We missed the free Continental Breakfast this morning. We just went to bed too late to get up so early. Last night we stayed up until after 1:30am. We decided to watch some movies (which were $10.00 each). First we watched THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, which was good, but I was dying to watch HAIRSPRAY, and Eric agreed to stay up to watch it. I had seen it already, but he hadn’t and he had seen the show on Broadway, and the original movie, and I knew he’d love it. He did! I was moving my feet the entire time (bed dancing, since I was laying in bed and dancing at the same time). It’s just that kind of score! I also love every single dress, every piece of costume jewelry, every purse, every accessory. It’s FABULOUS!
So, since we missed the free Continental Breakfast, we decided to really sleep in and didn’t get out of bed until after 10:30am. We finally left the hotel room a little before noon and went across the street to the CRACKER BARREL restaurant and store. We had never been to one before, which is pretty unbelievable considering there are 560 restaurants ALL across the ENTIRE United States! We just always thought of them as a “chain” and – as I’ve said before – we usually try to avoid those. This was just SO convenient, we couldn’t resist!
It really is my kind of place. The entire restaurant is filled with antiques and collectibles. There’s an interesting history, too. The first one was opened in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1969, and there was an antique store down the road. They asked the owners of the store to decorate the restaurant for them, because they wanted an old time look. The same family has been decorating all the Cracker Barrel restaurants and stores since then. There are approximately 1,000 antiques in each Cracker Barrel location. That’s a job I’d love to have!
I didn't notice that I got this couple in the photo, but -- seeing as I did -- do you believe this guy? He couldn't even take off his bluetooth for lunch!
I got a grilled cheese with a cup of vegetable soup and iced tea. Eric got the Old Timer’s breakfast, with turkey sausage, scrambled eggs and a potato casserole. It also came with grits and biscuits and gravy. He had apple cider, which tasted like fresh-squeezed apples. Really refreshing! Everything was really delicious and we had a great time.
After brunch we took a ride. When we went downstairs to the lobby before brunch, I insisted that Eric ask someone where the Harbison State Forest was located, since we drove over 40 miles yesterday and couldn’t find it. Turns out, it’s less than THREE MILES from the hotel. Can you believe it? All we had to do was make a right out of the parking lot, make a left at the light, and go about 3 miles. We went down there and checked it out. In the parking lot we saw two guys in a pickup truck with mountain bikes in the back and I made Eric talk to them. When I say “I made” him, I mean that he said, “What am I going to ask them? Why should I talk to them?” I finally convinced him and they turned out to be two really nice guys.
They have just begun mountain biking and it was their first time at Harbison State Forest, although they are locals. They took Eric’s number and gave him theirs and said they’d try to hook up for a ride on Friday. When Eric got back in the car, I said, “You can thank me now, or you can thank me later.” Eric thanked me and admitted I was right, which is never easy for him. I don’t know why he has to be so stubborn. I always say, it doesn’t hurt to talk to people or ask questions. If we had asked yesterday, we would have found the park in 5 minutes, instead of driving around, but I guess it worked out, because we got to see the more rural areas of Columbia (which we didn't really like) and Eric met the two guys today (which he wouldn't have done if we went to the forest yesterday).
After that, we drove to a local bicycle shop, but they were also closed today. Then, we decided to go to OUTSPOKIN’ BICYCLES, where Eric is renting a bike tomorrow, so we could see where it was. We knew they were closed, but now Eric has an idea of their location, so it will be easier to find tomorrow.
We got to see a lot of different neighborhoods in Columbia, some of which were really nice. I even saw a yoga studio! I told Eric I found my three requirements: antiques, Starbucks and Yoga! I’m ready to move here, but I don’t think he is!
After that, we found a STARBUCKS and I got a Peppermint Mocha Latte. I’ve already explained how they taste exactly like an Andes Candies (the mints). FABULOUS!!!
By now it was after 4:30pm. We drove back to the hotel and relaxed, watched TV, and then took a nap (what else?). We woke up at 7:30pm and went out to dinner. We drove around for a while, but most of the places are barbecue and ribs, so we ended up at CARRABBA’S ITALIAN GRILL. I was excited as soon as we got to the door, because there were a lot of words stenciled on the door, and one of them was GELATO! I said, “Look, Eric. They have gelato!”
When you sit down, they bring you fresh-baked bread with olive oil infused with herbs. We could have eaten the whole loaf, it was so good, but we resisted!
We started with the Crab Cakes appetizer, (Two crab cakes made with jumbo lump crabmeat, seared in a cast iron skillet and served with a roasted red bell pepper sauce), which were really delicious. Eric’s dinner came with a salad. I had the Damian Platter, which was a trio of seafood dishes -- Spiedino di Mare (Shrimp and sea scallops coated with Italian breadcrumbs, grilled and topped with lemon butter sauce), grilled salmon and lobster ravioli. It was all really good.
Eric had the Pasta Sostanza (which is just like our friend, Joe’s name – Costanza (and like George’s in SEINFELD), except with an “S.” It was tagliani pasta with artichoke hearts, grilled shrimp, mushrooms and spinach in a tomato sauce. It was SO good.
We were really stuffed (Eric even took his leftovers back to the hotel), but we thought we'd have some gelato. We asked the waitress what flavors they had, and she said she didn't know what we were talking about. We said, "On the door -- it says you have gelato." And she said -- and I swear, these were her exact words -- "Oh, that's just words they put on the door. I don't even know what gelato is." We explained to her that it was a kind of ice cream. They didn't have any desserts we really wanted, so we just came back here.
We were going to watch another movie, but we have to get up really early tomorrow, because Eric wants to rent the bicycle at 8:00am, so he can get in a good ride. We’re just hoping it’s not raining when we wake up. It rained last night, but today turned out to be a really nice day. We need the same weather tomorrow!