Love and Best Dishes from My Kitchen to Yerrrrs

*Written 12/27/14*

Most folks relax the day after Christmas.

Most folks clean up a little.  

They enjoy the rest from work, from visiting all Christmas day, from cooking...

Most of us use the day after Christmas to recoup and reflect upon both the joys of the holiday and the triumphs of the year.

We are not most folks.

We used the day after Christmas to begin our journey south.  

I guess you can't call us "snowbirds".  That would require snow (although it was 32 degrees when we pulled out of the driveway and I'm certain we will be entertaining snow this winter).  

No.

We are "winterbirds".

On December 26th, we departed our home, bundled in wool socks and lined coats, and headed south on that famous I95.  

Apparently, we weren't the only "winterbirds" on the road.  Traffic was atrocious the day after Christmas.  Southbound:  ridiculous.  Northbound:  clear.  Ha!

Along the way, we stopped in a couple of pretty cool cities.  

For lunch, we dined in that fabulous town called Charleston (Chahhhlston, if pronounced correctly).

It was already a full 30 degrees warmer than Edenton and the sun was shining like a beacon in the sky.

Charleston, of course, was pretty busy on Market Street, where we unsuccessfully attempted to find a place to park.  

So, we parked in the first parking deck we could locate and made our way to a restaurant just across the street.

Boy, were we lucky.

The name:  Fleet Landing Restaurant

The location:  Waterfront

The back-story:  Interesting

The food:  Fantabulous

Apparently, the Fleet Landing Restaurant originally served as a supply house and unloading station for the U.S. Navy during the Second World War.  

The Navy maintained the building until retiring it in 1970.

Upon assessing the building in 1988, a young man saw a pretty awesome location.

Sixteen years later, the young man and his wife turned the awesome location into a successful restaurant.  

The food was delicious; the restaurant has even been featured in Food & Wine.  

But the food could not top the porpoises that leaped through the Charleston Harbor in front of us as we dined on the deck to the sounds of '60s era rock'n'roll.  

And...

 it's directly across the street from the United States Custom House (ca. 1853) which has been fully restored and makes the National Register of Historic Places.

So, if you're in Charleston and looking for a great place to grab some grub, we recommend Fleet Landing.

We hung out in Charleston for a while, touring the town and its lovely homes.  

Unfortunately, we did not catch a glimpse of Hootie.

Oh, well...

Next, we hopped back on the highway and headed straight for the fine city of Savannah.

We arrived in Savannah just after dusk.

But that was ok.

The nighttime only allowed us to better appreciate the amazingly strung Christmas lights which adorned the streets of downtown Savannah.

So pretty.

We even made a point to drive over the old HWY 17 so that we could cross the intimidating Talmadge Memorial Bridge.

We crossed it at least twice.

Before heading out of town, we drove past the infamous Lady and Sons restaurant.

I don't know what we were expecting but it wasn't this:

For some reason, I never pictured a giant neon sign.

Hmph

But, it was packed.  So that must be a testament to the great food.

We finally called it a night in that great city which used to be a summer stomping ground for my grandparents (and a 14 year old me):

Woo hoo!

Fancy, flamingo-pink, fun-loving, fantastic Florida