FRIED PICKLES???!!

You know you need to blog when your friend frantically calls you to let you know that they can't get in to read any new posts on your blog...and you respond with chagrin that there just haven't been any new posts.

We've been so very busy lately getting ready for so many things that have been going on that while I've thought about blogging, I honestly haven't had the chance.  

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I decided to take a quick weekend trip to South Carolina.  We loved it, and it truly was like entering a new world.  Complete with a little bit of culture shock!  

I spent the week and a half prior to our trip making plans to fly grandma into town and making plane, car, and hotel rentals.  I couldn't believe how time consuming it all was.  Then trying to pack 4 days into a very teensy weensy carry on.  It worked, but definitely took some work.

Grandma came in on Wednesday afternoon, and got to watch gymnastics practice, and we headed out - leaving at 4:30 in the morning hoping to make it to the airport on awful roads during a pretty nasty snowstorm.

After a layover in Atlanta, we arrived in Columbia, South Carolina around 4:30 that afternoon.  It really is tough to pack when you are leaving a winter snow-storm and heading into 83* with humidity.  It was beautiful.  And I really loved the SC airport.  White, light, and bright with rocking chairs to relax in while waiting for a flight.

After getting checked in we decided to explore the food and headed to a nearby restaurant.  Dinner was definitely a new experience.  We asked what some of the regional foods were and ended up with an appetizer of fried pickles.  No joke.  They kind of grew on us truth be told.  Dill for those of you wondering.

I had something akin to chicken fried steak with sawmill gravy and I have no recollection of my husband's main course.  We sampled sweet potato souffle, sweet potato fries, okra, and collard greens.  Everything we tried was completely foreign - and fun to try.

Fried pickles

Hot pepper pecan fudge we sampled