It had been a long time since I’d visited the Deep South, except for a trip to New Orleans about a year after Katrina—and that doesn’t count because it’s a big city. So when Gail and I attended a conference in Atlanta this past spring, we added on some R&R time at Georgia’s Golden Isles, hoping for a chance to slow down a bit and enjoy a new destination. I’d missed the South’s haunting live oaks draped with Spanish moss, the wonderful Low-Country cooking—shrimp, crabs, oysters, grits, and hush puppies—that the coastal South is known for, and the generous servings of “y’all!” that come with it.  I also was looking forward to seeing if that genuine Southern charm has survived in this fast-paced Internet age.

July 2009