The only thing the women had in common was that they were all signed up for a group trip to Savannah, Georgia. Some women were interested in learning about the history of the city. Others just wanted to get out of Longview for a few days. What started out as your average Charm Road Trip became a story of new friendships ... and new recipes!
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All of the women from the trip got together at Joyce Hugman's house for their first annual Paula Deen Luncheon. Some of the ladies brought their recipe books, while others brought momentos from their trip to Savannah.
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The Deen scene
"When we were in Savannah we took the usual Savannah tours and learned a lot about the history of the place. And, of course, there was shopping," Joyce Hugman said. "But what really stood out, I think for everyone on the trip, was Paula Deen. Some of us didn't even know who she was, but we all came back just loving her."
"I guess you could say that as a group we didn't know each other that well," Joyce said. "But we found out that we had lots in common, namely that we all love to cook."
So, during their trip, the ladies started planning a reunion.
A nice reunion
Fourteen women gathered at Joyce's house a couple of months after they all returned from their trip. They each brought a dish of their choice from the Paula Deen Cookbook.
"There were only a couple of repeated recipes," Kathy Capps said. "But that was fine with us! Anything out of that cookbook is amazing. I'm a big fan of Paula's!"
The ladies gathered around a table filled with corn casserole, tomato sandwiches and sweet potato balls, just to name a few dishes. As they took their seats for the big meal, they reminisced on the great time they all had together.
"From the time we got up for breakfast until it was time for bed, we laughed so much," Shirley Whittington said. "We all made a lot of new friends in the four days we were there."
Some of the women brought their pictures, along with copies of pictures for their new friends.
"We talked about getting together again next year and setting another luncheon date," Joyce said. "Once a year – the Paula Deen reunion lunch. That sounds like a great idea."
