This week Ann-Christine is asking us to share some Holiday memories. We can choose any happy memories from any holidays we have enjoyed. The Christmas season is here and I will be sharing some of my fondest Christmas memories with you.
My favorite Christmas memories go way back to when our children and then our grandchildren were young. Those were magical times when they would get more and more excited the closer we got to Christmas. In the following gallery our grandson was 4 when we had a magical day with him at Busch Gardens in Tampa right before Christmas. I love this photo of him looking up at the giant Christmas tree. Later in December of the same year his family came to our house for Christmas. He and his little sister loved looking out our living room windows at Christmas Train lights and seeing our living room transformed into a snowy Christmas village.
Most of the ornaments on our tree have special meaning. My favorite ones are the ones our children and grandchildren made. Below on the left is a reindeer made by one of our grandchildren. On the right the two paper star Santas were made by our children almost 50 years ago.
We have lived on the Georgia coast for many years. Many of the Christmas light displays have a beach theme with lighted palm trees and even mermaids.
One summer we were in North Pole, Alaska on the Fourth of July. We visited the Santa Claus house and although we didn’t celebrate Christmas with Santa we had fun watching the North Pole Independence Day Parade which of course featured Santa Claus!
It was my pleasure to be your host for last week’s challenge of Wings. I enjoyed every one of your creative posts. Thank you everyone who responded with natural wings of birds and insects from around the world. There were even a few airplanes, angel wings, dragons, and gargoyles.
Many thanks to Ann-Christine for her challenge Holiday Fun. I hope you will join us for this fun challenge.
Be sure to check back on Saturday, December 13 at noon eastern time for our last challenge of the year.
For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.
We’ve driven through Darien many times over the years and have previously stopped there for a seafood dinner on the Darien River. We had never taken the time to explore the area so for our anniversary this year we decided to spend the night in a hotel on the Darien river.
After taking the scenic drive south on Highway 17 we checked into our room before having a delicious flounder sandwich for lunch at a popular local restaurant.
The first place we explored was the Fort King Georgie State Historic Site close to our hotel. The fort was was built by the British in 1721 at the mouth of the Altamaha River to protect the area from the Spanish and the French. Fire destroyed the fort in 1727 and the fort was decommissioned.
Reconstruction of the fort began in the 1970’s and still continues today. We toured the interesting history museum before wandering around the reconstructed fort.
The rest of the afternoon we enjoyed the pool and for a while relaxed on our balcony overlooking the river. After a delicious seafood dinner and a walk along the dock we ended the evening back on the balcony enjoying the view.
The next morning I strolled along the Darien Waterfront Park before breakfast.
On our way home we made a slight detour to visit a recently opened Buc-ees on I-95 in Brunswick. Imagine a huge gas station and a huge store with souvenirs, hot food including Texas brisket, a wall of jerky, groceries, clothes, and even fresh made fudge. It was our first ever visit to a Buc-ees. Now we can say we’ve been there, done that.
We celebrated my June birthday with a day trip to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.
Daufuskie Island is one of the South Carolina sea islands located near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. The island can only be reached by water. You can take your own boat or take a water taxi from either Hilton Head or Savannah. There are tours available on the island but we chose to rent a golf cart and see the island on our own.
Our day trip adventure began with a water taxi ride on the Bella from Bull River Marina in Savannah. We felt like we were on a private charter when we discovered we were the only two passengers on the boat. Henry and I both love boat rides through our beautiful coastal waterways. It was wonderful to watch for birds and dolphins as we traveled the 45 minutes to our destination.
The captain dropped us off at the public dock on Daufuskie where we hopped in our rental golf cart and began to explore the island. The roads are mostly dirt although there are a few paved roads. As we headed in the direction of Bloody Point Beach we saw a few houses but most of the ride was through undeveloped woods. We took a walk on the almost deserted beach. A logger head turtle nesting area was marked off for protection and we could see Tybee Island off in the distance.
As we rode along we stopped to explore some historic sites on the island. The following gallery includes the old Silver Dew Winery, the Bloody Point Lighthouse and former living quarters for the lighthouse keeper and his family (the building is now a museum and gift shop), and the former Mary Field School where the author Pat Conroy once taught. His novel The Water is Wide is based on his experience there.
It was time for lunch so our next stop was the Old Daufuskie Crab Company and Scrap Iron Bar at the Freeport Marina. This is a popular place for boaters and some of the water taxis stop here. I was a little disappointed when I discovered they didn’t have any of the famous deviled crab but my locally caught fried shrimp was delicious. The Scrap Iron Bar is known for it’s Scrap Iron cocktail.
Our last stop was back at the public dock where we waited for our water taxi at D’Fuskie’s Store. I saw a sign for Deviled Crab behind the cash register. I asked if they had any frozen to take home for my birthday dinner and bought the last three they had. They kept them in the freezer for me while we waited for our boat ride home. We enjoyed sitting on the porch talking to some of the locals who live on the island. When it was almost time for the boat to arrive we sat under an oak tree by the water and enjoyed talking to some other locals.
We had another beautiful boat ride back to Savannah. When we got home I heated up the deviled crab for a delicious birthday dinner.
One of my all time favorite traditions was my family’s annual get together for my uncle’s delicious barbeque and Brunswick Stew at his fishing camp at a Georgia lake.
My uncle’s fishing camp long after he was gone. His barbeque pit was to the left of the concrete slab. The picnic tables, chairs, and stew pot were on the concrete under the roof.
In 1973 my parents retired to the farm in Georgia where my Mom grew up. My two brothers and I were adults with families of our own. Neither of my brothers lived in Georgia but we all got together at the farm every summer, usually on Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend or over the 4th of July holiday. The highlight of the visit was a day at the lake for a barbeque feast.
Whether my uncle was cooking Boston Butts, chicken halves, or a whole pig the best part was always the Brunswick Stew. Early in the day all of the stew ingredients went into a huge cast iron cauldron to cook over a low propane flame for several hours. The main ingredients were chicken and pork although sometimes my uncle would throw in turtle meat. The stew required constant stirring to prevent it from sticking. Everyone had to take a turn stirring the stew with a boat oar until my uncle declared it was done.
As everything was cooking the adults sat around stirring the stew and visiting while the kids played in the lake. Sometimes there would be other aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. There would be lots of laughs and lots of tall tales told while we smelled the food cooking and got hungrier and hungrier as the day went on.
Finally it would be time to eat. When the stew was done (usually about mid afternoon) my uncle turned off the propane and covered the pot with foil to let it sit until everything else was ready. My Mom and my aunt set out the potato salad, coleslaw, sweet ice tea, and all the other fixings. My aunt would usually bring her famous Coca Cola Cake or Dump Cake for dessert. Sometimes we would churn home made ice cream. When the foil came off the pot it was time to fix a plate. We all ate until we couldn’t eat any more. After the meal the leftovers would be put in containers so we could all take some home.
My parents and all of my aunts and uncles are long gone. It’s been many years since we had one of these family gatherings. And it’s been many years since we had homemade Brunswick Stew.
There were just three of us for Thanksgiving this year so I decided to break from the traditional turkey feast and make Brunswick Stew instead. Our son and I had fun making it together. He actually did most of the work. Instead of cooking outside in a cast iron cauldron we filled up my 4 gallon stock pot and cooked it on the stove.
The delicious aroma filled the house as the three of us (Henry, our son, and I) took turns stirring the stew. It was just as tasty as I remembered. Every bite took me back to those summer days at the lake.
Thanksgiving Brunswick Stew
Non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner of Brunswick Stew, pulled pork sliders, mac and cheese, and pecan pie for dessert
I’m so grateful my family had those days together at the lake. Making the stew this year brought back many happy memories. It also got me to thinking about the stew itself. Where did it come from? What is the best recipe?
Where did Brunswick Stew come from?
The answer is, it depends on where you are. Georgia claims the first Brunswick Stew was made on St. Simons Island on July 2, 1898. Brian Brown has a great post on his Vanishing Georgia blog which tells about the First Brunswick Stew Pot.
This monument is on display at the Mary Ross Waterfront Park in Brunswick, Georgia
Virginia claims the first Brunswick Stew was made in 1828 in Brunswick County, Virginia. I learned about the history of Virginia Brunswick Stew at Taste of Brunswick Stew.
How do you make Brunswick Stew?
This question can bring up heated discussions here in Georgia. Does it have butter beans or no butter beans? Chicken only? Pork only? Chicken and Pork? What about beef or wild game? Most of the stews also include tomatoes, corn, and potatoes. Is everything ground or are the ingredients cut up in bite size chunks? The seasoning is different in every stew I’ve tried.
As we have traveled around the state of Georgia we have eaten at many barbeque restaurants and tried many different Brunswick stews. There are no two that are exactly alike. Some of them are very good but I’ve never found any that come close to my family’s Brunswick Stew. If you are wondering about the recipe, I can’t give it to you. It is a closely guarded family secret.
Shared with Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge Traditions
Wandering Dawgs 