SB '10: Day Seven

All I can say about Friday is that this is what Spring Break is supposed to be like. I woke up around 10:00 (which is unheard of for me), got quick breakfast, lathered up in Coppertone and made a beeline for the beach! It was B-E-A-UTIFUL!! I parked my beach chair in the sand and that baby didn't move until 6. The weather was just warm enough to be able to lay out and get some sun (which would later reveal where I missed some spots with sunscreen...), but not too hot to be able to sit all afternoon. Perfection. Thank you Mother Nature for finally taking pity on us poor spring breakers and gracing us with the proper spring weather! I sat on my beach, read (and finished) my book, and later took a nice stroll down the beach. That, my friend, is Spring Break.

This is the set-up. [Please notice how Patti, Phil and I rotated our chair with the sun and Abby didn't... Abby would later regret that decision when she awoke this morning with one lobster red leg and one not so much. Rotate people. Rotate for even sun exposure. You don't want to be able to do a duet for ebony and ivory all by yourself (hahaha Friends quote)]

This was the view from our chairs. That's pretty good looking for the Gulf!

After our long day on the beach, we came up and lazily showered and got ready for dinner. Tonight we decided to branch out and try a new restaurant called Big Fish. We got there around 7:30, put our name on the list and went to sit at the bar until our table was ready. While we were sitting, Phillips asked this man behind the bar for his suggestions on what to order. The guy proceeded to go in-depth about every dish on the menu AND the specials... and then he told us that he was the owner! He explained to us that most of his dishes are seafood with and Asian flare because his father was from Bangkok. Once we got done talking to him, our table was ready so we left to go sit down. The restaurant was very interesting, it didn't seem like it fit in at the beach, but it was extremely interesting. It used to be a Martini Bar, so it was very modern, very new and very cool! We thoroughly enjoyed each of our appetizers and meals and I would suggest going there again.

My meal was so spicy that I could barely stand it (but that's not saying much because if you know Sara Kate, you know I have no threshold for spicy food), so I needed something to cool my palate. Abby and I made our way over to Dippin' Dots for a little dessert, because if you are at the beach and craving ice cream, you must get Dippin' Dots! And it was fabulous. Dippin' Dots never lets me down (And it also never ceases to perplex me. How in the world do they make it? And its so good! I don't get it. Eighth wonder of the world).

Our post-dinner and dessert plans were already made before we even woke up... Florabama. (Yes, it is like the ONLY place to go). If it was happenin' on Thursday night, I had to see it in full swing on a Friday. So after Dippin' Dots Phil, Jessica and I ventured to the fine establishment for Round 2. And ya'll--there was a stark difference in the Florabama Thursday night and the Florabama Friday night! I'm glad I got to witness both. Friday drew a much different, crowd. And it was PACKED. I couldn't believe the place could get that full, but it did. We were body to body when I was trying to make it from tent to tent. The same band was there and I think they were playing the same song line-up as Thursday night because it all sounded very familiar! But we enjoyed ourselves, none-the-less! Nowhere else could you get a huge group of people ranging from 21-65, of all different walks of life, proud of their southern heritage, dressed in everything from a Nascar t-shirt to a Tory Burch dress, singing Dixie Land Delight and Sweet Home Alabama at the top of their lungs. I love it. I love being from the South. Don't judge me because of the tinge of homey-ness I felt at the Florabama--you would have too. This got me so revved up for the Mullet Toss. Bring it onnnnnnnn!!

SB '10: Day Six

Thursday. Good ole Thursday. We woke up and noticed that the weather was not looking promising. So in no rush to get on the chilly beach, Abby, Patti and I set out on a quick run on the Backcountry Trail. The path was so crowded with snowbirds and families on bikes that we constantly had to be dodging oncoming traffic! But the weather was perfect, so we enjoyed our morning exercise.

We got back, had lunch and were ready to head down to the beach around 12:30, but the weather was still iffy! It was overcast, then sunny, then overcast... Mother Nature was having trouble making up her mind! So by 2:00 we were ready for a different scene, and it worked out perfectly that the Chandlers had invited us to take a ride on their boat this afternoon. We drove to Flipper's and met the Chandlers and some other families, climbed aboard and set sail for Pirate's Cove, which was across the bay.

This is Pirates Cove. The epitome of a hole-in-the-wall place that looks like it would have about a 34 health rating, but it turns out to have the best onion rings and Bushwackers on the island! A pleasant surprise to our gloomy afternoon. We sat on the patio and enjoyed Bushwackers (which I refer to as a Coppertone Milkshake) and watched all the boats of kids pulling up to shore. If you come Gulf Shores, I would highly recommend a rendezvous to Pirates Cove one afternoon!

Patti, me and Abby on the dock of Pirates Cove

We came back to the condo after our trip and began the process of getting ready for dinner! We had decided to meet some friends at a new restaurant called Cobalt. While getting ready, this is the sunset we saw from our balcony! Gorgeous.

Dinner was quite the experience! The restaurant itself was HUGE with high high ceilings and tall windows lining the whole wall that looks out on the Intercoastal Waterway. The food was delicious--your typical seafood fare with a flare. But our waiter was a CASE. I swear, I think one of this guy's friends threw him a black apron and dared him to try waiting tables for a night because the dude didn't know an appetizer from an entree (Literally. He thought I wanted my small salad with my meal, while everyone else had theirs before). It was hysterical to witness though because he kept finding new ways to surprise us! When we finally got our meal, the food was fabulous. I only got a fish po boy, but it was definitely worth writing home about. After our dinner, Phillips Jessica and I took the plunge. We did it, we partied on the line at the Florabama. Now let me say this, if you haven't experienced the Florabama, it's a must do. I didn't know what to expect because when you drive by it, from the exterior it looks like people took two double wide trailers, threw up some tents, added a band and called it a bar. But don't let it deceive you, it was a lot of fun! (Prime people watching also!) They had a country band booked for the weekend, and they turned out to be really decent. They played everything from Garth Brooks to Afroman, he had to crowed going all night! We danced, wandered around and sang along to the band all night! This is a picture of what it looked like in the tent with the country band:

And this is a picture of Phil and I at some point during the night. (Please ignore his hat that he found washed up on the beach, it fit in perfectly at the Florabama, but worn anywhere outside of it and I'll rip it off his head faster than you can count to three)

That's all for Thursday and all for now! Goodnight everyone!

SB '10: Day Five

SOOOOOOOOO It's day five, my departure day from Charleston. I know I have a big drive (9 Hours...) ahead of me, so I wake up promptly around 9:00 EST and pack up, getting ready to head out. Earlier in the week I had spotted a Dunkin Donuts on Meeting St. If you know any kind of coffee conisseur, then you would have to agree with me when I say that I will go absolutely out of my way to get a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee with a shot of blueberry flavoring in it. So I packed up my bags and headed down to the parking garage, giddy with excitement about my caffinated plans.

When I step out of the lobby onto the street I noticed something was up. The fountain in Marion Square was overflowing with green water. There were ladies decked out in kelly green windsuits with an overload of green miscellaneous accessories adorning themselves. And the kicker, Ireland flags were flying outside of almost every store lining King Street... It clicked. March 17. St. Patrick's Day.

Now I know St. Pattys Day is huge in Savannah, and so I assumed it was in Charleston as well. But I didn't add much more thought to the celebration past that. So I went on my merry way driving to Dunkin Donuts, which was conveniently located on Meeting St. (the other main street that runs parallel to King). I found a good parking space, snagged it and walked on over to DD. The coffee didn't let me down, it was totally worth the effort of getting there. It's still relatively early at this time, so I decide to take a seat and read my book while enjoying my heavan-ish blueberry coffee.

Around 10:00 I head out of DD and I decide to make one last stop in a store on King before I head out for good. I drive over and find me a good parallel parking space on King and head to the store. While I'm in the store wandering, what do I hear? Bagpipes. A lot of Bagpipes. And cheering. "Oh NO" I think to myself..... it's a PARADE. So I walk outside and I'm correct, there is a St. Patricks Day parade beginning to march down the street where my car is parked. I ask the sales associate if I can leave in my car and she said no, that I might as well stay and enjoy it. So I did! Who cares if my departure time is delayed another hour? Here are some pictures form the parade on King Street:

This is what I saw heading my way at 10:01

Bagpipes and Kilts... Lots of Bagpipes and Kilts

Some float... I think anyone could be in the parade as long as the wore green!

Dunleavy just reminded me of P.S. I Love You, so I had to take a picture

And since I was the only person on Earth who forgot it was St. Pattys Day, that also meant that I forgot to wear green. So some sweet kids on a float did me the favor of throwing me some green beads, which I promptly put on. I didn't want to get those Grinch glares from people anymore!

After my slight delay in departure due to the celebration of the Irish, I finally made it out onto the open road. 9 hours and counting! The drive to I-95 was a slow one, due to the construction and slow speed limits..

45 MPH. Total buzz kill.

I made it to I-95 and on this stretch of road began my travels through various Southern states.

These are the flags you see when leaving South Carolina....

...and entering Georgia! So by 12:00, I've already been in two states!

After that long expanse of road down the coast of Georgia, I finally made it to Florida.

State number three!

I also forgot to mention my two friends I had with me on my journey. Their names are Cruise Control and iPod. Those two people got me through my trip. I put that good ole car on CC, plugged in my iPod to my FM Transmitter and cruised the open road.

The weather was overcast the whole day, so atleast if I had to be in the car for 9 hours, it wasn't pretty outside and I wasn't missing a nice day on the beach! This is what my day looked like for the better part of 9 hours... Jealous??

After driving all the way across the panhandle of Florida, my drive finally began to come to a close when I reached Pensacola! I saw the Gulf. It was like a mirage or a dream, I didn't think that after 334 miles on Interstate 10 I had finally made it to my destination...

It took me 9 hours and 12 minutes, 4 states and 2 rest stops, but I did it. I made it to Gulf Shores! I never thought I would be so exhausted from sitting all day! Once I arrived, Phillips drove in about 30 minutes behind me, and we joined Patti and Abby for a delicious dinner at Cosmos! Phil and I had originally planned to partake in the St. Patty's celebration later that night but we were both worn out from our days of travel, so we called it a night earlier than anticipated! But I will say, though it took me so long and it was such a dreadful, dreary day, it was well worth it when I arrived. It is odd how pulling into the parking lot at Sea Chase kind of feels like coming home. There is such a comforting feeling about knowing my way around down here and knowing what to do and where to go, and also knowing that I don't have to do anything but enjoy being at the beach. I love it here, and if I'm lucky, maybe I'll have the luck of the Irish with me and get some good beach-sitting weather! Keep those fingers crossed :)

SB '10: Day Four

I know, I know. I am three days behind... I'm ashamed. Right now is about the time I would begin to rattle off a laundry list of excuses about why I haven't posted, but I know you don't care--all you care about is my day's adventures (if you even care about that). So here it is, backing up to Tuesday (day four) of my Spring Break adventure in Charleston, SC.

So its day four in Charleston and I have yet to go on a run like I had planned to... So after I drove over the big bridge yesterday to get to Mt. Pleasant and saw all of the runners out on it, it motivated me to go this morning. So around 10:00 I set off from the hotel and ran down and across the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. This is a picture from the beginning of the bridge:

And this is a picture me at the middle of the bridge (my turn around point). Does it look like I'm dying? Yes. It's probably because I was! Don't judge.

So after my run I wandered around town and walked around trying to kill time before I had to start getting ready for work shift. So I finally killed enough time in downtown Charleston to head back to the hotel and start getting ready. My shift began at 5:00 and I had to wear all black (very stealth and professional), here's a self portrait of me before I'm about to leave! Once again, please don't judge. I just thought you may want a picture...

Let me just say this--if Charleston Fashion Week was any glimpse into what New York Fashion Week would be like... I've got to go because I LOVED CFW. It was awesome, unlike anything I'd ever been to. When we got there at 5:00 the volunteer coordinator gave us all of our tasks and described them in more detail (which was a good thing because I know absolutely nothing.. I just knew to show up at 5 in all black)! After that I met and mingled with some of the other volunteers. A lot of them wore students at the College of Charleston and some others were from other schools in South Carolina--I was definitely in the minority having driven here specifically to volunteer during my spring break. I lucked out with my job they gave me! I don't know how I got so lucky, but I was assigned to be directing General Seating within the show tent. That meant that I had to help guests find their seats before the show. Also with this job came the task of having to be the assertive volunteer who tells the guests that they can't get up or sit back down while a show was going on... and if you know Sara Kate, assertive is a word I would not use to describe myself. So after dreading that I was going to have to do this to someone... it happened..... and some person got up right in the middle of Barbara Beach's 4th look and I had to tell the nice people they couldn't sit back down. And guess what? It wasn't that bad... I could do it! I could be assertive! This was very empowering because I have never been one to step out of my shell like that and take that role, so I was very encouraged to say the least. Anyways, being in General Seating meant that I got to watch the show. Tuesday was Night One of the event and it was an Emerging Designers Contest, meaning there were 10 local, lesser-known designers who would compete against each other. At the end of the night 3 finalists were picked by a panel of judges (including 3 previous Project Runway contestants, Cynthia Rowley and Ashley Reid). The looks the designers showed were very far-fetched and not Ready To Wear outfits, but they were still cool none the less! And those 3 finalists would then compete in a "Project Runway"-ish competition and a winner would chosen on Saturday. So the show itself was quite a sight to see! Of course I was the nervous, paranoid volunteer who forgot to bring her camera that night so you can go to the actual website and check it out for yourself: http://www.charlestonmag.com/fashionweek/photos. I am sure there is plenty more to tell and I'm just all forgetting about it right, but I will post more as the thoughts come to me! Hope you enjoyed this post for now and found it semi-interesting! More to come, promise.

SB '10: Day Three

If I thought yesterday was good... today was icing on the cake! Yes, I still had good food and good shopping... BUT I also went to Sullivan's Island and stood looking at the Atlantic Ocean squishing sand between my toes! Now THAT'S a good day.

I started my day with my 9:00 a.m. training session at Marion Square (which is conveniently located across from my hotel), where I learned about Charleston Fashion Week and was told what my duties were going to be tomorrow night. I was a little nervous about this first info session, but it went smoothly and it turned out that most of the people there were traveling by themselves also, so I'm not a complete oddball! Here is a picture of what the CFW

set-up looks like!

Then after my training session, I came back to the hotel room, slipped on my swim suit, got MapQuest directions and headed for Mount Pleasant and Sullivan's Island. This ended up being only about a ten minute drive--how awesome is that?! I also stopped at some cute boutiques along the way... they were just calling my name. I couldn't resist. So at my "36 Hours in Charleston" recommendation, I kept on US-17 and headed for Sullivan's Island.

You know you're around a lot of water when you're 10 minute drive involves a huge 2-mile long bridge and one extra long causeway to get to your destination!

After arriving on Sullivan's Island, I circled around the main road about three times because I was wondering, "WHAT IN THE HECK HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO?" I couldn't find where to park (legally) and I couldn't find public beach access (that didn't involve hopping fences) and there weren't too many people around walking the streets... haunting. So I finally decided to park on the main street and head to my lunch spot, where hopefully I could beg the waitress for information on parking and the beach access. I ended up following my article's suggestion and at lunch at Poe's Tavern. I couldn't have found a cooler lunch spot! I sat outside at the bar (which ended up being the best place to people watch) and read my book and sipped my Diet Coke (FINALLY). It was such an awesome experience! The weather was b-e-a-utiful and everyone was so friendly. The town reminded me of a really low-key, no high-rise buildings, just beach-bummin-around-east-coast surf town. I loved it! I ordered the fish tacos, one mahi mahi with pico de gallo and one ahi tuna with pineapple relish--fabulous choice!

So after I was done eating, I did end up asking my waitress her suggestions on my issues and ended up finding a parking spot and walking to the beach. I didn't know what to expect, but it was such a pleasant beach!! (Hence the name Mt. Pleasant I guess?) I wound up laying out a blanket and parking it for the afternoon with my book. The temperature was just perfect, I couldn't have bought better weather!

Also If you look closely in the picture of the Ocean, you can see the slight resemblance of a dorsal fin popping out of the water! YEP! Too top off my afternoon on the beach, I saw one solo dolphin out in the ocean. Once again, it was too perfect!

After my afternoon on the beach at Sullivan's Island, I drove back to my hotel, showered and then walked around the College of Charleston campus. It was amazing. I could never imagine going to school somewhere so historic, so gorgeous and right in the heart of downtown Charleston. Every cobblestone street was lined with huge oak trees dripping in Spanish moss... I mean it really made me want to transfer. I even stumbled upon the sorority houses, which were in old long and skinny historic houses... here is a picture of the ADPi house. I have more but the computer is being weird and won't let me upload them! So moral of the story is: if you are at a point in your life where you are looking at colleges.... check out C of C. You'll be sold on its beauty alone!

Here is an example of what a walk to class looked like:

This is just some random house that I passed and fell in love with. I'm thinking that all it's missing is a "Welcome Home Sara Kate" sign!

After my tour of the campus, I met up with some family friends from home! It was very odd that we would both be in Charleston on the same week nights, so we thought we better take advantage of this divine timing and have a fun night--and that we did! We started off with dinner at the Charleston Crab House where we all indulged in some delectible seafood entrees!

This is just some random buildings along the residential part of Charleston... please tell me you wouldn't buy that place in a heart beat? It's too adorable for words. I want one.

After dinner The Satterfield's treated me to a Ghost Tour! Suzann was our guide and, let me tell you this, she loved her some spirits-- the spirit's of ghost, that is! Suzann knew Charleston like the back of her hand and she told us many stories that sent a chill running up my spine. She told us of where the saying "saved by the bell" came from. It was from back in the day when the Typhoid Fever was rampant... some people would catch the fever and go into a coma, only the slaves who were taking care of them did not have any medical background and do they didn't know they were just in a coma... they pronounced them dead instead! So they would bury them alive. Well soon enough they began to catch onto this mistake, so when they decided to bury someone with Typhoid Fever they would tie a string around their toe or their finger and string it through bamboo to where it was above ground, and then they would tie it to a bell. So if someone were to come out of their coma and wiggle their fingers, it would ring the bell and the grave attendant would rescue them... Saved By The Bell. Creepy huh? Yeah, thats Suzann for you. I also caught a picture of the spirits (but it came out green so I'm thinking it's more of the slimey ghostbuster-ish spirit). Needless to say, Suzann was impressed with my creature captioning abilities! That about rounded out my night, I'll leave you with this picture of me and Peyton in front of the Old Powder House! Good night everyone!

SB '10: Day Two

It doesn't take many things to make me happy. Being in Charleston is good enough to put a smile on my face. But add good shopping and good food and nice people, and you're going to have to pry the grin off my face with a crowbar. That's what today was like!

I have been semi-following an article I found online that picked the best things to do in Charleston when you're only staying 36 hours, and after a successful first night's dinner at their recommendation of Coast, I thought these people may really know what they are talking about. So the Sunday morning walk around historic Charleston sounded like the perfect way to kick off my day. I wasn't quite sure what time I woke up--I had three different clocks telling me three different times... so after becoming aware of this mess-up, I accounted for springing forward and switching to eastern time, and discovered that I did in fact wake up around 8:00 (dang you 8:00 a.m. classes for messing up my biological clock). I brewed some wonderful coffee in the room, slapped on my running shoes and gym shorts and headed out the door to discover downtown Charleston. The weather was a bit colder than I imagined, but I was just thankful it wasn't raining!

I strolled down King St. to do some pre-shopping to see where I may want to go in later, and somehow winded up right where I wanted to be--St. Michael's Episcopal Church at 9:40 a.m., just in time to hear the bells chime. Sounds picture-esque doesn't it? It was! Then I meandered down to White Point Gardens at The Battery. Here I took a seat on a park bench, had a Sunday morning Quiet Time and enjoyed watching all the runners go by. This is what the view looked like from my bench:

After this sit-down I wandered my way back to the hotel, showered and headed back out for Round 2. Round 2 is where its at--shopping and food. I popped in a few shops and had some luck! A few weekends ago Mom, Con and I went to Atlanta shopping. I came away with a cute tank top but left missing one of my favorite earrings... que tragic. But guess what?? The boutique Luna is my hero--they had the exact pair, but better! So you bet I picked up those puppies and will be wearing them everyday. Also, I went into another boutique called Copper Penny and guess what? Another jaw-dropping-I-can't-believe-I-found-it moment. You know when you see something in a magazine and you're like, "I've got to find something like that." Well thats how I was when I saw one particular picture of Jennifer Aniston in a fabulous leather bracelet paired with a gold watch. So what do I find when I walk in Copper Penny? AN EXACT REPLICA. Almost. Well, close enough. So I'm thinking I'm 2 for 2 now...I better stop while I'm ahead, so I stroll further down Meeting St. until I come to Toast--my lunch destination--also recommended by the 36 Hours in Charleston article... they're treating me right!

Here I had brunch (eventhough it was about 2:30 p.m.) ordering the "Eggs Meeting Street" dish-- A fried green tomato topped with a crab cake, poached egg, and Lowcountry remoulade sauce, served with grits and a homemade buttermilk biscuit! DELISH. But, once again, the only casualty was that they had.... P-e-p-s-i. What is up with me not being able to get a Diet Coke?? I'll try again tomorrow!

So after brunch at Toast, I continued to walk along King St. where I ran into The Mothership... SAKS. Ahhhhhh I've died and gone to Retail Heaven.

Here are some more pictures from my walk in Historic Charleston....

If you're wondering, Yes, I think I walked 13 billion miles... in flats. With no arch support. So my dogs were barking come 5:00 when I turned into my hotel for a quick little cat-nap and refresher!

Around 7:00 I walked down to Mellow Mushroom to get some pizza (once again, sitting at a booth for one). And if you know me you know that if I eat something hot for dinner, I really don't think my night is complete until I've had some sort of ice cream to cool down the palate. So I stumbled upon Fresh Berries Frozen Yogurt on my way back to the hotel, got a small cup to go and brought it back to the room.... where I am typing now. And I'm running out of fun information to share, so to save my dignity and refrain from admitting that I'm turning on a movie at 8:30 p.m., I'm going to leave ya'll for now! Hope everyone had a fabulous day, wherever you may be on this March night!

SPRING BREAK 2010 OR BUST!

Spring Break 2010 is what most college students live for spring semester. I am no exception. Mid March comes just when tests are getting to hard, homework assignments are getting too heavy and there's a lull in social activities--it's timing couldn't be more perfect. So when planning for this year's Spring Break rolled around, my friends and I wrestled with a few ideas. We did the beach thing our freshman year, the relax-at-home thing last year, so this time we wanted to do something different. Boy did we ever succeed at that.

The Spring Break options we had presented me with another "Life in Limbo"situation. I didn't know what to do and wasn't feel drawn towards one option over the other, until I realized Charleston Fashion Week was the same week we had off. That sold me. I had heard about CFW for 2 years but the dates never coordinated with Spring Break, so when they finally met up this year I couldn't resist--I applied to be a volunteer. After a month of being "In Limbo" and toiling with what if's if I didn't get in, I got an email confirming my acceptance to volunteer! So while my friends spread across the East this week (some went to Boston with Campus Crusade and others to the beach with their families), I will be in Charleston, SC building my resume and eating at tables for one!

So this Saturday morning began my adventure! Off to Charleston I go....

(P.S.) Just a mere 5 hours and 30 minutes drive... no biggie!

The good ole' car is all packed up and ready to depart from Creekside.

I AM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY BE IN SOUTH CAROLINA! (I don't know why it took me 4 hours into my drive to start documenting this journey... so my apologies for the low number of pictures. Also, I tried to get a picture of the "Beautiful Places, Smiling Faces" Welcome to SC sign, but I was a tad late on that! So you'll have to Google it if you want to see it.)

I-95. Its flat.. really flat. And long. And boring. And short on rest stops.

Charleston! Hallelujiah.

So I safely made it to Charleston and my hotel with no major complications along the way! The only casualty we had was the sweet lady at Chik-fil-a gave me Diet Dr. Pepper instead of Diet Coke... not to shabby for a solo 5 hour drive.

Once I arrived and got situated in my hotel, I ventured my way down to the lobby to ask the the concierge for his advice on dinner. He confirmed that a restaurant I'd discovered online was, in fact, a great choice. Yay! Thank you Google :)

Dinner Night One: Coast.

FABULOUS.

Plantain Encrusted Mahi Mahi with

Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes and a Dark and Stormy to drink.

Fabulous, did I say that?

Now I'm allowing my dinner to settle and enjoying the comfy, plush bed that I have to myself. I may even indulge in a movie. Holy cow, alert the police--I'm out of control in Charleston! So from the duvet of the double bed, good night everyone and happy Spring Breaks!