Tom and recently ate at a new place, The Lunch Box in Darien, Georgia.  As I mentioned before, we have visited most of the places of interest within an hour’s drive of Fort Frederica National Monument.  Because of that, we decided to return to Fort King George in Darien.

We returned because the Visitors Center at Fort King George State Historic Site was under construction the last time we visited.  The new museum was nice and had a few areas designed for children.  The bookshop was small.  It didn’t take us long to check everything out.  When we headed outdoors, we were a little disappointed.

When we visited in 2017, Fort King George had a robust living history program.  The recreated fort was in immaculate condition.  In just the short amount of time since we visited, the fort has fallen into disrepair.  The palisade was falling down and it didn’t look like anyone had used any of the living history areas for a long time.  We asked at the desk and they said they had a special event with reenactors at the beginning of March, but that they living history program was now confined to these special events.  We would have asked more, but the volunteer and the ranger at the desk seemed disinclined to offer more information.

We still enjoyed walking around the recreated fort and the surrounding area.  The Highlander’s cottage is a sweet little building set next to the marsh.  It would be a lovely place to be doing living history.  We read more about the timber history of the area and saw the remains of the tidal powered sawmill.

Our visit to Fort King George didn’t take long, so Tom and I headed to the lunch spot we had picked out.  The Lunch Box is a small, family-run restaurant located in a small strip mall on the north side of Darien.  They are only open from 11 until 3 on weekdays, but they were doing a brisk business on the day we ate there.

The Lunch Box is definitely a family business.  Mom takes the orders and Dad and Son do the cooking.  They offer sandwiches with Boar’s Head deli meat, a large selection of breads, fresh baked goods, and homemade soup.  I was looking forward to a good sandwich and a triple chocolate cookie.  Unfortunately, the day we visited the dessert was strawberry cake.  I’m sure it was delicious, but Tom and I passed on dessert.

I ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on wheat bread.  Tom got tuna salad with potato salad for a side.  The sandwiches were excellent.  Mine was perfectly grilled.  The potato salad was especially delicious.  In the end, Tom and I were glad that we didn’t get dessert because we were so full from the large sandwiches.

The Lunch Box is a small diner-type restaurant.  It isn’t anything fancy, but it has good food and nice people running it.  I asked for some ketchup and they responded that they didn’t have any because they didn’t serve fries.  I told them that I like ketchup with my grilled cheese, which they had never heard of before.  After a few minutes Dad came out with one little packet of ketchup that they had found somewhere.  He said he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t expired, but I was welcome to it.  I used it on my sandwich which made it even better.

The Lunch Box is very popular with locals.  While we were eating lunch lots of people came in.  Some at there, but many people picked up to-go orders.  Mom knew most of their names and asked after their families.  Four local sheriffs came in and said grace before their meal.

Tom and I will certainly eat at The Lunch Box again.  It is the perfect blend of small-town diner and delicious food.