I say it was a wasted day, because it never really rained today, which is a shame, because we planned for a rainy day! The TV, the radio and the newspapers all said it was going to rain all day today, so we ended up staying up really late last night.
After LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, we watched most of ALONG CAME A SPIDER with Morgan Freeman. He’s such a great actor it’s a pleasure to watch any film he’s in. That ended at 3:00am. It’s amazing how late Eric has been staying up lately. It’s nothing for me – I’m a night owl – but for him to stay up until 3:00am is a miracle!
We didn’t mind staying up late, because we assumed it would be pouring this morning when we finally woke up. I probably would have slept until noon, but some kids were making a lot of noise out in the hall and I looked at the clock. It was 9:30am. I tried to listen carefully, to see if I could hear rain outside, but I couldn’t. I lay there, wanting to fall back to sleep, but SO curious as to whether or not it was raining that I couldn’t. I finally got up, looked out the window and it was perfectly dry. The sun wasn’t shining, but it wasn’t raining either.
We decided that Eric would gear up and we would drive an hour to a place called FATS (Forks Area Trail System) near Edgefield County in a town called Clarks Hill. It was very close to Augusta, so we would be driving southwest, almost to Georgia. We had gone only about 10 miles when it started to drizzle, then pour. It might have been different if we kept driving, we might have driven through the clouds and come out to a sunny day on the other side, but Eric said it wasn’t worth driving all that way in the rain, so we turned around.
He decided that, since it was supposed to rain tomorrow, too, he would just return the bicycle. The bike shop is closed on Sundays, so we had to return it by 5:00pm on Saturday. So, here’s the weird thing. By the time we drove the 10 miles back to Columbia and returned the bike, it had stopped raining. It was about 1:00pm and we decided to get something to eat.
We asked for a local place that wasn’t a chain and the guy in the bike shop recommended YESTERDAYS on Devine Street. I got a piece of quiche with cucumber salad and macaroni and cheese sides, and Eric got the potato skins with chicken on top. Their food was good, but nothing spectacular.
By the time we came out of there, the sun was shining! We were both so mad and frustrated, because Eric could have ridden locally, at Harbison State Forest, even if we didn’t go to FATS. He returned the bike because the newspaper, TV and radio all predicted rain today, but it never did happen! They're all big liars -- or really bad at predicting weather!
We ended up driving around Columbia after lunch. We stopped at another Starbucks and found a cute little neighborhood with lots of trendy little boutiques, galleries and shops. It was the kind of neighborhood where I would love to have a shop.
It's hard to tell, but this entire tree was covered with red lights:
We drove around and found some really nice neighborhoods, and then some not-so-nice neighborhoods. We saw a sign for an apartment for rent in a small building and I decided to call the realty company and ask about it. Turns out it was 1,600 square feet – 3 bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths – for $1,200 a month. Can you believe it? It wasn’t the best neighborhood, but it was still nice, and the guy said it had just been rewired, with new wood floors, etc. Can you imagine what a one-bedroom would cost? The only problem is, the salaries are probably just as low as the rents, so what’s the use?
We got back to the hotel in the late afternoon and watched some TV and then took a nap. We woke up and decided to go back into Columbia to see what their Friday nightlife was like. We left at about 8:30pm. We drove around a while, then parked in the same neighborhood where I had gotten my hair done, and walked around the neighborhood. We finally decided to go to eat at a place called THE BLUE MARLIN. It made us laugh, because we once went out to eat with Geri and Larry in College Point to a new restaurant called THE BLUE MARLIN and it was some of the worst food we ever ate.
It was about a year ago that we had this experience. I think I had a coupon, since the restaurant in College Point had just opened, and the coupon said the restaurant was called THE BLUE FIN, but when we got there, I’m pretty sure it said THE BLUE MARLIN outside, so we were immediately confused. The first sign that it wasn’t a great place was when we ordered drinks and they gave us cans – of iced tea, ginger ale, etc. I figure even if you’re serving soda from a can, the least you can do is open it in the kitchen and pour it into a glass! It was downhill from there. The four of us laughed about that place for months.
This BLUE MARLIN in Columbia was the exact opposite. It was very fancy, very beautiful and the food was one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time – maybe since San Francisco, New Orleans or Los Angeles!
We ordered drinks – a Shaken Betty martini for me (Raspberry vodka, Chambord, and pineapple juice) and a Bloody Mary for Eric. My drink was SO perfect – sweet and not too strong! Eric’s Bloody Mary was nice and spicy – just the way he likes it!
After looking over their extensive menu, we decided to have a dinner of appetizers, which is one of our favorite ways to try a lot of different dishes in one meal. We started with two cups of soup: Classic She Crab Soup—Fresh lump crab meat in a rich, creamy soup served with a spoonful of sherry on the side; and New Orleans Seafood Gumbo—An original Orleans recipe with shrimp, crawfish, mahi, okra, etc. The gumbo was the best I’ve ever had, and the crab soup was fabulous, too.
We had the soups with a salad – chunks of bleu cheese, candied pecans, cranberries and raspberry vinaigrette over mixed greens.
After that we shared Ahi Tuna Sashimi—Sesame seared tuna in teriyaki sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger; a Crab & Spinach Fondue—Fresh crab meat and spinach combined in a creamy mornay sauce served with toasted garlic crisps; and broiled scallops with a lima bean, tomato, and corn salsa.
There was so much food that we hardly touched the Crab & Spinach Fondue, so we brought it back to the hotel! We were too stuffed for dessert, so we just got the check, put the leftovers in the car, and walked around the neighborhood. There was an interesting combination of shops, art galleries, bars and restaurants. The weather was perfect – 68 degrees – at night – on the Friday before New Year’s. This is weather I could live with!
Here I am on Gervais Street -- the main strip in Columbia -- next to a giant urn!
We got back to the hotel and there was a fight on HBO, so Eric was happy and I decided to work on the computer. We are going to wake up early tomorrow (8:00am). If it’s not raining, we will get dressed, have the free Continental Breakfast and be at the bike shop by 10:00am, when they open, so Eric can rent the bike again. We will drive to Clarks Hill and see if he can’t get in another great ride before we head back to San Diego.