• 11 months ago
Are you on the lookout for an exceptional travel podcast to accompany your journeys on the road? Look no further – immerse yourself in the captivating world of our For 91 Days Travel Podcast Series! While we may admit to a touch of bias, our recent road trip allowed us to revisit past podcast episodes, and each moment proved to be a delightful experience. We're confident that you, too, will find it thoroughly enjoyable.

For those just joining us, commence your journey with our Savannah Podcast. Access the very first episode through this link: https://explore91days.com/doxt

For 91 Days in Savannah Podcast - Episode 03

In this latest episode, we transport you to Tybee Island for a tranquil beachside stroll. Then, we venture back to Tybee for an invigorating kayak adventure. Naturally, we couldn't resist the allure of dining at Paula Deen's Restaurant: The Lady & Sons. As we bring this chapter to a close, we delve into Savannah's founding principles, encapsulated in the motto: No Liquor! No Slaves! No Lawyers! No Catholics!

Discover the articles referenced in this podcast, complete with an array of captivating visuals to enrich your experience.

A bit about Tybee

Tybee boasts pristine beaches, inviting visitors to stroll along the shores and savor the Atlantic's rhythmic sounds. The island's laid-back atmosphere features colorful cottages, eclectic shops, and seaside eateries offering fresh seafood.

An iconic landmark, the Tybee Island Light Station and Museum, has guided mariners since 1736. Climbing to the top reveals panoramic views and a journey through Tybee's maritime history.

Beyond the shoreline, adventure awaits with kayaking, paddleboarding, and dolphin tours. Nature lovers explore salt marshes and tidal creeks, encountering diverse wildlife, from coastal birds to playful dolphins.

Tybee's unique culture comes alive through festivals like the Tybee Island Pirate Fest and the laid-back Tybee Island Beach Bum Parade. The island offers a perfect backdrop for evening strolls, romantic dinners, and quiet reflection as the sun sets over the marshes.

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Explore the articles referenced in this podcast, loaded with delightful images to enhance your experience:

https://savannah.for91days.com/tybee-island-savannahs-beach/

https://savannah.for91days.com/paula-deens-the-lady-and-sons/

https://savannah.for91days.com/savannah-derby-devils-insanity-on-skates/

https://savannah.for91days.com/in-the-water-with-north-island-kayak/

https://savannah.for91days.com/no-liquor-no-slaves-no-lawyers-no-catholics/

We used this Text to Voice tool: elevenlabs.io/?from=partnerbridges4821

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Transcript
00:00 Hello, and welcome to the third episode of our Savannah podcast series.
00:12 I'm Mike from the travel blog for 91days.com, where my partner Juergen and I travel the
00:17 world for 91 days at a time.
00:20 In today's episode, we'll be taking you to explore Savannah's Beach, also known as Tybee
00:25 Island.
00:26 And have you ever heard of roller derby?
00:28 Well, we're off to watch Savannah's Derby Devils take on the Cape Fear Roller Girls.
00:34 And what visit to Savannah is complete without eating at Paula Deen's famous restaurant,
00:38 The Lady and Sons?
00:40 For now, put on your headphones and sit back for the third episode of For 91 Days in Savannah.
00:53 Tybee Island, Savannah's Beach.
00:56 Just a short half-hour drive from Savannah, Tybee Island is the region's top recreational
01:01 destination, with a beach, surf and kayak shops, nature trails, cool restaurants, dolphin
01:07 tours, and just about anything else you might need for a day trip from the city.
01:13 Tybee was our first excursion outside of Savannah.
01:16 Not only is the drive easy, a straight shot east along Victory Road, but it's gorgeous.
01:21 The route crosses over White Marsh Island and follows the course of the Savannah River
01:25 past Fort Pulaski until reaching Tybee.
01:28 Pretty simple, though you might need to plan in time for photo breaks as you explore Georgia's
01:33 picturesque coastal zone.
01:36 Our initial visit to Tybee Island was a quick one.
01:39 We had brought our dog, without realizing that pets are prohibited on the beach since
01:42 turtles come here for nesting.
01:45 So we cracked the windows, left Chucky in the car, and took a short walk down to the
01:49 water and back.
01:50 We didn't have quarters, but figured it was probably fine to skip paying the meter.
01:55 Well, we thought wrong.
01:56 On our return, there was already a cop at our car, writing a ticket, and probably unhappy
02:01 about an unattended caught dog in the car.
02:04 We waited in the shadows for him to depart, then made our own departure from Tybee.
02:08 We'd learn later that the island's parking enforcement is notorious.
02:12 Don't leave your car parked illegally, even for a moment.
02:17 Tybee Island was originally inhabited by the Yuchi Indians, in whose language "Tybee"
02:21 means "salt."
02:23 For a brief period at the end of the 50s, it was renamed Savannah Beach, and although
02:27 the original name has been restored, that's basically what it is.
02:31 The majority of visitors are here on day trips from the city.
02:35 Only about 3,000 people live on Tybee full-time, and I would guess that just about all of them
02:39 are in the tourism business.
02:42 If you'd like to learn more about Tybee Island, head towards its most prominent landmark.
02:45 The Tybee Island Lighthouse can be visited, and includes a small museum dedicated to the
02:49 history of the island.
02:59 Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons
03:01 While we were living in Spain, eating incredible organic dishes fresh off the fields, the Paula
03:06 Deen phenomenon was sweeping America.
03:09 By the time we moved to Savannah, she had become a bona fide celebrity, especially in
03:13 this city.
03:14 No matter where you turn, there she is, her smiling visage peering out of every storefront
03:19 window, dominating the cover of every magazine, sneaking into every conversation.
03:23 "You look skinny," she seems to be saying.
03:26 "Come here and let Mrs. Deen rectify that."
03:31 Everyone we've met in Savannah has had two pieces of advice for us.
03:34 Number one, at all costs, avoid eating at Paula Deen's restaurant, Our Lady and Sons.
03:40 And number two, since eating there is unavoidable, stock up on cholesterol medication.
03:46 I didn't understand how eating at a restaurant could be unavoidable, but that was before
03:50 I talked to my friends and family, all of whom seem to know Savannah primarily as Paula
03:55 Deen City.
03:56 There's my mom.
03:58 "Of course I'll come to visit, sweetie, as long as you promise that we eat at The Lady
04:02 and Sons."
04:04 Or my aunt.
04:05 "Michael, tell me all about Paula's restaurant.
04:08 I'm on pins and needles."
04:09 "Excuse me, what?
04:11 You haven't eaten there yet?
04:13 What's wrong with you, child?
04:15 Are you into the drugs?"
04:16 "No, there is no excuse."
04:20 And so we went to The Lady and Sons.
04:22 It was everything everyone said it would be, both good and bad.
04:25 I have never eaten greasier food.
04:28 Even my beer was greasy.
04:29 Even my napkin.
04:30 It freaked me out.
04:32 But The Lady and Sons seemed to be a sort of deep-fried mecca for most of our fellow
04:36 diners.
04:37 People were moaning with pleasure as they bit into their deep-fried whatever.
04:41 We were transfixed by a woman at the neighboring table who, with every bite of her biscuit,
04:45 was sent into a spasm of gratified rapture.
04:47 So delicious.
04:48 She was literally shaking with delight.
04:51 Although now that I'm reflecting on it, that might have been a heart attack.
04:56 If you're not a Paula Deen fan, I'd say you can comfortably skip The Lady and Sons and
05:00 not feel the slightest bit guilty.
05:01 Savannah has plenty of other restaurants that are more worth your money.
05:05 And if you are a fan of the flamboyant Mrs. Deen, well, I shouldn't waste any more breath.
05:09 You're going regardless of what I say, and you're going to love it.
05:20 Savannah Derby Devils.
05:21 Insanity on Skates.
05:24 One night, we decided to check out a roller derby match between Savannah's own Derby Devils
05:28 and the Cape Fear Roller Girls.
05:31 I had only been familiar with roller derby from the 1980s program Roller Games, Saturday
05:36 afternoons right after American Gladiator.
05:38 And Juergen had never seen it at all.
05:41 The sport practiced by the Derby Devils has absolutely nothing to do with the pro-wrestling-like
05:45 circus I so fondly remembered.
05:48 These chicks play for real, and I was shocked by the brutality of it.
05:51 A couple of these hits could have made a pro footballer cry for mommy.
05:56 Watching the girls bob and weave their way to the front of the pack, barely dodging a
05:59 hip check here, or not dodging that shoulder check there, made for a heart-pounding spectator
06:04 experience.
06:07 It was the last match of the season, and the Super Goose Arena was packed.
06:10 Savannah really gets behind their Derby Devils.
06:13 Fans tailgated for two hours before the match, and much of the audience came equipped with
06:16 signs to cheer on their favorite players, each of whom is known by an awesome stage
06:20 name like "Fear Abby" or "The Sexecutioner Junior."
06:25 Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Roller Girls of Cape Fear were the larger, more terrifying,
06:30 and ultimately superior team.
06:33 But the final score was secondary to the fun which everyone was having.
06:37 And any misgivings I might have had about the authenticity of roller derby have vanished.
06:41 It was way better than I had expected.
06:51 In the Water with North Island Kayak
06:54 There are a lot of activities you can do on Tybee Island, but one of the most popular
06:58 is kayaking.
07:00 We decided to take my brother, who happened to be visiting, as a surprise present for
07:04 his birthday.
07:07 We arrived early at North Island Surf and Kayak on the interior border of Tybee Island.
07:11 The shop's owner was out of town, but his parents had come down from Augusta to manage
07:15 the place.
07:16 They were a friendly couple, possessed of that southern tendency to warm up immediately
07:20 to complete strangers.
07:22 We enjoyed some long conversations with them both before and after kayaking, and as we
07:26 were leaving at the end of the day, we all got hugged.
07:30 We spent the whole day out on the water, paddling up the Lazaretto Creek which flows inland,
07:34 and then into the ocean.
07:36 It was a wonderful experience, the highlight of which came when a dolphin surfaced just
07:40 ten feet from my kayak.
07:42 Being outdoors on a perfect, warm fall morning, exercising muscles that haven't been used
07:46 in years, and seeing a dolphin as well?
07:49 It couldn't have been better.
07:51 The kayaks can be leased for the whole day, and they're of good quality.
07:55 The water around here is also generally calm.
07:58 Despite being total newbies to the sport, none of us were ever in danger of capsizing.
08:03 And the shop is perfectly situated on the banks of the river, giving you the choice
08:07 to go upstream, paddle over to Fort Pulaski, or just to cruise along the coast of Tybee.
08:14 North Island also offers day-long guided tours, so if you're in the mood for some exercise
08:19 in a beautiful area, check them out.
08:20 [music]
08:29 No liquor, no slaves, no lawyers, no Catholics.
08:35 When he founded Savannah, the capital of his newly-charted colony of Georgia, James Oglethorpe
08:40 had some utopian ideas.
08:42 His planned city would be built around four squares and four simple prohibitions.
08:47 No rum, no slavery, no lawyers, no papists.
08:54 Oglethorpe's vision for an idyllic society didn't last long.
08:57 Like any American kid up until the age of 21 could tell you, banning liquor just makes
09:02 you want it more.
09:03 That was a doomed policy from the get-go, especially in the hard days of the city's
09:07 inception.
09:09 The ban on slavery was noble, but sadly ahead of its time.
09:13 Slavery was legal in South Carolina, and nearby Charleston was flourishing.
09:18 Jealous of their neighbors' wealth, it didn't take long for unscrupulous Savannians to revolt
09:22 against their leader's decree.
09:24 Soon enough, affable society folk were lounging on the front porches of their plantation houses,
09:29 sipping Chatham artillery punch while getting rich off the labor of others.
09:34 The ban on Catholics?
09:36 That's more curious, considering Savannah's tolerance towards other religions.
09:40 But Georgia was originally founded as a buffer zone between the Carolinas and Spanish Florida.
09:47 It wasn't the Catholic belief in transubstantiation that earned Oglethorpe's distrust, but because
09:53 they might be Spanish spies.
09:55 This was another law that would soon be relaxed after the colony's founding.
10:00 And the decree against lawyers?
10:01 Please, that one never had a chance.
10:03 An aspiring lawyer probably just sued until the city realized they'd need a lawyer of
10:07 their own to defend their anti-lawyer law.
10:17 We hope you're enjoying our stories from Savannah.
10:19 If so, please subscribe to our podcast so you don't miss any episodes.
10:23 And of course, you can read all about this amazing city and admire photos on our blog,
10:28 savannah.for91days.com.
10:31 [music]

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