Georgia Traveler; 406; Peach State Panache

This week's Georgia Traveler starts things off with a blast at the Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus. We head south to an ice cream parlor in Savannah that has silver screen connections. Mission Impossible free. We shot in Italy and China all over the U.S. We relax and exhale at a new breed of spawn at Lanta. Here you're going to come and get a really challenging workout. Zip line through the tree canopies of the Northeast Georgia Mountains. I love your detellers! And get served at a Roswell eatery where the pickle is the formula for success. Connor, you've been eating though for an hour. The Traveler is coming right up. Let's begin this week's journey in Columbus where Ricky discovers how Civil War naval officers

used to handle battle at sea. Quick, when I say Civil War, what's the first image that comes to mind? A guy in a horse, a big wheeled cannon? How about the Navy? Step back in maritime history at the National Civil War Naval Museum at Fort Columbus. Here you'll find the country's most comprehensive history of the Northern and Southern Civil War navies. At the start of the Civil War, the U.S. Navy particularly was very tiny and most of the officers were ancient and a lot of the ships were dated as well. The Confederate Navy when the war started didn't exist. Executive Director Bruce Smith says both sides improved their navies as the war went on, but water-fearing Confederates were still outnumbered 10-1, so the South decided to innovate.

The Confederate Navy decided to build a Navy shipyard right here in Columbus and in that shipyard, the biggest project they had was the construction of a 225-foot long monster iron clad ship, the latest technologies, engines, brand new, built right here in Columbus, four million pounds worth of monster ship. And that's in the next room? In the next room? Okay, let's check it out. Let's do it. The CSS Jackson, which stands for Confederate State's ship, was the biggest and best of the Confederacy's famously powerful iron clads. The term came from their thick iron armor that deflected northern cannonballs. We're looking at actually a section of the side of an iron clad ship, much like the CSS Jackson, the wood used under the siding was 24 inches of solid oak. And then on top of that were two layers of two-inch armor plate, iron armor plate. And it's all at this angle here, which was meant, of course, to make any rounds that

would come in, bounce off, and not get their full impact. Unfortunately, the Jackson never had a chance to prove its might against Yankee cannons. Two weeks after it was finished, the Federal Army captured Columbus and set the Jackson on fire until it sank to the bottom of the Chattahoochee River. Nice smelling birdwood. You are indeed. People sometimes say, are you pumping that smell in, saying, no, no, no, no, that's Yankee fire. You're smelling right there. Naval combat did visit the U.S. Navy's gunboat, the USS Water Witch. There's a full-scale reproduction outside the museum. We're on the deck of the recreated USS Water Witch. This ship was actually on blockade duty in Savannah during the war. And periodically, we actually do a re-creation of the capture of the Water Witch by Confederate Navy Commandos in the summer of 1864. In the pre-dawn hours of June 3rd, 1864, Confederate Commandos stormed the Water Witch, anchored at the mouth of the little Oghichi River in Savannah.

There were southern casualties, but by the end of the battle, the ship was in Confederate control. And that meant the Water Witch started flying a Confederate flag, much like the ones that decorate the main hall of the museum. The museum's Civil War Naval Flag exhibit is the largest in the country. This is the largest existing flag of either Navy, 17 feet high, 25 feet across. This is actually the second version of the Confederate National Flag. The first version was known as the Stars and Bars. The problem, when there wasn't any wind, it could be confused for a U.S. flag. For the second version of the Confederate National Flag, they added all this white, the problem, when there wasn't any wind with this one, it looked like a white flag of surrender. So what did they do? They added a red stripe to that part of the flag. For the third and final version of the Confederate National Flag. But the flag was the least of the problems for the Confederates.

So much changed during the Civil War as we learned at the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus, especially in technology. In fact, even the Federals eventually figured out how to beat southern iron clots with much heavier cannonballs. And you can hear just how loud those cannons were if you come visit the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus. Let's now join David and Savannah at a legendary ice cream parlor where the owner is a big time Hollywood movie producer. In Savannah, visitors can enjoy walking the streets and squares of centuries past. Stepping back in time is part of the allure of the city. An establishment that has changed locations, but not traditions, is Leopold's ice cream parlor, established 1990.

My dad came to this country several years before that, from Greece, he and his brothers formed the business and opened the first store in the corner of Gwyneth and Habershire. What sets us apart from any other ice cream is the fact that it's a wonderful, all-natural product that's made the same way it was made back in the 1920s. Leopold became the it place to eat in Greek. Party strewn all throughout Savannah were not complete without this luscious ice cream. It was popular 20s, 30s, 40s, and I can remember in the 50s, even, for really grand parties or grand events, you would have a mold. They were about, oh, a foot and a half across, half a foot high. We would pack it with 2D fruity, especially. That was a very popular thing that, for decades, that we filled molds. Filling the molds was an all-natural combination of flavors that Stratton continues to make decades later. Tons of fresh cream, cane, sugar, natural flavorings, it's just, it's a product made the old-fashioned way.

I promised my dad I would never change it and I won't. When I was in my early 20s, my dad died, I ran the ice cream business for a short while, and decided that Savannah was too small for me, went to New York. Michael Basel was still alive, he was running ice cream. Went to New York, took a trainee job of Mose Corporation. I get exposed to film and theater on the production side. That's it. I did, I did, I'm 25, this is very cool, this is what I want to do. The original Leopold's ice cream shop closed in 1969, and soon after that, Stratton worked his way up the ladder in the movie industry, from actor to casting to executive producer. These credits include hits like The sum of all fears, and Mission Impossible 3 starring Tom Cruz. I produced, exec produced, co-produced, on the adventures of Baron Munchhausen, I was supervising producer of that, the titles start boggling the mind at some point. Mission Impossible 3, we shot in Italy and China, all over the US, Tom is a wonderful workaholic.

Mosquito Coast, we actually shot in Rome, Georgia, we shot part of that. Most of it down in Belize, but part of it was in Rome. After three and a half decades of movie making, Stratton returned to Savannah in 2004 to reopen Leopold's ice cream parlor on East Broughton. He brought in chef Gustavo to help make delicious sandwiches that I guess you could label as an appetizer to the ice cream. We make our own shrimp salad, chicken salad, egg salad, Gustavo Arias, who is, here's our chef right here, Gustavo, come here a minute. He's amazing with flavors, with food generally. He was here working with, I'll tell a story for Leopold. He was here with us initially, four years, when we first opened, five years when we first reopened. Then he went away to the culinary institute and he said from day one, he's coming back here with us, we all wished he would and we so pleased to see if he did. Absolutely. I belong here, I'm so happy here, so it's good. Thanks for having me back.

Thank you. Stratton also enlisted a set designer to recreate his authentic ice cream parlor pattern after the original store. Luckily, Stratton had saved several key items from the original Leopolds that had been closed for 35 years. Being an inveterate pack rat, I save everything, including what you're looking at here. The black marble soda fountain and the soda fountain right here, I'd save that. When we close the store for a few years, I packed everything up. Not fully knowing that would reopen, but something was in the back of my mind, so I finally did. Even though Leopold's ice cream parlor is in a new location, Patron still enjoy the original recipes, Stratton's father and uncle invented many years ago, including the famous Tudifroody. Right when you come in the door, the first one I see there is Tudifroody, let's go back to the history of it. The history of that is that my dad made that, started making it when they opened in 1919. It's got candied fruit in it, pineapple cherries and pecans which come from about 80 miles

away, they're roasted for us, and it's a rum-based ice cream, it has a little bit of rum in it, which gives it a unique flavor. And it's the great ice cream base that my dad made, the flavor he made as well. There's a song, I think, of Tudifroody, correct? Did it have anything to do with it? We think it does, and I say that because my dad started making that back in 1919, and little Richard would come to Savannah before he became a big star, would play gigs here. So we're guessing in the 40s or 50s whenever he was here, we're guessing he had some of that back. But we've been making it since 1919, that I can't say affirmatively. So if I try it, it may inspire me to write a song. Yeah, you can write a hit song then. I'll get a double scoop of each, right? That's actually a single, I tend to scoop big. That's a plus. So the Tudifroody? Yep. Hmm. Good golly, Miss Molly. That's good.

Thank you. Stratch and Leopold continues making movies to this day, yet the Savannah native has returned home to his original love ice cream, and standing behind the same soda fountain his father stood behind 90 years earlier, he looks like he never left. It's time to meet up with Cad and Atlanta at a spa that allows you to work hard and play hard. I'm in the heart of Atlanta at the Grand Opening of the Ultimate Urban Retreat, Exhale Mind Body Spa. Nestled among the skyscrapers of Atlanta's bustling Midtown area, the creative forces behind Exhale hope their newest urban oasis in the Lowes Hotel will help busy city dwellers breathe a little easier. And earlier that morning, visitors from all over Georgia were treated to a sneak peek of what Exhale is and isn't.

Exhale is not a spot, it's not a gym, it's not a yoga studio, it's not one thing, it's a safe place for people to come and do all kinds of things that they never would have done before. Hi, Cat. I'm Tricia. Thank you. I'm going to show you around. Sure. You're going to walk in, you're going to feel a different vibe here that's Exhale. It is a place for healing and transformation and with 22,000 square feet of space making the Atlanta location the largest in the world, transformation is available around every corner. We have our traditional beautiful sanctuary like two studios, one for yoga and another large studio for all of our proprietary core classes that we're so famous for. This is really pretty. The two beautiful changing rooms that are equipped with steam rooms or can go into the sauna prior to a spa therapy, and then we have 15 spa therapy rooms.

In addition, we have a 9,000 square foot spectacular jewel of a gym. That's right, 9,000 square feet of state-of-the-art strength and cardio equipment complete with personal trainer standing by. But little did I know, I was just getting started because for exhale Atlanta's grand opening today, Elizabeth Half-Pap and Fred DeVito, husband and wife co-creators of exhale signature fitness classes and DVDs were here in person. So I couldn't resist trying out Fred's core fusion class for myself. Five, six, seven, three more, eight, nine, ten and lower for a second. Here you're going to come and get a really deep, strong, challenging workout in addition to high-lifted butt, long-leaf thighs and flat abs.

You want to have it all. I can vouch for that as we've bellowed up to the bar for more of core fusion signature leg moves. Now you're in the work zone. This is where it happens, right here. Last one, come halfway down, now close it, half, two, come on baby, down four, down five, down six, down seven, down eight, down nine, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, after these up on ten. Good job, everybody can go the right side, down 111%. I think we all felt that, as well as that. You're shaking, aren't you? Yes, and especially that. Strap, stiff. Then it was time for the move at the core of core fusion, the abdominal curve. This is probably the mothership of the class. It is the center of what we do, now we spend a good eight to ten minutes in this position in class. Now I'm at Philly's left with a orb. But you leave with a calm energy because of the mind-body component. And I continued that mind-body connection with a visit to Elizabeth's core fusion yoga

class. And even though I was new to yoga, Liz made me feel right at home. I sort of have a personal training within a classroom situation atmosphere. But when the guest leaves, they feel they leave in a positive frame of mind where they're encouraged to go to the next step and, most importantly, encouraged to come back. I know I'll be back, but for now, it was time to head over to Exhale's luxurious spa wing for a high-tech facial. We try to combine cutting-edge treatments with healing therapies. We have something called the cool laser for facials. I'm using the red beam on you. It's just glided over the skin very nicely. It's kind of like the universal beam. You can get right up on an ATI too. So everything we do is results oriented with a nurturing touch. It's our little hidden secret. Okay, Kat, you are ready for the party.

That's right. It was time to celebrate the grand opening of Exhale Atlanta. I only spent the day here, but if you're feeling you need more time to unwind, that you can come and stay with a group of friends, with your mom, and stay for a day, two days, and make this a destination spa experience because we do have spa therapies, healing therapies, core classes, yoga. I mean, we do have a hotel. You could easily fill three days here. No matter where you are in Georgia, come to Atlanta and Exhale. We now head from Atlanta up to Lula, where special contributor Kyosha Howard joins the team this week for a zipline adventure through the trees. In Lula, Georgia, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, you can sort through the trees like an eagle.

This is zipline. In the Amazon, West Coast, the United States, and Oregon, you had researchers, biologists, ecologists that were up in the canopy, trying to get up in the canopy, to study the lichens, all the different plants that were up there. And as you can imagine, trying to climb a tree, it's pretty difficult. So they needed to find a technique to not only get up there, but to get around. And so that is how ziplining first originated. At North Georgia canopy tours, real seekers dangle from a wire 65 feet in the air. Okay. You go ahead and review your waiver, release warrant, please read and review this. So basically, I'm just giving myself over to you guys and hoping that I walk out of here. All right. Rudy Burrows, one of the partners at North Georgia canopy tours, told me how it made its way to Georgia. Well, the managing members, Curt and Leah Watkins, actually owned the property.

And they had gone to another zipline canopy tour in Costa Rica, and kind of got the idea that this might be something that they would like to bring back to this area. Obviously, when you're building a canopy tour, you're building this in the tree. So you're going to actually have to cut some down. So a lot of the trees that were taken from the property, we actually took to a local mill, and we make our making benches and tables out of the logs that were actually taken from the property. The building that you're standing in includes trusses that were from an old chicken coop that actually used to be on the property. For just under $100, you can suit up and clip in. All right. Let's go then. See you. Today, we've got nine ziplines, two sky bridges and two short hikes. There are some risk involved because we're going to be 65 feet up in a tree at times. We have been caught going up to 30 miles an hour coming down the zipline right over here. We'll build a little business trees as well. I think I'm ready to go. Well, except for one small thing, I'm afraid of heights, so. Are you?

Yeah. I'll tell you, the trick for me is understanding the gear and understanding everything out here to be comfortable with it. So because I'm comfortable with my harness and I understand how strong it is, I understand the strength of the cable that it makes me comfortable. Here's our trolley. There you go. All right. Oh, like that. Ziplining is a system of pulleys and cables that use your gravity to propel you through the trees. There you go. It's good. This cable holds 26,600 pounds. I don't weigh that much. Woo! After training at the ground school, I'm ripping for some zippin. Woo! Up in the canopy, I with past white oaks, red oaks, and popular trees. Oh, my God. On the platforms, there's a stump. You step up on a big piece of a log so that you can reach the cable, to be hooked on, and those are even made out of the same type of tree that you're in so that everything really does blend well.

I think stands out. There are many features that were uniquely designed to fit just our course. The designers are very big on sustainability, but they got these wooden blocks up here. We're coming bonzi blocks. So the cable does actually touch the tree through these blocks. It's every so often, every year, so the designers and the builders can come back in and make and loosen up the cables a little bit, so the tree can continue to grow. At North Georgia Canopy Tours, I found a new respect for the beauty and the strength of the trees. Woo! On Canopy Flites, to culinary delight, it's off to Roswell, where David tries his hand in southern cuisine. Here we are, Canton Street and downtown Roswell, a place known for great dining. For one spot that got me kind of tickled, is a restaurant known, that's the fickle pickle.

Amazed by the power of the pickle, are many visitors to one of Roswell's powerhouse restaurants. Located on Canton Road, a street made famous for its fine dining and antique stores, the fickle pickle has had diners raving since the day it opened in 2003. Of course, there's great food and a catchy name, but it's the tasty pickles themselves that pack the house. So when did you decide, you know, I'm going to base my career around pickles? Well, actually, when we first opened the fickle pickle, I wanted a good appetizer, so that's when I did some research on pickles and such. I knew that we were going to make a lot, most of our stuff was scratched, yeah. So that's when I knew, well, we're going to call it pickle, we're going to make our own pickles, and we're going to make really good pickles. So there are two types of pickles served here. You have the sweet tasting bread and butter pickle that comes as a side to the sandwiches. I expect it to be a little like a pickle, but it's a little sweet to it, man, I'm hooked on that now. When the spicy Cajun pickle, their signature appetizer, which, like a fine wine, gets

much of its flavor from the barrel. This barrel may be, yeah, about six years old. Six-year-old barrel, doing fried pickles, that's what happened. Chef Andy was kind enough to guide me step-by-step through the Cajun pickle process. So we did this in the buttermilk, and then we came back in the cornmeal mix, and that gives it a nice crunch. And then, all we're going to do, if you want to, just dig by your, you can dump them right in there, into the fryer, just good old vegetable oil in there, send her down, and then, oh, go pickles. And that takes about three, four minutes, four minutes later, drain them a little, we'll put them in here to get a little of the excess oil off. We're going to take the sauce, which is our creole ramilad sauce, and nice and spicy, right? Nice kick, it's got creole mustard and horseradish, and cayenne, so it's got mutton

mayonnaise, ketchup, a whole bunch of this, about 15 different ingredients in there. And I'm going to burn myself later, right now. It's quite hot. That's about how it was good, but I can take it. Oh, it gives it that spice, you know, if you take the pickle by itself, it has a nice little kick, but the frying softens it, but it is the sauce. My son had never tried pickles before, more over a pickle pickle, so who better to put Andy's spicy pickle recipe up to the test? He likes them. Woo, little hot though. Here's southern boy right here. Connor, you've been eating those for an hour. The famous pickles may draw customers in the doors, but it's the variety of classic southern sandwiches that keep them coming back for more. From Andy's personal favorite, the horseradish beef sandwich, which I took him up on, to fried green tomatoes, chicken salad sandwiches, a menu for vegans, and of course a top notch

bakery. Yes, these are our chocolate chip cookies. Oh, yeah. We do a kidsy free night on a Tuesday night, so this is the popular item with the kids on Tuesday nights. Does kids go up to 34? So next time you're on Canton Road, keep an eye out for an old Victorian home with a giant seven-foot pickle on the front porch. Step inside, don't be fickle and fill up on spicy caged pickles. Well, that's it for this episode of Georgia Traveler. We hope you join us next time. Until then, Pleasant Journeys. Ready? Fire! This is getting supposed to be smoking like that. It's not smoking. He's right.

Do you get that on film? Are you okay? Come on. Two. Savannah. Oh, come. Two. Savannah. Oh, come. Two. Savannah. Oh, oh. I said that best of the age of the V to the W and A, A, H. I don't have to spell about come. Two. Savannah. Oh, oh. All right. Three. Georgia Travelers produced in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development. This is a GPB original production.