Georgia

Georgia is a friendly, ultra-Southern state known for peanuts and peaches. You can find cordial, traditional society in Savannah, coastal marshes in Brunswick, or metropolitan variety and hip-hop culture in Atlanta. Around the capital, you can see a replica of the Oval Office at Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Library and Museum, or the largest aquarium in the world, which has dolphins and beluga whales. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s gravesite and Center for Non-Violent Social Change are also located in town. The Savannah History Museum offers an education in the city’s Historic District, and contains set pieces from Forrest Gump. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, with about 9,000 to 15,000 alligators, 234 bird species, 49 mammalian types, and 60 amphibian species, is a thrilling place for a canoe ride. This swampy lowland area formed ocean floor a long, long time ago.

There are a lot of classic Southern dishes to be had in Georgia, such as candied yams, collard greens, and black-eyed peas, but to some that kind of thing never gets old. Variations on a theme can include jalapeño-cornbread pudding, environmentally-friendly fish dishes, and sides of hydroponic greens. You can find sustainable cuisine in Athens, including sweetbreads, handmade pasta, and Frogmore stew (made of corn, sausage, and potatoes). These days, organic coffee and wine bar/eateries aren’t hard to come by. Southern style and sustainability seem to be an irresistibly charming match.