Charleston Suggestions

We have been asked countless times for recommendations in Charleston. Granted, neither of us live there (although Todd used to live there) but we have both been there more times than we could ever count so I'd say we've got a pretty good handle on the to-do's and must-see's of the best city in America. If you've got a favorite in Charleston that we didn't mention here, please leave us a comment! We would love to keep them all together to help anyone who might be planning a trip.

*Note: Almost everything we suggest is located right downtown (which is where you want to be) unless otherwise noted (like the plantations). The marker on the map is historic downtown.

Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge

So there I was, driving along with a teal bookcase hanging out the back of my mid-size suv, not having eaten since breakfast and exhausted from a weekend of looking at thousands of antiques when Nic chimes in, "I think that covered bridge is around here somewhere..." Of course, my puzzled answer was, "What bridge??"

"The one on the blog, don't you read the links on the sidebar?" I was caught. Since her iPhone didn't have any service, I pulled up the link on my Blackberry and reset the GPS to take us to the alleged bridge.

So we snaked around some Georgia backroads and found the aptly named "Covered Bridge Road", assuming it would take us to our destination. And we drove down the dirt road...and drove some more... almost to the end and there it was. It was the first covered bridge that I'd seen that was still in service.

I've encountered a couple but never an original bridge that I could drive on. I know there are others out there but this one is still cool because it was the first one that I've been across. And it was fun hearing Nic tell me that it was like something out of a horror movie.

There's a little more info at the GDOT website.

Toomer's Corner

A few of you probably know that I went to Auburn and if you follow my twitter, you probably got tired of seeing my tweets this afternoon about the Toomer's Oaks being poisoned. Hopefully, I didn't lose any followers but I can't apologize for my overtweeting...

Some people responded and asked why I was upset and what the big deal was. Most people in the South know that we roll Toomer's with toilet paper after a win but not many people know why or why this is important to us.

Scott's Antique Market

When we were up in Atlanta for New Years Eve, we visited with one of Todd's friends. She has an adorable apartment filled with great antique store and ebay finds- old Pyrex and depression glass, my beloved green Mason jars, an awesome vintage milkshake maker, and the neatest factory cart coffee table I had ever seen! It was from her that I first heard about Scott's Antique Market. Scott's only comes to Atlanta once a month so we looked up the dates and this past weekend we packed up the car and headed back to Atlanta. We had planned to spend all day Saturday looking around but after a late start (it's always my hair's fault) and realizing there was far more area to cover than we first realized...we knew we would need more time.

We quickly decided that Saturday would be our look day and if we saw anything we couldn't live without, we would come back on Sunday to buy it. I figured this would be the only way to prevent impulse purchases as I am a big believer in waiting a few days to purchase something to think it over. Todd is the complete opposite and if he wants something, he buys it without much thought. And wouldn't you know...I was the one throwing my arms around a teal bookcase that Todd spotted at one of the last booth's we visited. This was only after I had purchased a factory cart coffee table of my very own from the same vendor. Luckily we didn't have the car space to bring both home so he moved the "SOLD" tag from the table to the bookcase and it was all mine!

Puttin' on the G.R.I.T.S.: $100 Ebates Giveaway!

We are constantly using Ebates to save money on the little things and now you have a little more incentive to sign up. Head over and check out this post and find out how to be entered in a giveaway.

Puttin' on the G.R.I.T.S.: $100 Giveaway!

III Forks - Jacksonville, FL

We aren't normally fans of chain restaurants but we wanted to get a good steak dinner on Saturday night without driving very far. Luckily for us, Nic knew of a great place right around the corner that she'd been to a few times.

Tapestry Park, a new mixed use development near the corner of Butler Blvd and Southside in Jacksonville, has all the right ingredients to be a home run. There are condos, apartments, retail shops and even a hotel all within a stone's throw from one another. It's no wonder that this location attracted a venue like III Forks to be one of the anchors.

Apothica Giftcard Giveaway

Head on over to the blog of the better half of this blog to sign up for a great giveaway from Apothica!
Puttin' on the G.R.I.T.S.: Apothica Giftcard Giveaway

Driftwood Beach - Jekyll Island, Georgia

Either my third or fourth quarter at Auburn, I had a class called Engineering Geology. This was part of my required curriculum for engineering but is probably long gone due to restructuring of my program. Regardless, it was a fun class that enabled me to learn a whole lot about rocks and minerals and erosion and earthquakes and soils and ground water and...you get the idea.

This class was taught by a really cool guy by the name of David T. King, Jr. I really liked Dr. King. He was the type of professor that made you laugh without trying and like all good instructors, loved what he did. There are tons of stories my classmates and I could share about this guy ranging from the hand written and illustrated text we were required to buy to the inflatable dinosaurs in his office but they'd have nothing to do with this blog post.