306 - Better than a sitcom

This weekend was my long-awaited trip to South Carolina.

But first... drama at the retirement community. Sunday morning as we're heading out, this little old lady comes bursting into my aunt's kitchen full of doom and gloom. My aunt says hello. Lets her know we're about to head out, but proudly introduces me to this newcomer. She gives me a cursory acknowledging nod then turns her attention toward my aunt. "You aren't going to be happy to see me Rose," she says. My ears perk up, then I settle back with my breakfast and watch the show.

"I need to talk to you about your birds." This is going to be good. I can tell. "I want you to stop putting out the birdseed. The birds drop it over my yard and I have weeds." Rose disagrees. Politely. "I knew you were going to argue with me Rose. I've lived here for two years and I never had weeds until you started putting out your birdseed. So I'm going to call the Georgia Conservation Commission and I'll prove it to you."

My aunt says she's all for that, if it's the seed, she wants to know. The lady doesn't realize she's being sincere, she takes it as a challenge. "I want you to stop putting the seed out, and if it happens again -- YOU will be paying for someone to come weed my yard." Rose asks why she thinks it's the birdseed. "I've given that a lot of thought." And oh boy... she had. "All three of our garages face the driveway, and when someone raises their door to back out it scares the birds. What's the quickest escape route? Toward my yard." Well played. But...

I couldn't help myself. I chimed in. "So what would happen if she just put the seeds on the other side of her house?" She was flustered but she reluctantly admitted that might be okay. So good... we're agreed that it's okay as long as it's someone else's yard... hahaha.

Then, a couple of days later, it occurred to me. We could germinate the seeds and see what grows. I bet they're wildflower seeds. So that's what Rose is going to do. I also had another possible answer... the association pays a lawn service to mow the lawns. Lawn services mow business lawns, residential lawns, but they also mow overgrown fields. The mower blades pick up seeds, which are then distributed over the next lawn. That's the most likely answer.

Honestly it was more entertainment than most sitcoms provide.

So Charleston was nice. Smaller than I thought. Much like the Garden District in New Orleans and also has a French Quarter. The food was delicious, except the Bubba Gump's shrimp, which wasn't cooked to my taste. I like a little more firmness to my shrimp... just because they turn pink doesn't mean they're ready for me to ingest. But the bread pudding made up for it.

I also had one of the worst experiences of my life. We went to happy hour (me for the free alcohol, Rose for the free snacks). I had a drink. Went back for another and the bartender asked if I wanted two since HH was almost over... going pretty well so far... Then we went back to the room. When I eat I take my braces out. I usually wrap them in a napkin and put them in my purse... this time I left them on the table. F. U. C. K.
I tore ass down the stairs to the lobby and ran back to the table.

Someone else was sitting there.

C. R. A. P.

I had to dig through the trash. For my braces. You know... the ones I put in my mouth. It was gross.

They had some sanitizer at the sink so I ran them under that a few times. Went back to the room and soaped them up a couple more times. Then brushed them a couple of times. I still don't feel good about it. After that I paid a LOT of attention to where I put my braces when they weren't in my mouth...

Beaufort was very nice. We took a carriage ride in both cities, but the one in Beaufort had an edge. Pat Conroy's childhood home, for one. The houses and trees are just spectacular there. And they had a kick ass chocolate shop called The Chocolate Tree that actually supplied the chocolate for Forrest Gump.

Next trip is to New York to see Bob. He's on a travel jaunt right now and we're taking advantage of it. Planning to see Niagara Falls and cross into Canada. So I'm looking forward to that. Already starting to plan what to wear... I'm such a dork.

Here are some random pics from my phone... loving the phone...