Heading Home on SundayOur goals for heading home:
* Hit the beach one more time
* Get some Florida seafood
* Visit a couple state capitols
* Pick up a ham at Benton's in Tennessee
We didn't get everything we wanted done: some of the driving was stressful (both standstill and overly twisty -- look up US-129 for fun, we didn't realize what we were getting into), but we ate pretty darn well.
After hitting the beach on Astoria Island near St. Augustine we spent a couple hours wandering the old town -- wow, what a tourist trap. Yeah, some nice historic stuff, but so many tchotchke shops. But some really good ice cream at
Mayday. If I remember correctly we had Session Chocolate and Bourbon Pecan. Oddly, they charge extra for cones (versus cups). They make their own waffle cones (very crisp), maraschino cherries and sprinkles. They've got 9 locations across north Florida, worth a stop.
Mayday Ice Cream
100 St. George St. / Suite J, St. Augustine, FL 32084
https://www.maydayicecream.com/(904) 217-0517
Sue had some some research for fresh fish in the Jacksonville area, and we were not disappointed.
The Seafood Kitchen is a simple shack (but air conditioned), with a pretty extensive menu. We started with Crab Bites, tender, deep-fried small crab cakes, excellent flavor. I ordered one of their combos which was a lot to eat -- and it wasn't even close to their biggest combos. Pretty much any two items on their menu can be chosen, plus sides. I had fried oysters and broiled grouper (served with drawn butter), sides of cole slaw and upgraded to fried okra which was a ridiculously huge serving. Sue ordered local "Mayport" shrimp, broiled, with salad and fries. Everything was great, I wish we'd found more places like this. Seafood isn't cheap, but the prices were reasonable and the portions huge.
Seafood Kitchen
31 Royal Palms Dr, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233
(904) 241-8470
https://www.seafoodkitchenab.com/Monday - Savannah GA to Columbia SCSavannah is beautiful, but we didn't eat much there. A quick stop into
Chocolat by Adam Turoni - a gorgeous little shop, with the truffles and other chocolates placed on glass-fronted bookshelves -- we got one each (a date-filled one and uh I forget). And then a snack before we hit the road again at
Savannah Taphouse - we ordered partly to use the restrooms, public loos don't seem to be common in Savannah. Pretzel bites with cheese dip were much better than expected: a big soft pretzel was sliced into nuggets and toasted in butter and garlic. We're going to have to use that trick, it's much better than little pretzel balls.
Savannah Taphouse
125 E Broughton St, Savannah, GA 31401
https://savannahtaphouse.com/savannah-s ... -food-menu+19122018277
Chocolate by Adam Toroni
323 W Broughton St, Savannah, GA 31401
http://www.chocolatat.com/+19123352914
After visiting the South Carolina State House (beautiful antebellum interiors, very different from most capitol buildings), we found a motel on the outskirts of town, and a Mediterranean place called
Kairos nearby -- sort of a Roti/Naf Naf-ish place, where you pick proteins, condiments, etc., but more choices including lamb (which Sue had) and meatballs (which I had). Lots of sauce choices, better quality than I've had at chains here.
Kairos Mediterranean
125 Columbiana Cir suite a, Columbia, SC 29212
http://www.eatkairos.com/+18036679131
What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang