South Carolina, Episode II
The next day, Miriam and I split company after breakfast (complimentary within the hotel - and much more substantial than the usual “continental breakfast” fare of most establishments). She went on to spend the day doing a case competition and fancy dinner (see her LJ for more details). I went apartment scouting. I drove all around the city and suburbs - spoke with several complex reps, picked up some literature, and gage the distance from each to campus. I’ve come away with a shortened list of where I’d be happy living (it is only 6 months, anyway), and clear idea of places I would not (ironically, the one complex I was very interested in seeing, due to a Craigslist ad, turned out to be the dumpiest and most disappointing).
Also on Friday, I took a frigid walk through downtown Columbia. Past the state capitol, up Main Street, and lunching at a street-side café with a very strange idea of rye bread, but a welcomed warming cup of soup. For dinner, though, I gave into familiarity and went to Wendy’s.
But Friday did not end with a spicy chicken sandwich and an episode of the office via Netflix instant viewing.
Miriam gave me a call (sometime around 9, I think): dinner was over, some of the people were going out to hit the bars, but what did I think about going to an Obama rally? My first thought was, “Whaaa?” But my immediate second thought was, “Yeah, sure, that sounds like a totally awesome experience.” So we and another couple stood in a long line outside a local arts center, past a bag-check and metal detector, up some stairs, and into seats in the back room of the second tier of an indoor amphitheater. A young black man (in shorts…had he been outside at all today?! Brr!) was rocking out on the fiddle. There was a lot of filler time and sometime unintelligible chants, interspersed with speeches from a campaign worker and the national anthem. Then Michelle Obama came out to introduce the former (Democratic) governor of So. Carolina, who came out to introduce Barack Obama himself. I thought he was a great speaker, and he said a lot of things I agree with. And I will be voting for him this Tuesday. However, listening to a politician speak, especially one running for president, one can’t help but listen with a speck of cynicism: while the talk about getting things done, how likely is it that those promises will be fulfilled? This really goes for any of the candidates. But, without getting into it at all…I’m voting for Obama on Super Tuesday today!
Saturday morning found us sore from clapping and standing at the rally. We did the in-hotel breakfast again and parted company. I checked out a couple more apartments, but generally just drove around to check out the area.
I was driving past a new street of houses, and there was a sign along the main road advertising them. As I drove by, I registered the advertisement as “from the low 800s,” and I thought, “No, that can’t be. Those were pretty small houses!” Then I realized, and looked in the rear-view to confirm: the sign really read, “from the low 80s.” And it struck me -- $80K for a new house? Wow. You can’t even get a 1-bedroom condo in California for that.
Miriam and I reconvened to attend the after-party at a “tapas” place called Gervais & Vine, which, incidentally, is not at the corner of Gervais and Vine, as there is no Vine Street in Columbia. I’m guessing it’s referring to the wine selection. It was pretty good food…not really sure how authentic it all was. I sort of sat away in a corner while Miriam networked, but did speak with a couple of people there. And then they announced the winners of the case competition from the day before. Miriam’s team won and got a shiny new $25 gift card to Barnes&Noble. After a while, we decided it was time to go, and headed back to the hotel for a nap. We woke up hungry, perhaps too hungry to try anything new, so we headed for Irmo, where all the familiar chain restaurants are (Macaroni Grill, Outback). Now, normally in California, if you wait long enough (it was 8:30 when we went out) and you go further out (Irmo is a suburb), the less crowded the restaurants are going to be. No the case there apparently. A 45 minute wait at 8:30? And no room in the bar areas? I don’t think so. Even if it is a Saturday night!
So we trekked to the other side of town and went to the oft-advertised in San Diego, but none within 100 miles, Ruby Tuesday. Immediate seating. Maybe there’s just less housing out that way. The burgers were pretty good…but the real star there: the croutons! They were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. Oh my God, they were good. Like Miriam said, “I could go there and just get a plate of those.”
We took a bit of drive home - which means I got a little lost for a while. We drove through the Five Points district and past the free-appetizer land that is Mr. Friendly’s, and then back to the hotel.
Sunday found us skipping the hotel’s breakfast, and setting out for Aiken and Augusta beyond. We stopped at one of the numerous Waffle Houses, where a cheap yet plentiful breakfast ensued (more grits!). Then a drive down the I-20 to Aiken, a city with a quaint downtown - but it was Sunday, so everything was closed. We continued on to the Georgia state-line and drove first around, and then sort-of through Augusta, winding our way back into South Carolina, through North Augusta, and back to the I-20.
Back in Columbia, we dropped the car off and got a ride to the airport. Inside the terminal, we checked our two large luggage pieces to lighten our load, and then caught the small plane to Atlanta. I forgot what we were hoping to have to eat for dinner in the airport, but ended up at Popeye’s. We had a 3-hour wait until our next flight, which ended up getting bumped to a different gate, after we waited quite a while at the original gate. On the large plane, each seat had a TV screen behind the headrest, so I pulled out my iPod earbuds and enjoyed some of the free TV and video - plus the channel that keeps you updated on our trip’s progress (distance traveled, to be traveled, wind/land speed, etc.). It was a bumpy ride coming into San Diego, but we made and, thankfully, so did both our bags.
Miriam’s mom gave us a ride home and we fell into bed, exhausted.
The following week would find me with a middle ear infection, and by the next weekend, a bit of a case of laryngitis, both which I’m still getting over.
Next adventure: Turkey and Eastern Europe at the end of April!
(Is that meant to imply no journal update until after that trip? Knowing me…probably.)
Also on Friday, I took a frigid walk through downtown Columbia. Past the state capitol, up Main Street, and lunching at a street-side café with a very strange idea of rye bread, but a welcomed warming cup of soup. For dinner, though, I gave into familiarity and went to Wendy’s.
But Friday did not end with a spicy chicken sandwich and an episode of the office via Netflix instant viewing.
Miriam gave me a call (sometime around 9, I think): dinner was over, some of the people were going out to hit the bars, but what did I think about going to an Obama rally? My first thought was, “Whaaa?” But my immediate second thought was, “Yeah, sure, that sounds like a totally awesome experience.” So we and another couple stood in a long line outside a local arts center, past a bag-check and metal detector, up some stairs, and into seats in the back room of the second tier of an indoor amphitheater. A young black man (in shorts…had he been outside at all today?! Brr!) was rocking out on the fiddle. There was a lot of filler time and sometime unintelligible chants, interspersed with speeches from a campaign worker and the national anthem. Then Michelle Obama came out to introduce the former (Democratic) governor of So. Carolina, who came out to introduce Barack Obama himself. I thought he was a great speaker, and he said a lot of things I agree with. And I will be voting for him this Tuesday. However, listening to a politician speak, especially one running for president, one can’t help but listen with a speck of cynicism: while the talk about getting things done, how likely is it that those promises will be fulfilled? This really goes for any of the candidates. But, without getting into it at all…I’m voting for Obama on Super Tuesday today!
Saturday morning found us sore from clapping and standing at the rally. We did the in-hotel breakfast again and parted company. I checked out a couple more apartments, but generally just drove around to check out the area.
I was driving past a new street of houses, and there was a sign along the main road advertising them. As I drove by, I registered the advertisement as “from the low 800s,” and I thought, “No, that can’t be. Those were pretty small houses!” Then I realized, and looked in the rear-view to confirm: the sign really read, “from the low 80s.” And it struck me -- $80K for a new house? Wow. You can’t even get a 1-bedroom condo in California for that.
Miriam and I reconvened to attend the after-party at a “tapas” place called Gervais & Vine, which, incidentally, is not at the corner of Gervais and Vine, as there is no Vine Street in Columbia. I’m guessing it’s referring to the wine selection. It was pretty good food…not really sure how authentic it all was. I sort of sat away in a corner while Miriam networked, but did speak with a couple of people there. And then they announced the winners of the case competition from the day before. Miriam’s team won and got a shiny new $25 gift card to Barnes&Noble. After a while, we decided it was time to go, and headed back to the hotel for a nap. We woke up hungry, perhaps too hungry to try anything new, so we headed for Irmo, where all the familiar chain restaurants are (Macaroni Grill, Outback). Now, normally in California, if you wait long enough (it was 8:30 when we went out) and you go further out (Irmo is a suburb), the less crowded the restaurants are going to be. No the case there apparently. A 45 minute wait at 8:30? And no room in the bar areas? I don’t think so. Even if it is a Saturday night!
So we trekked to the other side of town and went to the oft-advertised in San Diego, but none within 100 miles, Ruby Tuesday. Immediate seating. Maybe there’s just less housing out that way. The burgers were pretty good…but the real star there: the croutons! They were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. Oh my God, they were good. Like Miriam said, “I could go there and just get a plate of those.”
We took a bit of drive home - which means I got a little lost for a while. We drove through the Five Points district and past the free-appetizer land that is Mr. Friendly’s, and then back to the hotel.
Sunday found us skipping the hotel’s breakfast, and setting out for Aiken and Augusta beyond. We stopped at one of the numerous Waffle Houses, where a cheap yet plentiful breakfast ensued (more grits!). Then a drive down the I-20 to Aiken, a city with a quaint downtown - but it was Sunday, so everything was closed. We continued on to the Georgia state-line and drove first around, and then sort-of through Augusta, winding our way back into South Carolina, through North Augusta, and back to the I-20.
Back in Columbia, we dropped the car off and got a ride to the airport. Inside the terminal, we checked our two large luggage pieces to lighten our load, and then caught the small plane to Atlanta. I forgot what we were hoping to have to eat for dinner in the airport, but ended up at Popeye’s. We had a 3-hour wait until our next flight, which ended up getting bumped to a different gate, after we waited quite a while at the original gate. On the large plane, each seat had a TV screen behind the headrest, so I pulled out my iPod earbuds and enjoyed some of the free TV and video - plus the channel that keeps you updated on our trip’s progress (distance traveled, to be traveled, wind/land speed, etc.). It was a bumpy ride coming into San Diego, but we made and, thankfully, so did both our bags.
Miriam’s mom gave us a ride home and we fell into bed, exhausted.
The following week would find me with a middle ear infection, and by the next weekend, a bit of a case of laryngitis, both which I’m still getting over.
Next adventure: Turkey and Eastern Europe at the end of April!
(Is that meant to imply no journal update until after that trip? Knowing me…probably.)