Columbia, South Carolina

 For our 18th wedding anniversary, we knew we need a trip without the kids, so I booked a weekend in Atlanta. But with all of the rain in the forecast, the outdoor plans we had for Atlanta could've potentially been a wash. Literally. 

Insert Columbia, SC. We've never been. It's a shorter drive than ATL, and has many indoor attractions if bad weather were to creep into the area. I am so glad we had the opportunity to explore this beautiful state capitol, and in wonderful weather, as it turned out.

I get excited to visit somewhere I've never been, even if its a speck on a map. We knew we'd eventually get around to seeing Columbia, SC, just didn't know when. We finally made it happen.

If you didn't know by now, we are an active army family. So first thing first, we had to go creep on Fort 'Relaxin' Jackson just because we were in the area.

We have a sickness regarding posts and bases. Imagine it like this: There's a house in your neighborhood that peaks your interest because it looks different/unusual compared to your own. You've heard some rumors about it. You'd love to see the inside and put your curiosity to rest. 

That's how we feel about neighboring duty stations we've never been stationed at. We pop in, drive around, stop at the PX/BX, maybe a shoppette & the commissary, then head out. Curiosity abolished.

My take on Fort Jackson, from what I saw: Meh. Fort Gordon definitely has the better PX.

But...HUGE BUT...outside of Jackson's Gate Two, there is CIVILIZATION!!! It was mind boggling for us to see a bus stop right outside the gate, a shopping plaza within a minute walk from the gate. Stores and restaurants right outside of the gate!

I'm not talking a gas station and a Wendy's, I'm talking groceries, movie theater, Sam's club, banks, Petco, right out of the gate.

I'm sorry for my enthusiasm about this, but I have never seen a post or base that has this kind of life happening -within a close proximity- on the opposite side of the fence. 

Sure, we've been stationed at places with things right outside of the gate (Fort Campbell has lots of shitty stuff outside of the gate, like sketch motels and package stores within gate walking distance), but we've never seen an AMC theater within a stone's throw from any post/base gate, at least at the time we were stationed somewhere or visited. Generally, a car is required to get to any store worth shopping at.

This trip to Fort Jackson is our 13th or 14th post/base visit, though we've only been stationed in five places. I've lost an accurate count after living in Europe.

Next on our agenda was the South Carolina State Museum. It was neat to get a crash course in the history and culture of the city/state before walking around Columbia. The one thing I will say about this museum is that it can be triggering. There is a section dedicated to Civil War memorabilia with LOTS of confederate flags hanging from the ceilings and walls; life size mannequins that depict black slaves working in the cotton fields. I kind of got the vibe that some people here are still sour about losing the war...This is my opinion, not a fact. I'm only stating what I saw, read and experienced inside. It made me feel somewhat uncomfortable, and I am a white woman who originally went to college for history. I've toured museums in what was once Nazi Germany, and even those museums didn't give me the vibe that the area was still in support of the holocaust.

The museum is beautiful, though. Set in an old warehouse, it has four floors of historical artifacts and even a planetarium. We did pay extra to see one planetarium show: Live Sky Tour. It was kind of cool to jump in time -via high powered telescope- and see the sunset before it actually occurred. But the narration and descriptions of a few constellations felt geared towards a fourth grader's comprehension.

After this, we drove over to our hotel, checked in, and got to walking around downtown Columbia!

Downtown Columbia is super cute, bigger than I expected, and full of life. It didn't seem rundown or in disrepair. It was also cleaner than I imagined. We never felt unsafe in the areas were visited, even after the sun went down. Columbia is not only home to the capitol building, but also to University of South Carolina. Maybe that's what keeps it going strong in upkeep and commerce?

Eventually we got hungry and headed back to the hotel to change for dinner. I'm a sucker for dressing up, considering I don't get many chances to do so. I'm currently a full time college student and a substitute teacher. If I am not in lounge clothes, I'm in modest 'teacher' clothes. 

I made the husband snap some pictures of this rare site. But you get just one.

Dinner: I read rave reviews of a place named COA Agaveria de Cocina next to our hotel, so to COA we went. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. 

I am from the American Southwest; grew up on Mexican cuisine. I've fine dined some of the most fabulous Mexican restaurants that California and Arizona have to offer. I've also enjoyed fat tinga burritos, tacos el pastor and the occasional chorizo breakfast at some of the ugliest, hole in the wall restaurants with the best people and food.

This restaurant was not it.

This place tries too hard to be hip and Instagrammable. It's beautiful inside, don't get me wrong, but the choices on the menu are bizarre and fussy for NO reason. 

My dinner according to the menu: ~~Carne Brava~~ skirt steak marinated in roasted garlic & serrano, grilled nopales (cactus) and pearl onions $25

Literally came out on the plate with sliced steak (not skirt steak), cold garnishes of the cactus and pearl onions. I had to order sides of rice and beans separately to curb my hunger, and they weren't any better. The beans tasted like they were dumped from a can and seasoned with chipotle flavoring. But I guess this is the price you pay for upscale Mexican food in the south. Looks pretty, but hardly edible.

The margaritas were good though. My husband ordered the Pica Fresa margarita, and I swear, it was like drinking liquid cactus. Sweet, sour and a bit of a spicy kick that pricked the back of your throat.

Our waitress was awesome, and if it weren't for her, our experience at this place would've been a complete letdown, minus the drinks. We waited nearly an hour for our meals, but she made up for it by bringing us free shots.

By the time we were done at the restaurant, it was later than we had planned on. I wanted to walk to Finley Park, but knowing the park was closing soon, we headed back to the hotel instead.

Some weird facts about Columbia, SC:

• Most know that the University of South Carolina's main campus is in Columbia, but not every one knows that the bandmates of Hootie and the blowfish all met while attending college there and thus the band was formed.
• There is a theater here that strictly teaches the art of marionette. 
• Columbia is home to Fort Jackson, which is the largest military training facility in the nation.
• It is nicknamed "Soda City,"  but not because of carbonated beverages. 
• Most of Columbia was burned down by Sherman's army in 1865. Many of the seemingly old and original buildings are actually not super old, nor original.

The next morning, we ate at the hotel, despite restaurant crepe plans. Honestly, the buffet style options at our hotel looked pretty darn good, and were already included in our stay. We took the bait. I was NOT disappointed. I actually enjoyed breakfast more than my expensive ass dinner the night before!

After checkout, we did something we've never done before:

We went to the local zoo without kids!

This zoo experience was quite glorious. Early morning, on a Sunday, there were no crowds, no screaming kids, nor exhausted parents or handprints all over glass enclosures. 

I am not a huge fan of zoos, at all. I won't get into the reasons, but I did want to do something else before we had to leave, and honestly, this was the only attraction open early enough.

It was well-kept, and well-staffed. But I still feel that the enclosures were way too small for the animals within them. Three lions, yes LIONS, had less green space than my .28 acre parcel of suburban land. It just doesn't feel right...but I digress.

 I honestly like zoos for one reason: Flora. 

After wasting so much of my time trying to be great at photographing everything, I realized I actually enjoy photographing plants and flowers more than anything else. I know I am not the world's best at it, but it gives me joy capturing plant life.

Zoos have SO much plant life, sometimes more than animal life! And Columbia Zoo, in particular, does have it's own small botanical garden attached to the grounds...Well, you have to walk over a bridge and river to get to it, or drive to the other side, but one admission price gets you in the zoo and garden. They aren't sold separately, anyway.

It wasn't much to praise or really write home about. The garden portion was small, but still pretty in its own way. The fountain area reminded me of Kensington Garden in London, minus a huge Queen Victoria statue. We spent maybe twenty minutes before heading back to the tram that shuffles folks to the pedestrian bridge. 

Since we had completed the entire go-around of the zoo, we casually made our way out and noticed the tiger was finally awake.

But I had one last important stop in Columbia before heading home...

DEL TACO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am SO sad that Augusta does not have one. But it seems they can be found in bigger cities, like Atlanta, Columbia, etc. 

I ordered anything and everything that sounded good at the time. I couldn't devour it all fast enough. I adore me some Del Taco. 

Judge me.

I do not care.

Overall, we had a pleasant trip, despite some minor hiccups. I am a full-time student (18 credits right now), so I don't have a ton of future plans until this semester ends, but if you know me well, you know  I have already started planning next summer's vacation. 

The in-laws will be here for Thanksgiving week, so I suspect we'll head somewhere then (Myrtle Beach or Savannah?), but we are booked for Helen, GA in December and I am SO excited. Baby Bavaria, here we come.