but the heat was just getting too overwhelming so I ducked into the air conditioned gift shop to cool down. Fort Pulaski was so hot and humid that Leslie was even affected by the heat. We got some ice cold water out of a machine, got that down and decided to call it a day with the outdoor site seeing.

We drove over to Tybee Island and took a look at a tall light house for which the Carolina coast is famous. Then we headed back into Savannah stopping along the way at a Piggly Wiggly, the famous southern grocery store chain. We bought a bunch of souvenirs there--t-shirts and mugs. Deciding it was time to get out of the heat, we found a movie theater and sat through Knight and Day, a new Tom Cruise film. Fun!

The final full day of our trip ended with a swim in the hotel pool and staying in for the evening. We were tired and ready to head home.
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Next--The Final Day--Back to Atlanta and the flight home