We left Florida on the most beautiful and sunny day we had seen since getting there. But we knew we had to push on as we only had a couple of days to get to Richmond and wanted to make sure we didn't have to drive strait through like our first travel day. Begrudgingly on my part because of the weather and on Dave's part for the playoff football games he would miss, we said our goodbyes to Bob, Patty and The Worners and made on our way to Savannah, Georgia.

Since the beginning of our trip whenever we mentioned Savannah the question we were asked was "Are you going to Paula Deen's restaurant?" Finally, we took the hint and said "Yes, we are going." We arrived at Lady and Sons in the pouring rain only to find that they were completely booked for the day. We were stunned. We had our hearts set on a huge country kitchen Sunday buffet and had built it up so much that we couldn't help feeling a bit dejected. We asked the host if they knew of any other place in town to find a traditional southern meal and they said that if we just walked to the city market we would find plenty of places to eat. Wet and disappointed we grumbled our way into the heart of the city with a small hope of finding our meal just around the corner. I think you can see where this is going.

The host at Lady and Sons obviously didn't take into account that this is Savannah in the middle of January. So everything is closed for the season, even Mrs. Wilkes Boarding house. After awhile it would become a running joke between us because absolutely nothing was open. Stores were closed, the only restaurants we could find were pubs and we even tried going into a couple of stores for recommendations. No one could give us a clear answer. We then consulted our GPS to see if any of the names would sound promising. A few did but they either did not exist or they were...closed. We also found that our GPS is not meant for Pedestrians as it still thought we were in a car while on that setting.

At this point we are so defeated, frustrated and soaking wet that we would eat anything. We saw a sign for "The Bayou Grill" and ran for it. We navigated our way down the tricky cobblestone street and found two already drunk men sharing a pitcher of cheap beer on the porch. When we walked in all of the local SCAD hipsters gave us dirty looks as did the lone and unfriendly barmaid/waitress/hostess. She took our order without one friendly word, I was scared to even ask this woman for ketchup. We decided on just getting an appetizer to build back up our strength and then go out in search of what we really wanted (country cooking in case you forgot). We ate quickly and then began walking again. We walked and we walked and we walked some more only to find again that there was nothing open or it was just closing. We even tried Paula Deen's again with no luck. There seems to be a theme in this town.

We took the hint and powered through to Charleston. The weather kept getting worse and worse, just like my mood. But we survived long enough to check into the "NotSo Hostel" and get a recommendation for the type of food we had been searching for all day. We were not disappointed. We ended up eating at this place called Jestine's kitchen and ordered the works. We ate Fried Chicken, Pot Roast, Fried Okra, Black Eyed Peas, Mac and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes and Cornbread. We finished the meal with Coconut Cream Pie and their famous Chocolate Kola Cake. I was very happy to finally eat the meal I had wanted since morning.

We headed back to the hostel full, happy and able to sleep without a problem.
Emily


P.S. You’re on my list Paula Deen.