Family Day!

This weekend was a Coyle family gathering in Columbia. Mom and dad made the six hour truck to Columbia on Friday, arriving around ten. I believe dad was impressed because I had Guinness waiting in the fridge! After their long drive, we relaxed a bit and figured out the game plan for the next day.

On Saturday morning we went furniture shopping...I was in need of a new couch. We went to a few different locations, but as many of you know I am the worst decision maker and couldn't decide on which one I liked best or which was the better deal. In the end I decided to sleep on it before I made any decisions. Around that time Maura and David arrived in Columbia. We met at Pawleys Front Porch for lunch.

Known for their burgers and fried pickles, I knew everyone would find something tasty. We started off with an order of fried pickles...they were good but still don't beat the ones at Bigfoots in Memphis. For lunch, we all got some interesting burgers. I decided on the Wadmalaw Burger. It had chipotle BBQ sauce, fried pickle chips and applewood smoked bacon with a side of sweet potato fries. It was delicious and humongous. I definitely recommend it!

After lunch we headed over to the Riverbanks Zoo. I was very impressed by the habitats and number of animals they had. The animals were all out and pretty vocal and active. I should say all but the gorilla, he just kept on sleeping. Some of the monkeys were super vocal-- hooting and hollering at one another, they brought a pretty big crowd. We stood there for about ten minutes laughing at them.

For some reason we went into the reptile house...bad idea. Maura and I are not huge fans of snakes and essentially walked down the hallway without looking at many of the tanks. Then we got to the area where the fishes were and we saw some Nemo and Dori fishes, baby sharks, starfish and other fun aquatic beings. However, every time we turned a corner Maura asked David if it was safe to look.

After visiting with all of the animals we walked over to the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful. Running down the middle there is a fun fountain which would be perfect for bridal portrait backgrounds.

We did a little exploring but the sky was getting dark and we knew a storm was on the way. We jumped on the tram and almost made it to the car before the sky opened up on us. Thankfully we didn't get stuck in the rain!

If anyone is looking for something enjoyable and affordable in Columbia I recommend the zoo. It was worth the $10 admission! It is also very kid friendly with a lot of different "learning stations" and places where you can feed the birds and walk through an exhibit with kangaroos.

Saturday ended pretty uneventfully, we had dinner and celebrated Maura and David's two year anniversary. I am so glad that everyone lives close and we are able to get together for times like this. It was a perfect way to end my Maymester! Oh, and on a happy note I found out today that I got an "A" in the course! Woo-hoo!