A DAY IN SAVANNAH

Pualani, Smitty, MHS and I had a wonderful time in Savannah despite the weather. We were fortunate that it didn't actually rain but misted pretty much all day and was cooler there than it was in Indiana when Snips left there that same day. We started the day with a ride through the historic district in a horse drawn carriage. Our driver, Michael, was a wealth of information and if you ever make it to Savannah, I would highly recommend making the carriage ride part of your itinerary.

I'm not the best photographer in the world but I usually can do a fair job with my trusty point and shoot camera. These pictures are not the greatest but please remember that I'm taking them while riding in a carriage pulled by a horse on a brick road.

This is Prince. Prince is a very smart horse. And look how big he is standing next to Smitty.

Interesting tidbit: Prince wears rubber soles on the bottom of his iron shoes. If he didn't have the rubber soles, he would be lame after about two years of working the carriage rides because of the vibrations from the road.

And we're off: You can see the Lady and Sons' restaurant on the right at the corner.

This is the Mercer house. It was the scene of the shooting death of Danny Hansford, the assistant of Jim Williams, a private restorationist. The story was retold and made famous by the movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil with one of my favorite actors, John Cusack. The house is currently owned by Dorothy Kingery, Williams' sister and is open to the public for tours.

You might recognize The Six Pence restaurant even if you've never been to Savannah. If you've seen the movie, Something to talk about with Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid, this restaurant was used as the location for the scene where Julia's character catches her husband with a girlfriend. The movie is set in Lexington, Kentucky, I believe but was filmed in part in Savannah.
Oh, and according to Michael, our guide, The Six Pence is also somewhat famous for its french onion soup. We didn't get to try it but there's always next time.

This cemetary (marble orchard) was used during the civil war as a corral for horses and other animals. No care was given to protect the graves or headstones. Many headstones were destroyed by the horses so while the cemetary is full, there are few markers to identify who lies there.

After the carriage ride, we headed to the waterfront for lunch and some shopping before our riverboat cruise.

On the recommendation of the riverboat cruise company, we selected the Fiddler's Crab House for lunch. MHS and I had actually eaten there before on a previous trip to Savannah but didn't recognize the name until we got there. Lunch was great and if you ever have the opportunity to dine there, have the crab stew. It's a creamy, sinfully good bowl of yumminess. Oh, and tell Frank, Smart Mouth Broad sent you.

This is Frank.

A stop in the River Street Sweets Candy Store is a must for any sweet tooth. I recommend the pralines and dark chocolate bear claws. Oh, and did I mention the salt water taffy? This place is just another reason why I will be living at the gym for the next 6 months.

I'm sorry to say that this picture is the best thing about the riverboat ride. Unless you just want the experience of having a ride down the river, I would skip this activity. It was really just a ride 30 minutes up the river and back with not much to look at except heaps of scrap metal and warehouses. Of course they do have a concession stand that offers wine, beer and popcorn. So, it ain't all bad.

According to My Harley Stud, no trip to any location is complete without a trip to the Harley store and this vacation was no exception. At least the walk there was scenic. Walking along the riverfront is really quite charming. The water, the architecture, the shopping and candy. What's not to love!

This is the second time I've been to Savannah. Both were quick trips. I would really like to go back and spend a few more days to do all the tours and get more accquainted with this very old, beautiful and interesting city. Wanna join me?

LUCYISMS – A LANGUAGE ALL HER OWN

We had a great time in Savannah which by the way I have renamed Santa Vannah in the spirit of Lucy. I have some great pictures of our day on the town including our carriage ride through the historic district that rivaled our dinner at the Lady and Sons for my favorite part of the trip. But those will have to wait until I get home as we are back at the lake now with no wireless connection. And It's just so dang restful here, I can't muster up the energy to go through all the steps it would take to get my pictures from my laptop to Daddy and Daisy's computer.

On the way back from Santa Vannah, we picked up our sister, Snips, from the airport in Jacksonville. This was the second time in Snips life she has been on an airplane and the first time to fly by herself. We were late. We had told her that we might be late because we were booked on a riverboat cruise and weren't sure exactly when we would be able to depart. She doesn't have a cell phone so it was not possible to communicate our estimated time of arrival. Smitty flew like the wind risking our lives getting a speeding ticket and feeling like a Nascar driver. None of us liked the idea of her sitting alone at the airport waiting for us. Once we arrived, we fell all over ourselves apologizing for our tardiness. She was quick to assure us that it was OK and she was fine with it. "No, no, don't worry about it, it's fine." Then she borrowed my cell phone to call her daughter to confirm her safe arrival. And she says, "I'm here. The sons of b*itches were late picking me up but I'm here." Let the games begin!

The three of us along with Pualani and MHS are staying at Daddy and Daisy's through the weekend. It's the first time we've all been together in over three years. Reminiscing is in high gear. It has been non-stop laughing, story-telling and some crying. But mostly we are just having a great time enjoying each others' company. Smitty and Snips are very funny people. I mean funny – haha, not funny strange. Though they are a bit strange too. I like to think of myself as somewhat humorous but these two really put me to shame. I have had tears of laughter in my eyes for two straight days now. And half the time I don't even know what they are talking about. I believe I've discussed here the fact that I'm a little slow to catch on sometimes (because I'm so pure of heart and all).

Anyway, many of our stories have been about our memories of Lucy, our mom. Lucy had a language all her own. Since we were raised by her we are all fluent in Lucyisms. Lucy's special expressions and words were so much a part of our vocabulary that I have, at times, used them without realizing that the general public wouldn't have any idea what I was saying. You need to understand before I go any further that Lucy was well-educated. Lucy was smart. And as I've mentioned before, Lucy was goofy. She loved mis-pronouncing words and making up her own. However, she wouldn't let us finish a sentence until we corrected our grammar. Even at 40 years old.

I mentioned during our walk down memory lane that I was planning a post that would feature Lucy's special language. Smitty, Snips, Daddy and MHS were quick to share their favorites to provide me with more material. It appears now that Smitty has co-starred in a blog post and is even getting messages here, he is no longer worried about my sanity. By the way, Pseudo, Smitty says hi.

So without further ado, here is a list of Lucyisms (phonetically) and an example of the word/term used in a sentence:

• Pea Pills – You go ahead, I will just sit here on this bench and watch the pea pills.
  
• Long sleeve ed pants – It's so cold today, I had to wear my long sleeve ed pants.
  
• Aminals – Did you remember to feed the aminals? (There have been times in my life that I had to stop to think about which is the correct way to say this word)
  
• Pedistrains – Be careful not to hit the pedistrains when you're driving.
  
• Mergy (merge) – You should get in the right lane because we are about to mergy.
  
• Naked ears (no earrings) – I can't believe I left the house with naked ears.
  
• Toredder algetty (together already) – Are we toredder algetty?
  
• Goomy (to look around aimlessly, as in shopping) – Let's go into Walmart and goomy a little bit.
  
• Ganupse (wolf it down) – I gave the dog a cookie and she ganupsed it right down.
  
• Marble orchard – He was buried in the marble orchard.
  
• Feesakeyatrist – You're acting a little crazy, maybe you should see the feesakeyatrist.
  
• Vitaminiums – Did you remember to take your vitaminiums?
  

And the list goes on. Maybe I will do Lucyisms, Part II another day. Do you have words or expressions that you use in your family that the rest of the world would have a hard time understanding? Or is it just us?

THE PAULA DEEN SCENE

Guess what's at the corner of Congress and Whitaker Streets in Savannah?

As previously announced, Pualani, Smitty, MHS and I dined at the Lady and Sons' restaurant tonight.

I was really excited to have the photo op of a lifetime!

Our server was Mike. Mike was great. I wish I would have taken a picture of Mike. I didn't. Maybe someday I will become one of those bloggers whose camera is ever-ready to snap that perfect picture that says a thousand words.

But I did take this picture: (OK, Pualani actually snapped the photo)

This is the greatest thing ever invented. It's the hand drier in the ladies room. That sucker really blows! It literally moved the skin on my hands. Now I know that I'm aging but the skin on my hands is not that loose. (Look at that picture! My hands are normally lovely and young looking.)But this thing made the flesh of my hands flap in the breeze. I was so impressed, I remembered to take my camera (and Pualani to take the picture) on my second trip to the restroom. (See this post for reference to my weak bladder)

I forgot to take pictures of our appetizers. We had friend green tomatoes and crab stuffed Portobello mushrooms. But here's what we had for dinner:

My brother took the advice of Pseudonymous High School Teacher and ordered the chicken pot pie. I took several bites (coz I'm his baby sister and he can't refuse me anything) and this was REALLY good. Like no pot pie I've ever had. Thanks for the recommendation, Pseudo!

Pualani had the stuffed shrimp. I sampled this one too and Yummmm! The shrimp was stuffed with crab and then wrapped in bacon and smothered in something sinful. Mmm, Mmm Good.

This was my plate. It may not look so pretty, black beans seldom do but it was delectable. I love crab cakes and these ranked up there with the best I've ever had. They were served with a creamy dill sauce and a side of black beans over white rice with pico de gallo. Yum again!

MHS ordered one of the specials. As you can see, he couldn't wait for me to take my pictures before diggin' in. He had a New York strip steak smothered in carmelized onions with a tasty merlot sauce, steak fries and asparagus wrapped in bacon. I tried to have a taste but he stabbed my hand with his fork. Ouch!

See that room over Pualani's shoulder? I had one of those Midlife Slices moments *wink* (Luv ya, Janie) and even after being told that it was a mirror continued to think there were people in that "back room."

I'm really sorry that the only Paula in attendance was of the cardboard variety so I didn't have the opportunity to make a complete fool of myself for your reading/viewing pleasure. But I did give you that really cool hand blower picture. I get points for that right? And I promise you that if I get enough write-in votes tonight and become President of these United States of America, I will see to it that one of those hand driers is placed in every public restroom in America! And Canada too!

I LOVE ME SOME PAULA DEEN

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Savannah with My Harley Stud, my brother, Smitty and his friend, Pualani. Smitty and Pualani will arrive in the morning from Maui. MHS and I will meet them at the airport and drive to Savanna from there. I've mentioned before that I'm a foodie and a Food Network addict. My brother was the one who introduced me to the Food Network years ago. Since then I've become a HUGE Paula Deen fan. I love Southern cooking and have the arse to prove it. *sigh*

We have reservations to dine at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons. I've never been one to swoon over celebrities. I could never understand women who yell, scream, throw bras and faint at the sight of the Beatles, Elvis, Justin Timberlake or Tim McGraw. But if Paula Deen is there, I just might make a fool of all of us. I can see myself running up and telling her something intelligent like, "You're my biggest fan!"

Stay tuned for pictures. I'll be the one chasing Paula Deen down the street, screaming like a banshee about how much I love her. She'll be the one running away while frantically dialing 911 on her cell phone, followed by a call to her lawyer to file a restraining order against me.