before moving, i got to visit some wonderful friends in the south. my first stop was to visit the wyllyses and the straits, who are patrick's family, in wilmore, kentucky. for those of you who have never heard of wilmore, that is okay, let me enlighten you. wilmore is a little college, ahem now university, town located about 30 minutes away from lexington. it is the place where i myself received my undergrad education and had the best four years of my life. it is also the place where i fell in love with the man i married, and so it will always have a special place in my heart.
the reason for visiting was to attend a baby dedication for little zoe grace wyllys, daughter to our best friends carrie and daniel. this beautiful service was held outside, at their friends' home, as the sun was setting and cows romping around in the meadow behind the yard. it was emotional and perfect, as dean wyllys, dan's father and methodist pastor, prayed over little sleeping zoe and offered her life to God. with many friends and family members gathered round weeping, i knew in my heart that zoe's life will be filled with love and support from so many caring people.
so, with that as our main purpose for the ky visit, we also got to enjoy spending time with patrick's aunt, uncle, and cousins (the straits) as well as some added time for the wyllyses, sans friends. it was relaxing and completely enjoyable to be around people about whom we care so deeply.
**for those of you who are going to attend the world equestrian games in lexington, check out these fave haunts of ours: pazzo's pizza pub, joe balogna's pizza, triangle park, graeter's ice cream, and ramsey's diner (best fried chicken ever!!!!!!!!!!!)**
after ky, i was off to charleston, south carolina for the remainder of my week to visit my friends laura and adam. these two new yorkers recently moved there so that adam could attend medical school at the university of south carolina. while i was there, laura was intent to introduce me to all things charleston, as this was my first visit there, and i was happy to oblige (as i am typing this, scarlet o'hara's voice is ringing through my ears).
my first full day there we went on a carriage tour around the city. now, in charleston, they like to do things a little differently. since there are so many carriage tours occurring at the same time, we cannot all go to the same places and see the same things. so, the tour guide must stop and find out where the tour is going. he is then given a number either 1,2, or 3 and that determines what section of charleston the tour is going to see. and! you never know what your are gonna get. our tour was 2, so we meandered down the center of charleston. it was fantastic and educational! the houses there are so beautiful and the history is so rich. i highly recommend this for first time visitors.
the next day we went to the beach on kiawa island, where adam's parents are in residence. so mostly that day was all about relaxing and getting burned. i also had an enormous amount of sand stuck in my bathing suit due to the fact that laura and i decided to lay down in the water while working on our tans (i mean tan for laura, burn for me). i can hear my mother's voice now..."some things never change bethany. you always had a load of sand in your bathing suit..." some things never do change :)
our agenda then proceeded to boone hall the following morning. this is an old plantation and is still working to this day. it was an interesting place, and we learned a lot about the gullah culture (derived from the african peoples who came over to america as slaves), and life as a slave. many slaves' quarters are still erect and have been turned into an exhibit all about african american history, from slavery to present day.
my last night there, laura, adam, and i decided to go out, and i wanted fried chicken! so we chose to go to virginia's on king. it...was...AMAZING! i highly recommend this place for some true low contry cuisine. try the fried chicken of course but the shrimp and grits is also fantastic! the price is right and the food will have you comin back fo mo.
the next i had to leave, but i left with some great memories. laura and i did many other things (adam was mostly in class and every night he shared all of the interesting things he was learning..he is going to be a great doctor. of that, i am sure), but i fear if i write anymore this post will become boring.
this is beth signing off.
mission: accomplished.
