My Southern Exposure...

So, a few weeks ago, I decided to go visit a friend in South Carolina. It seems that the universe wanted this to happen- I found a ticket at a rate apparently not seen for many years, I had time with work and I didn't have church responsibilities. So, I was off!

The trip started out Wednesday night. I went to dinner with Mark in SLC- he baby-sat my car for me while I went, so I took him to dinner. Dinner was outstanding! I highly recommend the peach-burbon bacon-wrapped scallops at Red Lobster.

I had to fly out super early Thursday morning (6:00 a.m. flight), so I stayed in SLC and Mark took me to the airport. The flight was relatively uneventful from SLC to Dallas-Ft.Worth. I managed to squeeze in a celebrity sighting in Dallas. Leann Rimes was moseying through the airport- no, I did not approach her and ask for a picture/autograph/cd/anything. On the Dallas to Charlotte leg o' the flight, I sat with a very nice young veterinarian from Dallas on his way to Charlotte for a buddy's wedding. He drank jack and coke and has 3 dogs and the theme to The Office is his ringtone. His ears were pierced and he reads a magazine dedicated solely to diesel trucks. Literature at its finest, I know.

Other than that, Thursday was pretty mellow. Jean Marie picked me up in Charlotte and we spent a chat-filled car ride getting to Columbia. I was so tired from traveling all day and being up since 3:15 a.m. that we ordered some chinese food and fell asleep pretty early. The adventures were set to commence the following morning.

After a good and much needed night's sleep, we were off! Our first stop (after a tasty brunch at Cafe Struedel) was the Columbia River.





The East has had a lot of rain the past week because of the leftovers of a hurricane, so we could only go so far on the riverwalk. Sad day! But, not to be deterred, we decided to go to a swamp! Congaree National Park is built in the middle of a swamp. Sadly, we didn't see any alligators or turtles or swamp things. But, we did see a large group of 5th graders on a splendid field trip. We walked and walked and walked and walked and took lots of pictures and were balmy.





Our next stop, after a tasty ice-cream adventure (snickers-infused! yummo!), we toured the South Carolina state house. It's been standing since the Civil War and had several staircases that were well-suited for promenade type walking. I could easily picture myself in a Scarlett O'Hara-esque dress. Sigh...

Then, it was off to the Coats' house for an authentic southern dinner! Salisbury Steak, gravy and rice, black-eyed peas, biscuits (which apparently are more southern than rolls), baked sweet potatoes and lemon chess and pecan pie for dessert! Oh, so tasty! The Coats' are some friends of Jean Marie's and since it was her birthday on Friday, it was their treat to us. Dinner was so tasyt and I felt slightly more southern, having eaten the black-eyed peas.

Oh! And after a tasty dinner, we went to the Columbia, SC temple. It is a smaller temple and just beautiful! It was a perfect evening and the temple is great and quiet and peaceful!




Once again, we went home full and exhausted and fat and happy and ready for the next days' adventures!

Saturday was super fun! We decided that a plantation visit was in order, so we started out at Drayton Hall, about 10 miles north of Charleston. The house on the plantation has been there since 1738. The house is owned now by the Historical Trust and they are working on preserving the home. Preservation focuses on looking at the history of the house instead of picking one time period and restoring it to look a certain way.

One minor setback of the plantation visit was the pesky little ant hill I had the misfortune to discover. Let's just say that my feet, the right one in particular, now look like they have chicken pox.

The plantaiton was breathtaking! There are hardly words for how incredible it was. I took a ton of pictures- you can check out all of them on Facebook. The grounds are so well manicured- it is set back from the road and you can see where the carriage turnaround once was. The house doesn't have furniture in it- they want visitors to be more open to how the house might have looked through the years as different family members lived there. There is a pond and a creek on the grounds, as well as the structure of what is the world's largest outhouse. We wandered and took pictures and wandered some more and took a tour of the house (our guide Betsy took a spoon so she can whack anyone who touches the walls of the house). The Ashley River ran basically through the back yard. The hosue has so many amazing stories and has so much character- it is awesome!









After Drayton Hall, we headed into Charleston. If you've not ever been there, it is a must! Full of history, stores, food, people- it was great! We had pulled pork bbq sandwiches, complete with cole slaw on the top. And we found a store called Cupcake- that is all they sell. I myself had a red velvet cupcake- it was a little bit of heaven on earth!

Charleston is a fascinating town. There is a lot of history there- in the middle of town is an old slave market- the building is still standing. They now use the holding areas of the market as an artisan vendor area. It's great- you can buy just about anything you think of. I love the architecture of Charleston- rather than just tear down buildings, they make the stores work with what is already there. In the old part of town, the streets are cobbled and sidewalks uneven. It gives the City such an air of charm and comfortability. You can see Fort Sumter (shot fired that started the Civil War), shop at stores where you are buying Jimmi Choo shoes or $800 purses but you can also shop at a place called Rhett Butler's (I bought a pair of sandals there). and you can just mozy and swing on a swing down on tbe Battery. So much history and character!





Sunday we got up and went to church then headed to the airport in Charlotte. The flight home was great! From Charlotte to Chicago, I sat next to a woman named Tina. She has spina bifida. She is married and has two kids and works as a marketing executive. She and I had a great talk about God and trials and priorities and families. She had such a great attitude!

When I got to the gate in Chicago, I was greeted by the American Fork High School marching band. Apparently they were on their way home from nationals or something like that. I thought with that many teenagers on the plane, it had the potential for a long, noisy flight. But they were all really good- most of them were probably hooked up to an iPod or something. Regardless, I sat next to a very nice artist from Logan! He and two other artist friends from Cache Valley had been at an art exhibit in Montreal. He and I had a great visit about art and painting and creativity in general. It was fun.

And then I was home! It really was great- I ate great food, tried grits for the first time, laughed bunches, met fascinating people, and just had a rich rewarding experience.

Oh, but how can I forget the following:
-Easting grits for the first time. Maybe it was how they were prepared, but I found them slightly boring tasting. They didn't taste bad, just somehow lacking.
-Getting stuck in horrid traffic while a college football game was letting out.
-Watching drunk people get in a fith while stuck in said traffic because one car wouldn't let another car cut in front of it in line. Note to self: the best move to make in a fight is to get the other person's shirt up over their head so they can't see and so their arms are tied up and they can't swing at you.

I would definitely return again! Everyone should spend a little time in the South!