Warm and Slightly Humid Savannah

1. Judi and Gerry full of Paula Deens good ole' Southern cooking

2. Earlier at 9:30 am. The line (which stretches to the other end of the block) to get our name on the list for Lady and Sons

3. Made it! A reservation for 3:00 pm for lunch

4. My plate from the buffet

5. Location of Forrest Gump's bench where he waited for the bus. (or maybe at one of the other 22 squares. "Seen one square you've seen them all")

6. Parade of Savannah State University--the marching band

7. The vice-mayor of Savannah looking fine in all the red!

8. The Honorable John Barrows, U.S. House of Representatives not on the float

9. Miss Savannah State University and her court

What a day! It is 8:00 Saturday night and we just woke up from a nap!!!! Now what is that going to do to our schedule? We started out early this morning and walked about 10 blocks to put our name in for a reservation at Lady and Sons restaurant. Standing in line in shifts we made the acquaintance of the people around us as we shuffled our way to the host who was taking names. We stood in line about an hour and we got a 3:00 reservation for lunch. This is the only way at this point you can get in to the restaurant. Paula Deen has become such a celebrity and her story so well known that most visits to Savannah include her in the myriad of things to do.

While Lee held our place in line I went down the street to a parade. I think it must be Savannah State University's homecoming and the band, queen, dignitaries and politicos were all on hand. While taking a picture of the local U.S. Representative, John Barrow, on his float, this casually dressed man runs across the street to hug a guy standing next to me, runs into my picture taking, apologizes and grabs my hand to introduce himself as "JohnBarrow, nice to meet you". Don't know who the guy in a suit sitting on the float was!

We left the line happy and then I went antiquing and Judi and Lee headed in another direction. We all had equally fascinating experiences but they ended up at the Mercer House, of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" fame. Interesting to note that no member of the Mercer family ever lived there. It is called the Mercer house because the grandfather of Johnny Mercer commissioned it but the Civil War intervened and when it was finished he sold it. Jim Williams, of book and movie fame, lived there for 20 years and conducted his antique and restoration business from there. His sister owns the house and lives there now.

They also visited the Sorrel Weed house which is under restoration. The design and review committee of the city of Savannah questioned the owners choice of exterior color but analysis has proved the original color really was pumpkin! It has been under reconstruction for many years and the present owner who has lived there since 1998 has already spent over $2,000,000. It will take a lot of toursist dollars to finish that job.

The antique shops I visited were great. The first one was full of fabulous old junk that I would have loved to take home. Prices were great and I was champing at the bit to buy armoires, bars, and bureaus. The next two I visited made California prices look cheap!!! One place had more furniture than I have ever seen in one place! Finally decided to take the free shuttle to the Mercer House. Waited with many other people and the shuttle never came. Seems they were all tied up in traffic because of the parade. So I finally took off walking. I found myself at two of the sites of the Telfair Museum of Art at the Owens-Thomas House and the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences which is housed in a converted mansion. Interesting rstorations in each of these places. We all three walked and walked until our poor dogs were "barking" and then we met back at Lady and Sons for lunch!

Well, we have been saying we wanted to come to Savannah to go to Lady and Sons and there we were! I asked how many meals were served and it amounts to over 3,000 every day. We were ushered into the 3rd floor and ordered the buffet. In the picture my plate contains riblets, green beans, black eyed peas, collard greens, grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and mac 'n cheese. Judi also sampled the corn, and Lee tried the sweet potatoes and lima beans. We had started the meal with a hoe cake topped with a cheese biscuit drizzled with syrup. We sampled three desserts which were banana pudding, peach cobbler, and Gooey Butter cake. Lee describes the last one as pure butter with a little bit of flour and sugar to hold it together! The Collard greens were better than Jestines, and the cheese biscuit was to die for. Everythng else in between was fabulous with a couple of exceptions. Judi wasn't thrilled with the flavor and consistancy of the corn dish and I realized I had not liked the way my Granny fixed sweet potatoes and I don't like Paula's, which are just like Granny's. Other than that it was perfect. Add a couple of beers and sweet tea and our bill was a little over $50.00. It was worth every penny we spent and minute we waited. She is really onto a marketing dream and the Gotta Go Girls salute her! And as our other heroine says "Yum-O!"

We found a shuttle stop and this time a bus did come by. Thank goodness because I don't think our poor feet could have carried us back to the hotel. Naps all around, a little carbonated drink to stay hydrated and we are tucking in early tonight. On to Atlanta tomorrow. Will be a relief to sit in the car for a few hours.

P.S. We have vowed to stop talking so much about food. What are the odds that will happen?