Home of the Hughes

From Saint Augustine, Florida, we headed back northwest into Georgia so that we can visit our Auntie Mary and her family.  It was definitely a hoot to visit my Auntie Mary.  She has lived in Georgia for so long now that she has a Southern twang to her speak...even when she speaks Tagalog or Ilocano.  Columbus, Georgia borders Phenix, Alabama.  To be exact, my cousin and I drove into 14 states, if you included Alabama, because we got lost driving into Columbus that we ended up missing the exit and had to turn around in Phenix.  We stayed with Auntie Mary only for a night.  She cooked us a proper Southern meal...fried everything...just exaggerating...it was battered shrimp, french fries, and hushpuppies.  For those who do not know what hushpuppies are, they are round or oval shaped, nugget-sized pieces of cornmeal dough that are deep fried until golden brown, like a savory doughnut.  My Auntie knows me all to well and she cooked my favorite too...CRAB!  To complement a proper Southern meal, the drink of choice is sweet tea!  My Uncle Herbert's recipe may seem blasphemous to other Southerns but he is diabetic so he had to adjust.  Uncle Herbert's sweet tea is made with Sweet n' Low instead of sugar!  Just to warn visitors to the Southern States...sweet tea is super sweet...so sweet that you can feel a cavity forming after a sip.  But I have gotten used to the ultra-sweet libation after living in North Carolina for 2 years so it was very refreshing!  FOOD COMA!  After a long night of chatting and catching up, we hit the hay to prep for another long day of driving.