I wrote this posting before my epiphany on the capital letter thing. And quite frankly, I was just too lazy to change it. Read on.........
Next stop on my postings of places we have lived:
Columbia, South Carolina
See it right there in the middle of the state?
After living in Norman and finishing our undergraduate programs, graduate school beckoned us to South Carolina.
Columbia, to be exact.
The state capitol.
Enough said.
Columbia was a fun place to live. We lived downtown to be closer to the University of South Carolina.
In a high rise.
We lived on the same floor as some of the other Brazilian grad students, with Big A. Who at the time, was Small A, at the ripe old age of 2.
Our favorite memory in Columbia, South Carolina, was the birth of our second son, the Bull. At this hospital:
This hospital was downtown, close to the University and close to our apartment. Which definitely made doctors visits easy!
But a big ole pregnant gal needs some entertainment help with an active 2 year old.
Introducing the Riverbanks Zoo. Right in Columbia, it was deliciously easy to get to. We bought a season pass. It bought us about 9 months of daily fun. Seriously. If you live in a hot place, are pregnant and have a toddler, I can't emphasize the importance of a good zoo.
We loved the train the most.
Big A and I went at least once a week, up until the week I delivered the Bull. And we also took my parents and grandmother two days after his birth with the Bull in a front pack!
Another place we really enjoyed frequenting was the Columbiana Center, mainly because I worked there.
At the Disney Store. I know, I know. WHY??? Well, mainly because managers received what is known as a "silver pass" which is another term for FREE Walt Disney World for my family. Totally worth it.
But all the discounted passes to Disney World and the millions of stuffed animals couldn't take the place of the precious carousel in the center of the mall.
It had every animal imaginable on it. Pigs, horses, tigers, giraffes, even roosters.
Everytime Big A came to the mall to have lunch or dinner with me on my break, we had to ride the carousel.
Speaking of Big A, he was the cutest Charlie Brown one Halloween, and even won a costume contest at the mall over hundreds of contestants.
He was the roundest-headed one year old we had ever seen, and with the yellow t shirt adorned with the infamous Charlie Brown zig zag, he couldn't have been more perfect.
South Carolina, as a state, has the heat and humidity drawback, but definitely makes up for it with its award winning barbeque. Our favorite haunt was a little place called Maurice's.
They have the most delicious mustard barbeque sauce I have ever tasted.
Before living in South Carolina, I had never even heard of this kind of sauce. They put it on everything: pork, beef, chicken, even the fries. It is unbelieveable!
South Carolina was also the first place we had these famous treats:
We had no idea what it meant when it said "HOT NOW". We assumed coffee.
We were so wrong........
And we had no idea that you were able to watch the entire process, from start to finish, including a free hot doughnut! We were never the same again......
We also were made aware of Blue Laws for the first time.
If you are not familiar with Blue Laws, they are defined by Wikipedia as:
A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States and Canada, designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping. Most have been repealed, have been declared unconstitutional, or are simply unenforced, although prohibitions on the sale of alcoholic beverages, and occasionally almost all commerce, on Sundays are still enforced in many areas. Blue laws often prohibit an activity only during certain hours and there are usually exceptions to the prohibition of commerce, like grocery and drug stores. In some places blue laws may be enforced due to religious principles, but others are retained as a matter of tradition or out of convenience.
In other words, they are laws that kept me from shopping on one side of the WalMart on Sunday morning.
Seriously, thats how I looked at it.
I was not allowed to buy diapers in the "non-essential" side of my WalMart Supercenter.
And I had a two year old. And I worked in retail with only Sunday off.
I definitely became familiar with Saturday night shopping. And I stocked up on my diapers!!
Realistically, living in South Carolina gave us the best thing ever, our second child. And it gave us a job on the east coast, giving us great experiences up in New York and Connecticut.
But that is all coming soon in my Connecticut post.
Keep reading...........
