Remember these folks?
I know you've seen the opening of The Beverly Hillbillies pictured above as they loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly Hills. Well, this weekend I was part of a Clampett-style trek in reverse as we moved from the cities of Savannah and Richmond Hill down to the country--more specifically to the Altamaha River area of Wayne County, GA .
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/category/gardi-ga/Suzi's son loaned us his truck so we could take tables, chairs, air-mattresses, coolers, and anything else we could think of as we headed out to celebrate our friend Lisa's 40th birthday with a river bash.
Granny, Ellie May, and Jetherine in Avery's pick-up
Brooke and Chad's beautiful house was the setting for the River Bash.
Yeah, we camped out in style.
sweet Lisa whose birth we celebrated
Brooke's artistic talents were evident from the start. She even had Lisa's face plastered on cute green M and M's and tiny candy bars.
Suzi and I cut up potatoes and sausage while Chad added corn and Louisiana seasoning to vats of shrimp. The other 50 or so partiers showed up bearing gifts of traditional southern fare: pigs in blankets, chicken strips, red pepper crackers, toffee bars, bourbon. Brooke was a blur, moving like the Tasmanian Devil, but with tasty results, to be sure we all had the best time.
With Gregg Allman's new album Low Country Blues playing in the background, there was much celebrating (what happens at the river...you know the rest) with a FABulous bunch of friends who love any excuse for a party.
You can find a recipe at
but you can make your own adjustments and refinements to this mouth-watering concoction.
Perhaps best of all, we got to share the house with this bundle of cuteness, aptly named River. Brooke and Jack found him abandoned in the middle of the road; but after an expensive trip to the vet and a good scrubbing, River turned out to be the most adorable puppy.
On the way home while stopped at a red light in Jesup, we spied this fella who was reminding everyone to get right with the Lord. 
Teresa and Suzi decided we didn't have enough junk in the trunk, so we added mattresses along the way.
Thanks to Brooke and Chad for their hospitality and a breath-takingly beautiful place to camp out.
Thanks to everyone else for adding to our great store of memories.
For more information see---
You know you're having a successful party in the country when some of the most unforgettable quotes are:
Text from LG: I'm bringing Momma, but right now we're fixin' pigs...
DJ: I know it looks like coffee, but it smells like I don't know what.
Written on CJ's styro cup: Chrissy Pregnant
Joey on his niece's ultrasound pic that he carries in his pocket: You can see right here it's a boy.
VD: Now would you teach summer school again if you got beat up by a big old boy with his size 14 tennis shoe?
KG while falling backward into the tomato plants as his plastic chair is breaking: aaaaaaaaa!!!!AAAAAA!!!!AAAAAA!!!!!!!!
LE: Y'all, I just can't take it anymore.
CH: I'm ready to start a fire!
BR: F---! F---! F---! Dear God, I'm just trying to have a party.
