When you are travelling down historic Route 1 between Swainsboro and Waycross you will encounter the sweet onion capital of the country, Vidalia GA. His culinary instincts overtook and Don decided to try and see if we could score some of the wonderful local produce. But alas, it seemed the supermarkets in town were not a source of the elusive onions. A clerk at the WalMart directed us to the Vidalia Onion Factory & Gift Shop. Unfortunately, it had closed down. Never one to let a good ingredient get away especially when we were SO CLOSE, Don pulled up to a local gas station and asked a guy dressed in overalls where to purchase some local onions. “They ain’t come out the ground yit,” was the response. According to Lil Abner we were 2 weeks early. So close and yet so far. Downtrodden, Don drove for Route 1. Then a huge flatbed truck crossed in front of us with the unmistakable cargo of crates filled with fresh, loose onions. Of course we followed the truck about 100 ft and it pulls up to what has to be a packing plant. I accost the poor truck driver and ask where we can purchase some of these onions. He points to the doorway and says, “In there”.
AT LAST! We enter the plant and I approach the woman at what seems to be a receiving area with a big sign that says “wholesale only”.
The woman looks at me with a raised eyebrow and I start my spiel about how we’re heading south on this road trip and saw Vidalia and just had to have some onions but we couldn’t find any for purchase and would it be possible for me to perhaps purchase some here? By the way, did I mention we write a travel and food blog? (for some crazy reason, this line elicits a lot of cooperation from folks for some odd reason) She confirms that we could, indeed purchase some onions. However, these have literally just come out of the ground (take that, Lil Abner) and the inspector is out to lunch. They can’t package them for me without the inspector’s approval. (AARRGH!) Now knowing how quickly folks move in these parts, we resign ourselves to the fact that we can’t wait around for the inspector. We thank them for their time, she agrees to let me take a photo for the blog and we get back in the Hyundai.
Once again on Route 1 we head through fields and fields of what have to onions still in the ground, tormenting us. Then we come to:
The City Hall of Santa Claus, GA! (Note the red and white striped awning over the doorway and the statue of St. Nick, himself) The folks here told us that the biggest thing that happens here is that Christmastime they receive a lot of mail requesting postmarks from “Santa Claus”.
Back on the road heading towards Waycross and then we see it!
The roadside stand that is the market for Herndon Farms, local growers of (you guessed it) authentic Vidalia Onions! We pull a u-turn and head back. We meet Mrs. Herndon, the matriarch of Herndon Farms. (“I’m their Momma”) The store is all products Vidalia and of course, onions that have “just come up”. Mrs. H tells us how to “finish ’em” by lying them out singly in a cool place. We make numerous purchases, explain about our blog (she equates it with us being some type of newspaper writers – I don’t think she understood what a blog was) and she gives us a few photo ops.
Now, we are happy campers and can leave with onions in hands. (Don holding “salad onions”)
We’re resting in Waycross, GA now and will tell you of our swamp romp tomorrow.
Trip Log Day 4: 134 miles
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