Tell us something you love about or from the American South. There are many things that I love about the south, from ice tea to Tex Mex to the unending, wonderful hum of cicadas in the summertime. Although I was born and raised in the frozen north, I grew up loving cemeteries, and one of my favorite places in the south is Bonaventure Cemetery, in Savannah, Georgia. This is the cemetery featured in John Berendt's terrific 1995 book, Midnight in the Garden of Goodness and Evil. I've been there twice, and the above photo is one of many I took in that beautiful cemetery. If you're planning a visit, I recommend the phenomenally pulchritudinous (do I sound Southern Gothic, or what?) and coincidentally romantic (although I've yet to go there with a sweetheart) Hamilton-Turner Inn.
As for BEST BARBECUE - well, I thinkthat'd have to be Texas, of course. I did the Texas Barbecue Circuit (yes, there is such a thing) with my oldest daughter, Alex, and her fiance, Chris, this spring, and after sampling barbecue at a number of places, we decided that, hands down, Black's Barbecue was the best...and for what it's worth, they ship nationwide.
