Southern Delights

Kayce here…

**Please note- this blog entry is centered around our glutinous encounters with food!**

We made it to the South!  After a GREAT night’s sleep in a HOTEL, we checked out Chattanooga, TN.  We fell upon a place named Sugar’s BBQ… and this is where the eating continuum and total disregard of health begins… Don’t expect any mention of fruits or vegetables unless they have been dipped in butter or rolled in batter and fried. 

 

We felt a big urge to redeem our BBQ experience! And Sugar’s was the place… we had a brisket plate, with mac & cheese, corn bread, and corn on the cob… and a Butt sandwich on the side!  We tried the mustard, vinegar, Texas, and sweet sauces.  The meat was so tender that it just fell apart.

After wards we headed out on the road to Southport, NC! We blew through SC, still taking all side roads.  We stopped in Due West, SC, (what up Paul Cawood!) a quiet, charming town, then once it was dark, conceded to take the interstates the rest of the way.

 

 

Due West

 We arrived at my dad’s in St. James Plantation. 

   

He’s growing some mighty fine tomato plants if I may say so myself.  

He showed us around the town of Southport, where we lunched at a seafood place, Provisions. You go in and serve yourself beers.  The bottle openers hang from the door handles, and they have sliced limes in the coolers if needed.   

You check out what’s fresh for the day and order what you will.  Dad chose the steamed shrimp plate, Brock the Yellow Fin Tuna sandwich, and myself the Crab Cake sandwich.  The crab cakes in the Carolinas are made of Blue Crab, so they are much more pressed and stringy than your lump crab cakes in the north, but still quite good.

We sat outside at a plastic picnic table overlooking the marshland.   

 

Ahh! I miss just being able to drink a beer and hang out on the water.  It’s one of the most relaxing, simple pleasures of life in my opinion.

Dad gave Brock some shrimp, which he had never seen with their legs still attached…. and never had Old Bay Seasoning either.  Man you guys, he might be addicted to that stuff.  A few days later, he added it to his Roast Beef Sandwich… he loves it. 

Later that night, we settled in and hung out on the sun porch.  My dad brought out some fun “memorabilia” of my childhood.  He had pictures and drawings that he has kept for quite a long time… even one of my first “Paint by Numbers” masterpieces, in a frame no less.  It touched my heart, quite cute to have him keep all of those things.  He even still has the cd I made him 6-7 years ago in his car, and he still listens to it! Isn’t that just too sweet? We jammed to it, singing and laughing.  

Then the stories came. “Brock, did she ever tell you about…”  “Remember that car accident you had when you were 16?” “Oh, then this one time, she thought she could get away with…” “Now Kayce, tell me the truth, did you…” Oh man! It was brutal but absolutely hilarious! The night was full of laughter, stories, and fun. I loved every second of it… but BTW, the car accident WAS NOT my fault!  

 

Delicious!

The next morning we headed down to Little River, SC a town I lived in when I worked in Myrtle Beach, SC one summer.  It’s a small fishing town, where they also have Casino Cruise Ships.  We headed out to the water and found, Crab Catchers, cool shack with a dock and dine atmosphere.  I ordered a Mango Daiquiri, something I have been craving for a bit, and Brock had a local lager.   

 

He ordered a Seabass sandwich and an order of hushpuppies with Honey butter I might add.  Again, all new to him.   We chilled outside and watched the boats drive by then headed to Myrtle Beach.

Ahh Myrtle Beach! If you don’t know much about the city, it is also known as the Redneck Riviera or the Vegas of the South.  The place is absolutely nuts… people go hog wild, all bets are off.

We headed to the beach and I bolted for the ocean! I dove in the waves, completely submerging myself in the salt water.  I love the feel of salt water on my skin and in my hair!  It was something I greatly miss.

When the sun went down, we headed for the boardwalk, which is best for people watching.  All kinds of drama and debauchery happens there, with more BAD tattoos than we could count.  

 We had our fill and drove to Broadway at the Beach.  Again, amazing people watching!  We stopped in at Key West Grill, the restaurant I worked at that summer. 

    I had a Key Lime Martini and the bartender’s special concoction, a Banana Cream Pie Martini.  They both were so delicious and could get you in a whole lot of trouble!  We decided to keep the “Brock trying new things” theme with raw Oysters!  He tried them with and without the cracker!

Here We Go!

The next day we headed to Charleston, SC, where I lived a few years.  I was super excited and could not wait to get down there!  We arrived and immediately dropped in at Spoleto Festival to see my Box Office friends!   

They were rockin’ and rollin’, organized like a well-oiled machine.  Ingram was handling the call center with ease, answering any apprentice question they threw at her. We were able to hang out and catch up with my former boss, Katie, which was the biggest treat.  She is a pretty amazing lady.  I learned so much working with her, about ticketing, Box Office, websites, and business which helped me immensely in my future employment.  Also, if she would have never hired me, I might have never continued my nomadic lifestyle or had the opportunity to work with festivals!  Something I feel blessed to have found in my life.  I owe her big.

We relived old tales, crazy times, and had a bunch of laughs.  If you work in a box office, we all know those stories.  They seem to get better and better each year. 

 

Sometimes you're the windshield...

Spoleto Festival USA is a something everyone should experience at least once in their life.  It is 17 days full of international performing arts- Dance, Theatre, Opera, Chamber Music, Jazz, you name it in 11 different venues in Charleston.  Morning, day and night you expose yourself to things you will could quite possibly not see otherwise.  I feel quite lucky to have been able to work for such a wonderful organization.

Katie and Paul were able to peel themselves away from work (thanks Ingram!) for the first time all festival to go for dinner!  Sushi at Wasabi’s! Paul, Brock, and I went out a bit later to catch up and enjoy the night.  Paul is another amazing person.  He’s one of those people who you love how their brain works.  To hear him talk about Chamber Music, and all music really, is a real treat.  Wicked smart guy with a dry sense of humor.

Paul!

We arrived at King Street Grille and ran into some of the Production Team!  The best surprise was seeing Mike Egan, Stage Manager extraordinaire. He’s an amazing talent who has more stories than Paul is tall.  Great guy all around.

Mike!

 

The next morning, Brock and I went to Jestine’s Kitchen for brunch, a staple in Charleston.  Brock had shrimp and grits.  They are small shrimp over white grits with a brown butter sauce… absolutely decadent.  It is a Lowcountry specialty. If you are in Charleston, you must try shrimp and grits.  We also shared some fried, green tomatoes with a pepper relish, and I had fried chicken with a side of fried okra. 

We walked along a bunch of side streets, admiring the beautiful houses with rod-iron fences and candlelit lanterns.  

 

We arrived at the Dock Street Theater, on the corner of Church Street and Queen Street. This was the first building in America built exclusively for theatrical performances.  It had recently been renovated, and I couldn’t wait to go inside. 

 

We were seeing Chamber Music, which is the backbone of the Spoleto schedule.  In 17 days, the Chamber Music series consists of 34 performances.  During our performance, they played Moses Phantasy by Niccolo Paganini, The trout d550 by Franz Schubert, and Piano quintet in a major d667 by Franz Schubert.  The piece Moses was absolutely astounding! The composition is incredibly difficult, having the violinist using only the G String of the instrument.

Dock Street

 

We strolled along the Market, then up to King Street, where they block off the streets every 2^nd Sunday and restaurants set tables outside for diners.  The street was alive with people!  King Street is a main street in Charleston known for its great shops, antiques, and restaurants. 

John C. Fogerty

We headed to Folly Beach, the beach closest to my old house on James Island.  Folly is a cool little area, definitely has a beach feel- meaning seafood places, come as you are attire, beach shops, but not overwhelmed with tourist trap businesses!  We sat on the rooftop of Snapper Jacks, where Brock tried a Crawfish Po’Boy! It was overflowing with Crawfish tails and he loved it!  We relaxed and took in the scenery before headed out to Middleton Place, the home of the Spoleto Finale!  

 

The Finale is a unique and crazy fun event.  The gates open around 3pm on set out on the grounds of Middleton Plantation.  You can walk around the grounds, where there are beautiful lakes, marshes, old historic buildings, and gorgeous huge oak trees. 

 

Butterfly Lakes

One of the prettiest parts to see of Middleton is their Butterfly Lakes.  People go all out for the Finale, some bring picnic baskets, blankets, and chairs, where others bring tables, huge spreads of food, games, and everything you can imagine.  The band goes on stage about 8:30 and fireworks at 10! It really goes out with a bang!

During the finale, I was able to chat and catch up with other Spoleto friends.  Ingram was making me laugh with all of her stories of the season. I love her sense of humor!

Another friend was Marcella, one of the sweetest, charming, and upbeat women you will ever meet. Her smile lights up any room.  Definitely one of my favorite people in life. 

Another being Mae, a charming woman, who has worked in the Box Office for 4 years now.  She has a great attitude about life and always makes me smile.

Marcella!

Ingram!

 

Katie!

We packed up our chairs and gave our hugs goodbye. Before we left town, I was able to see my sweet friend, Dally. An incredible woman, who has always been there for me. We will see her again in Kentucky… so you will learn more about her then.

Headed out, driving 3 hours back to my dad’s in North Carolina, leaving a piece of my heart in Charleston....

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain