Best. Bread. Basket. EVER!

Based on Amanda's research on Yelp, Barbara Jean's was selected as the site for the last family lunch together and it was the site of my favorite meal all weekend (followed closely by Clary's):



Can I say that I'm still dreaming about the bread basket? Due to our party's large size, we actually ended up being split into three separate tables which meant that Andrew, Amanda, their cousin Ilana and I shared a table. The reason I mention this is because our bread basket came with around 7 pieces of bread and we ate two baskets worth of bread between the four of us! The favorite by far was the pumpkin bread, but the jalapeno cornbread (complete corn kernels) and the wheat roll (sounds boring but incredibly good):



As you may have noted from Barbara Jean's sign, they are known for their crab cakes and so the whole table decided to order them. I was almost tempted by their menu option to have five sides as your meal (I often feel like I enjoy sides more than entrees sometime) but I was swayed by the fact that a simple crab cake meal came with two sides. Andrew and I ended up splitting our sides, so I got to taste four different things.


My 7 oz crab cake with squash salad and ambrosia salad (a heavenly combo of coconut, marshmallow, mandarin orange and pineapple):



Andrew went with the crab cake/shrimp combo with cheesy grits (the only grits that I actually liked from tasting them all weekend, as these were very savory and resembled potatoes) and spinach:


We were really too full for dessert, but yet again, couldn't pass up on the opportunity to indulge in some Southern specialties.

Amanda went with the key lime pie - very good but we both agreed that Clary's still holds the title as best:



Buried under all that whipped cream is peach cobbler - I was able to cajole the whole table into eating some with me:



Afterwards, we headed to a neighboring park to take a last set of family photos. Granddad was the one constant in all the pictures, so everyone took turns taking pictures with him.

This series of Amanda and Granddad was one of my favorites (taken by Tom):




A shot of the four of us (and the lovely green bag that Amanda and Adam got me for Christmas):



Finally, a group shot of everyone that made it out for lunch - Cousin Mason and his girlfriend Jaime; Tom, Amanda and Charlotte; Aunt Sue, Granddad, Uncle Doug; Cousins Ilana and Meredith and Meredith's fiance Adam:

Sunday on St. Simons Island

Saturday may have been rainy but Sunday ended up being nice and sunny and warm.


We headed back to St Simons island for a more thorough tour of the island. After a thwarted attempt to see luxury homes and The Cloisters (luxury hotel) on neighboring Sea Island, we stopped by the King & Prince resort to check out stunning beach views (and for Andrew, Amanda and Tom to reminisce about a past stay) - although clouds had started rolling in at that point, it was still beautiful out.




If you're noticing a funny expression on our faces, I think it's because it took Tom longer than expected to start taking the picture and we weren't sure when we were supposed to smile!

Next, we headed over to Coast Guard beach:

Can I say that it was truly amazing to wear sandals in January and be comfortable? Of course, this is January in Georgia rather than Boston, but it was still cool!


As my sister calls us, a nice shot of JoyceDrew and the beautiful weather behind us:



Amanda truly got into the warm weather, she kicked off her flats and walked barefoot on the beach:






I spent the whole time walking on the beach looking for sharks' teeth. Apparently, this part of Georgia is known for being a popular shark breeding ground (shudder) and Andrew, Amanda and Adam used to find teeth all the time washed up on the shore. Alas, I didn't find a tooth despite my efforts but I did see a jellyfish:


Our last stop before lunch was visiting the historic Christ Church, the second oldest Episcopal church in Georgia and where a famous Georgia novelist - Eugenia Price - is buried:


Again, the atmosphere was incredible, especially with the live oaks and Spanish moss everywhere:

We stopped for pictures in front of a mammoth tree - this thing looked like it had been around for hundreds of years!

I also managed to take a decent shot of Andrew with his family (all that was missing was his brother Adam!):

A passing rain shower convinced us it was time to head into the village part of St Simons to meet up with the rest of extended family for lunch.

Peachy Keen in Georgia

I know I've been MIA for nearly a week but I had a good reason, if you couldn't guess from the title - Andrew and I took a long weekend with his parents and sister Amanda to head down south for his granddad's 91st birthday!

We flew into Jacksonville on Friday morning and drove an hour north to hit St Simons island. St Simons is where Andrew's granddad and mimi used to live for years so Andrew and his family have tons of great memories of the island.

Our first stop was lunch at the Doug Harris Fireside Cafe, where Andrew's granddad is known as a regular and a fan of their peach cobbler a la mode. This isn't a good shot of the restaurant itself but I wanted to highlight my first sighting of Spanish moss - I definitely knew I was in the South once I started seeing Spanish moss and mistletoe in the trees, as well as Winn Dixie's and Piggly Wiggly's as grocery stores!


Spotted inside the restaurant - a chameleon! Although it looked like the geckos I had grown up with in Hawaii, I was assured that it could indeed change color:


After a quick driving tour of St Simons Island, we drove further north to Darien, where Andrew's granddad lives now, still on the shore with gorgeous views of the marsh.

It was great getting to know granddad better and for a treat, he played the piano for us:


Another reunion Andrew was looking forward to - seeing granddad's cat Thor:

Thor was a sweetheart and loved to be pet, most likely since he was content as a well-fed cat - this cat was not lacking for food!


After a late night catching up with grandad and some of Andrew's aunts and uncles, we drove back to our hotel anticipating a busy weekend.