Ginny’s Southern Tour 2013 – Day Two

One thing we have learned very quickly about the south is that they will welcome you with open arms everywhere you go. Everyone has been so incredibly sweet and helpful in our journey to learn more about the southern region.

We had a very eventful day two and covered a lot of ground. Starting with breakfast in Savannah, Georgia at the Diner on Abercorn. We had passed it on Wednesday on the way to our hotel and wondered what “Diner Cakes” were. Little did we know, we would meet Amanda, our very sweet and very helpful waitress. Apparently, Diner Cakes are very delicious little treats that come in a wide variety of flavors. Laura ordered the Coconut Cake and Amanda must have picked up on the easy way to our hearts because she let us try the peanut butter chocolate cake.

After breakfast, we hit the back roads on our way to South Carolina and stopped quite a few really neat places. One thing we noticed were all of the signs for peaches, pick your own grapes, and boiled peanuts on the roadside.

For a little change of scenery, we took a field trip down a beautiful back road. It ended up being a dead end, and we had to turn around but it was absolutely gorgeous. On our way out, we thought maybe we shouldn’t have taken the little side-trip… 😉

It had been a little while since our last restroom stop, and someone (a-hem…Cailey…) was in need. Sometimes in Wisconsin, boat landings have little rest areas near them and we thought we would take a chance at Dawson’s Landing. There was some luck, as there was the option to use the port-o-potty. But since “someone” has a slight fear of amphibians and reptiles and the port-o-potty was crawling with cute little frogs, she decided to wait for the next available restroom. The stop at Dawson’s Landing revealed the Coosawhatchie River in all of it’s amazing beauty and some really cool little crabs on the side of the dock!

Our next destination was the Lowcountry Visitors Center and Museum at the Frampton Plantation House. It had a nice little shop and the cashier was very helpful in answering some of our questions about the history of the area, some of the plants we had been seeing and what those little bugs that always seemed to be attached were called (Lovebugs!) Behind the Plantation House stands a giant and wise looking tree hundreds of years old. It was neat thinking about all that that very same tree had seen and been around for as the history is so rich in this area.

A little further down the road, we missed our turn and decided to stop for snacks at the local gas station in Cottageville. Everyone was very nice and they let us try their boiled peanuts for the first time. There was some mixed reaction from our group, but it was very cool to learn about the seasonality and how they are preserved and can be enjoyed throughout the entire year!

The boiled peanuts spiked our appetites and we were ready for a late lunch. The Family Traditions restaurant was the perfect stop and where we met Charlotte, the spider that lives on the outside of their dining room window.

Two last things really caught our attention on day two – the roadside ice machines (which we would love to bring back to Wisconsin with us) and the price of gas in South Carolina.