Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Columbia, SC ~ January 2009

On our return to Cleveland, we stopped in Columbia to visit some of Steve's college friends. Greg & Karen Airasian were our gracious hosts, but we were also able to spend time with Steven & Edie Burritt, Brian & Sandra Dietrich and their 10-day-old daughter Samantha Joy!

Here are the boys of USC ~ Brian, Stephen, Greg & Steven

Sandra & Sam

Although our visit was less than 24 hours, we had a great time (as usual)! Thanks to Karen, we had some really fantastic food and were back on the road with full stomachs : ) It was nice to catch up with everyone and are looking forward to our next visit in July.

Myrtle Beach, SC ~ January 2009

In January, Stephen and I had the opportunity to get away for the week and go to our most frequently visited destination...Myrtle Beach, SC.

We walked the beach a few times and as you can see there were very few people...a peaceful experience that we really enjoyed.

Here we are on our walk. Steve and I always complain that we don't have any pictures together and this trip was no different. Every time I set the camera up on a timer, I just don't like the outcome. Oh well, these will just have to do!

Steve by the ocean bubbles. It was the most interesting thing we saw that day so we felt inclined to take a picture :)

I can't believe he agreed to do it, but this is the spot that Steve proposed to me. I probably told him that I'd pose too, but I was the one with the camera :)

During this trip we did something that we've never done before. We visited a new bar/restaurant every day during our stay. Typically we eat and drink at the same places, which is fine, but we wanted to take advantage of the small crowds and low prices. I did some research before we left the frigid cold in Cleveland and found some really great happy hour food and drink specials. We saved some money while also seeing some new places and meeting new people.

Here is the list in order of when we went. Not all of them are new to us, but 9 of the 14 are:

Thirsty Turtle (Karaoke too!) ~ California Dreaming (Still dreaming about it...) ~ LeGrand's (A nice place with $5 martini's & pretty good food) ~ Chuck's Steakhouse ($5 burger & free popcorn, cheese, crackers & nachos!) ~ Overtime Sports Cafe (Went here to watch the Cavs/Lakers game...lots and lots of TV's) ~ Roy & Sid's (Located in Market Commons. A new place with decent food) ~ The Office Italian Workplace for Locals (A long name for a small, but really good place) ~ Longhorn Steakhouse (Their happy hour started at 2pm so we skipped lunch and started there) ~ Greg Norman's Australian Grill (The best food value & great wine for $5) ~ Wild Wing Cafe (Buy One Get One Free Appetizers) ~ Oscar's Sports Bar (The best sports bar. We went here to watch the Cavs game on FSN Ohio) ~ Kracker's (A tiny place inside a gas station. I got a breakfast sandwich for $1) ~ Baron's (The owner is from Youngstown, OH) ~ Malibu Cantina Tex-Mex (Great Mexican food & margaritas)

I know it sounds like a lot (and it is!) but we had a really great time doing it and look forward to visiting some of them again when we return in the summer.