South Carolina: Day 2

Maybe the actual day of the wedding should be my favorite day in South Carolina, but we had a lot of fun the day before. We woke up bright and early and went to the Waffle House for breakfast. In keeping with traditions that began when I worked at Girl Scout Camp in 2003, we all went in our pajamas. (I'm not sure if I've ever been to the Waffle House in real clothes- wait, yes I have, but only twice) Anyway, I really, really, really like the Waffle House. I don't know why; it's this unexplainable phenomenon. I should point out that nobody else shares my enthusiasm for the Waffle House. The food is really, really greasy and difficult for some people to digest. But, my friends humor me and take me anyway because they know I love it! And on this trip, I got 2 souvenir coffee mugs. I ate all of this for breakfast (not the stuff in the background). It was so, so good.

A trip to the Waffle House would not be complete without a commemorative photo.

After breakfast, we went home and got ready for the day. We headed to Frankie's Fun Park for some arcade games and mini golf. As usual, I barely made the height requirement.

We had so much fun mini golfing! I got a hole-in-one and a hole-in-three. (Below is the picture) How does one get a hole-in-three? Let me tell you. I generally don't have a lot of patience for mini golf, so on one of the first holes, I just hit the ball really hard and it landed outside of the designated playing space (is this called the green?). Anyway, when this happens, you can continue playing without penalty. However, if you decide to move the ball back to the green, you get penalized by one stroke. So, I found the ball and just elected to start over. (I think you know where this is going.) I hit the ball in the hole with one stroke, so with my penalties, I got a hole-in-three.

Sometimes, I break the rules and climb into undesignated areas for good photo opportunities:

Below are Hawkeye and I:

After mini golfing, we went to Hooters for lunch. Does this seem odd to you? It doesn't seem odd to me. Similar to how I like the Waffle House, Hawkeye and Jessica have a penchant for Hooters. I was a Hooters girl for Halloween once, and Tripper used to work at a Hooters in Australia. (Below is a picture of Tripper and I.) Anyway, let me say a few words about Tripper. Tripper, Hawkeye, and Sardean worked together at Girl Scout Camp in Minnesota before my time. I met Tripper, who is from Australia, during my first summer in 2001. We didn't know each other very well back then (we got to know each other better this past weekend), but Tripper was my secret buddy. This is exactly what it sounds like. During the course of the summer, I would leave her fun, random gifts. She had no idea that it was me (that's how this stuff works, right?), and I had a lot of fun. Now, most people would leave their secret buddies nice, normal gifts like candy and stuff. Not me! I would leave Tripper super crazy, weird, non traditional secret buddy gifts, like duct tape. One week I left her some fake nails and then the next I gave her a hammer (get it? A hammer to go with her nails! I'm so clever!). Another week I left her some batteries and then the next I gave her an, uh, adult toy (it was a gag gift- uh, we were pretty inappropriate at Girl Scout Camp.) Tripper was amused, and I kept things interesting. I kept her guessing all summer, until the very end when I sent her on this very elaborate scavenger hunt.

It was so good to see Tripper again, and we had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. Since both of us lack the wedding gene, we were like partners-in-crime. So below is just this random sign that I found funny in Hooters:

Later that night, we went to the wedding rehearsal. I've been in only 2 weddings, but something I've noticed is that the pastors and church wedding coordinators do not like it when you make jokes. I learned that lesson the hard way, at Sardean's wedding. Anyway, I didn't make the same mistake this time. So, we've decided that the only purpose of a wedding rehearsal is so that everyone gets a chance to shed tears in advance, to ensure that we can all hold it together on the big day. Just a theory. Below, the bridesmaids:

(Tracy, me, Tripper, Jamie, Sardean, Jessica)

After the rehearsal, we went to Lake Murray and got on this boat for the rehearsal dinner. Here is Brian, pretending to push me overboard. From the look on my face, I think this is hilarious!

We all had a good time, and I ate some awesome Southern barbeque (or is it BBQ?). I love pulled pork and fried chicken. And, I learned that banana pudding, which is absolutely fantastic, is a Southern thing. I was reluctant to give it a try (it kind of reminded me of banana cream pie, which I don't really like), but I was so glad that I did. (Clearly, I love to eat.) Below is a photo of me with Hawkeye and Sardean:

Who's ready for Day 3?