We traveled about 400 miles to reach our first destination, St. Simons Island. With our GPS (we call “Lola,”) leading the way, it was a smooth trip. We made one stop along the way in Port Orange, Florida to eat lunch at Biscuits ‘n’ Gravy ‘n’ More. It is a small diner a few miles off of I-95. Prices were low, service was good and the portions were large. The pecan waffles were loaded with flavor, the biscuits and gravy were excellent, as was the meatloaf and home made mashed potatoes.
We drove another couple of hours and arrived at St. Simons Island, which is the largest barrier island in Georgia, roughly the size of Manhattan. After checking into the King and Prince Resort, we wanted to take advantage of the hour of daylight left to see the Pier Village. There is a main road that is lined with quaint shops and restaurants. At the end of the road is a pier. Large oaks shade a playground and picnic area. Visit the St. Simons Island Visitor’s center. You can join a trolley tour of the island from this location daily at 1:30 p.m. Photograph the St. Simons Island Lighthouse, which was built in 1872, and is one of only five surviving light towers in Georgia. The light from the house extends out 23 miles to sea. You can climb up the 129 steps for amazing views of St. Simons and Jekyll Island.
We decided to eat dinner at Barbara Jean’s, which has been featured in Southern Living Magazine for their crab cakes. We tried the dirty rice ($3.99,) She-crab soup ($4.99 for a cup,) crab cakes, a shrimp burger and the grits. There are 3 of us splitting all of this food by the way. The meal began with home-made corn and pumpkin bread served with whipped butter – yum! The crab cake was excellent. The she crab soup ($4.99 for a cup) and shrimp burger were good, but the highlight of dinner was the Shrimp and Andouille Sausage cheese grits. Wow! Did I mention I don’t like grits, and had no interest in tasting them? What a mistake that would have been. It was delicious. The grits were so creamy. The shrimp were grilled to perfection and there were plenty of andouille sausage and scallions. Every bite was full of flavor. This is one recipe I can’t wait to come home and try to duplicate. The service was great, but I must mention the restaurant was not full. Prices were reasonabl,e as we paid about $50 for the 3 of us. I would certainly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting St. Simons Island.
Tomorrow we’re off to Charleston, South Carolina.
