Welcome Home

My family moved to Kingsland, Ga September 2010. I was born and raised in the south but had left nearly 15 years earlier to be near my husband's family and to raise our children in a smaller community.

We were low on funds but optimistic that our move was a good gamble. However, during the first two months my family was hospitalized with a bad stomach flu & our health insurance would not cover us in Georgia. Then our only vehicle broke down which depleted our savings account completely.  Then, the cherry on top, we were the victim of a hit and run when someone rear ended us and then sped off.

My husband works hard as a nurse to provide for the family and he is a great person.  I take great pride & responsibility in running everything at home so my family doesn't have to worry about anything. I became depressed and began to wonder if moving was a horrible idea.

One particularly bad day my husband took all of us for a ride and tried to point out all the good points of moving and the bad points of staying where we were.  Even though I knew he was telling me the truth, I could not be convinced. My husband finally said, "We prayed about the move & this was the answer we received, loud & clear."

I still felt bad.  What if we thought we were doing the right thing but really was just running from one bad situation to a worse one?

After driving around we became hungry. Money was tight but we decided we would hit a drive-thru and share a couple of meals in attempt to lift our spirits. We chose Chik-fil-A because we had never there been before.

We were met outside by the manager and a woman taking our order. They said it was just something new they were trying. We explained that we were unsure what to order so we were handed a menu and the manager talked with us while we were deciding. We told him we had moved back to the south after a long time away but nothing of our run of bad luck.

As we moved through the line the kids talked about how nice everyone was. I nodded my head in agreement. I closed my eyes and thanked God for a well placed and hopeful sign that everything would be okay.

When we arrived at the window they handed us our food and told us to have a nice day. My husband informed the woman that we hadn't paid. She said, "Consider this your 'welcome back home.'"

I cried. It was just what I needed. We'll be customers for life.

"The great challenge of adulthood is holding on to your idealism after you lose your innocence."

– Bruce Springsteen

Local Restaurants

I don't know which to write about first; the southern hospitality or the food. Since I have a roast in the slow cooker and it's making the house smell all good...let's go with food.

First up, Lang's Seafood just because it was seafood we were craving when we first moved back to the coast.  Very low key inside with meager settings but I think that adds to the experience.  I hate to be made to feel I need to dress up for great seafood and a great view.  The staff is absolutely wonderful and every table can see the waterfront.  The food was top notch.  It was the first time I had ever heard my family shut up as they stuffed their faces. 

Second was Aunt B's.  We heard about Aunt B's by word of mouth and everyone seems to know about and LOVE that place.  If there is a restaurant in Heaven it's Aunt B's.  You know the kind of cooking you get when you go to your Grandma's on a holiday?  Yep, that's what you get at Aunt B's and it is a buffet.  It is down home southern/country cooking.  There are different items for different nights and it's my family's absolute favorite restaurant in the Kingsland/St. Marys area.  The place is big with mismatched chairs and tables which, to me, gives the place an even more homey feeling.  The wait staff will keep your table cleared and glasses filled with whatever drink you choose but their iced sweet tea is the absolute best I have ever had.  Don't be surprised if someone from another table starts up a conversation with you about the weather or how your day has been.  Yep, it's just that homey.

One more place to mention (for now anyway) is Doc's Chicken and Waffles.  Great, great place to eat especially if you love chicken and waffles.  I was still in the mood for fish when we went so I got their fish and grits. I had to fight hubby off my plate after tasting it.  I also sampled their potato soup which is now my all time favorite.  The family approves of the chicken and waffles and also of their breakfast menu.  They have open mike night/jazz night on Thursdays.  You can sit outside and watch the performance while you eat.  Laid back and jazzy comes to mind when I think of Doc's.

One little thing I thought I'd mention; the "To Go Cup."  Every single place we go asks us, "Would you like a to go cup?"  Now at first I thought, "Oh that's nice. They pour the rest of our drinks in a cup." 

No.  They bring a full cup of whatever you were drinking to each person at the table.

Have I mentioned how much I missed the South?

Doc's French Toast Breakfast

Welcome to Georgia! Here's your stomach flu.

Don't get me wrong, I have loved being in Georgia so far but I have to share this unique experience my family has just recently had the displeasure of enduring; the stomach flu or gastroentestinitis. 

This thing comes on like a freight train.  First there is a tummy ache followed by the chills.  Then the fever and many, many, many, MANY trips to the bathroom.  If you're lucky everything is moving south.  If you're not lucky...well, then things are going north as well. 

And through all of this...you're hungry.  I have never felt so bad and been so hungry at the same time.  It was insane.

Anyway, the fever lasts from 24 to 48 hours.  The bathroom visits seem to last from a week to three weeks.  I'm still trying to figure that one out as some of us are still in that holding pattern.

However, this unfortunate event lead us to the local ER not once but twice.  Once with my 5 year old nephew and another trip with my 17 year old.  Of course my 17 year old had to go in style by way of an ambulance ride.  She had dehydrated so quickly that she became shocky during one of her many bathroom visits.

Two bags of fluids and a shot for nausea later and she was well on her way to recovery. 

The ER was great to us and so were the nurses and doctor.  The doc explained that being new to the area our bodies would need time to acclimate to the local bugs. 

Now I had done lots of research in regards to our move but none of them included what the locals were coming down with.

Anyway this stomach flu has slowed us down a little bit but hopefully we'll all be back on track soon enough.

Feels like home only nicer...

So, it took us way longer to get to the table than we had planned.  A lot of different ingredients had to be added to the pot for us to serve this dish but we are finally here...Kingsland, Georiga. 

Actually we arrived a couple of weeks ago and let me tell you, even with the ups and downs of moving, trying to get signed up for school, utilities and our home and a bit of car trouble, we've been smiling ever since we crossed into the city limits.

I had intended to keep a blog of all my discoveries in the Kingsland area (such as the great places to eat and the garage who has gone out of their way to make sure we have a vehicle) as well as my homecoming to the South (gone twelve years!)  I've missed southern hospitality more than anything else.  The smiling faces accompanied with a, "How ya'll doing today?"  Even the simple act of holding a door open and tipping a hat has me wondering, "Why did I ever leave the comfort of the south?"

Because I thought it was just something us southerners said to make ourselves feel good about being southerners.  I had been told that once you cross that Mason Dixon line there was nothing but city and pavement and crime.   I guess I thought we were special and had found a little bit of the South IN the North; small town, farms, blue skies and everybody knows everybody...

And that was the problem...everybody knew everybody and I wasn't anybody to them other than the person who was married to the guy their friend once had a crush on in high school or the in-law of the woman who cheated on her husband or the mother who refused to accept the abuse from the local bullies, their parents OR the school system...

...and don't even get me started on "Betty Poop."

Since we've moved here we've had two different reactions.  One from the teen/twenty-something group who wonder out loud, "Why here?! There's nothing to do?!"  The other reaction is from everyone else who all proclaim their love of the area; the history, the eateries, the schools and oddly enough, the many different things to do.

All I can really say in this very first post about me and my family's new life here in Kingsland is, "It feels like home only nicer."