In the Land of the Palm Tree, Orange Grove, and Boiled Peanut

When a southerner asks you if you want a bowl of peanuts, there's a good chance you misunderstood their drawl. A "boiled" peanut is a Southern delicacy and a staple in the Southern Food Pyramid. It also tastes like wet cardboard wrapped in a soiled diaper.

While we didn't eat any boiled peanuts this weekend, we sure had plenty of opportunities. On our whirlwind Thanksgiving tour of the southern states, we passed boiled peanut vendors, orange tree orchards, and more fireworks superstores than you could shake a stick at. For a moment, I was back in my mission, wearing a black name tag and gaining weight by the minute. You'd think North Carolina would be the same, but it's not. It's very Yankee in comparison.


Our first stop was Savannah, Georgia. Sweet Moses, what a beautiful city it is. It's a lot like Charleston: full of cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages, and authentic Southern homes that predate the Revolutionary War. We didn't stay long, but in our brief 2-day stint, we fell in love with that city.

City Hall, Savannah, GA

We then headed further south, into uncharted territory. Neither Celeste nor I had ever been to Florida. We had seen enough pictures, though, that we weren't surprised at the fruit stand at every mile marker, the palm trees that lined the roads and the highways, and the 85-degree weather at the end of November. We felt slightly guilty when we received news from Utah that they were facing a bona fide blizzard and sub-zero temperatures. It sounded so awful and we got so cold that we may have even turned the air conditioner off. I don't remember.

We had the BEST time in Florida, and not because of Florida itself. I mean, sure, it was nice, but it was truly wonderful to be with family for Thanksgiving - something we missed out on last year. This year we stayed with my cousin Rob and his wife Janelle. The fact that they had two 5-month old twins at the house was a huge bonus in our favor. We got to play with the boys all day long, and I don't remember changing a single diaper (although I was vomited on).

Dylan is dazed, Nickolas is ready to fire.

Thanksgiving Day was exactly what it should be: family, food, and football. I saw family from my dad's side that I hadn't seen in over a decade. My cousin Michelle, my Uncle Mike and Aunt Sherry, and my Aunt Cathy who I hadn't seen since I was seven. Crazy how we let time get away from us. The next thing you know, you're twenty years older.

The Fam

On our way back to North Carolina, we stopped in Charleston, South Carolina, where I served 16 months of my 24-month LDS mission. Charleston will always feel like home, in part because of the wonderful people who remain there. One such person, Sarah Buggs, is one of the best friends I will ever have. I taught and baptized Sarah in 2005. During that time and since then, she has been burdened with more medical problems than most people experience in a lifetime, from cancer to knee replacements. On more than one occassion, doctors have braced Sarah and her family for the bad news that death was no longer knocking, but in the kitchen. With the faith and patience of Job, Sarah has braved the storms, beat the odds, and kicked death to the curb. She is a walking miracle, and on Saturday, Celeste and I were able to visit her again and spend some time with her in her home. It was an emotional but happy meeting. Every time I see her, I say to myself that it might be the last. Every time I say that, she proves me wrong.

It was a long and wild trip, including 4 states, 5 cities, 1,500 miles, 2 twins, 2 cousins, 2 aunts and an uncle, lots of food, lots more pie, 7 football games, and about 50,000 calories a piece. We couldn't have written it better ourselves.

Beautiful downtown Charleston, SC