Georgia On My Mind

Last week Eddie and I went to Augusta, GA while he participated in some continuing education. We are lucky enough to have some great friends that are there doing a residency for dentistry. We had so much fun with them(the Baileys') and with the Hillstroms'. The boys had their work cut out for them and they were gone every day for ten to twelve hours. They enjoyed the Georgian cuisine and learned a lot as well. The women on the other hand had a great time relaxing and enjoying the scenery around Augusta. On the first day Kristina and I decided we would try a local flea market and see what it had to offer. Well let's just say it was a very cultural experience and we didn't stay very long.

Later we headed to Aiken, SC to visit an old plantation. Along the way we passed the Masters golf course. The whole course is surrounded by a huge hedge that doesn't allow you to see anything beyond. I also found out that the course is very exclusive with no women allowed, BOO! Here is a picture of the course. It is behind the sign and the hedge. Here is a picture of the medical school where Eddie and his friends participated in CE.


The next stop was Aiken, SC where we toured a beautiful plantation called Redcliffe. It was really awesome to see that piece of our history. They still had some of the original slave houses and stables as well as the original house. I had a strong urge to watch Gone With the Wind after we toured.


The original owner of the house was a man named James Henry Hammond. He is famous for declaring, "Cotton is King" in a speech before the Senate and for stating that women are only good for bring money into a marriage and bearing children. He also kept several mistresses and had a lot of affairs both with slaves and young relatives. Needless to say I am not a big fan of him. He also became the 60th gouvenor of South Carolina. Where he fought for states rights and to keep slavery alive. Here is picture of him when he was younger. At the peak of his slave ownership he had over 300 slaves.

We didn't let the first owners character ruin the beauty of the house for us though. I loved walking in the front doors and seeing the huge 14ft ceilings. The first room that you enter was a huge ballroom. Here is where the parties and dances took place. The main house was four stories high and contained large ceilings and beautiful woodwork. Here are some pictures of the home and the antique piano inside.





Jessica, Kristina and I were able to take a lot of pictures and enjoy thinking about what life would have been like back then. Jessica also said that they recieved snow for the first time in nine years. Thus a lot of the flowers that should have been blooming were not. We were able to find a few blooms that survived and it made me long for spring here in UT. Here are some remaining pictures from the plantation.





The next day Kristina and I headed down to Savannah, GA to tour there. It was a really beautiful city and we enjoyed walking through it. We started out our journey at Back in the Day Bakery. It was really good and I loved the autmosphere there. Here are a couple of picts of the vintage bakery. We enjoyed bannana nut muffins and banana pudding.


Later that afternoon we ate at Lady and Sons (Paula Deans restaurant in Savannah)for some authentic southern cooking. The food was amazing and you could taste the butter in every bite. The autmosphere was a little bit 80's but the food made up for it. Here is the front of the restaurant and some fried green tomatoes we ate.

In Savannah there are a lot of squares or parks throughout the town. They are beautiful and each one is unique. The houses and buildings face into the square which were historically for military purposes. Here are some pictures of the parks and Forsyth fountain.





All in all we had a great time and the men managed to have a good time even though they were basically working the whole time. Here is a picture of all the guys in their scrubs in order from the left; Eddie, James, Gavin and Ryan. They claimed it felt just like being back in dental school all over again.

All in all we had a great time and the Baliey's are wonderful hostesses. I am happy to have such great friends all over the United States. Thank you to all of the people that kept Carson while we were gone. We are lucky to have such great relatives that are always willing to help us.