The first evening, we went to dinner with Sarah at the institution that is the The Colonnade.
E's extended family lives in the South, and occasionally we'll have one or two southern dishes in a meal, or Barbeque for lunch, but very rarely do we indulge in a full traditional southern meal. In fact, much to Sarah's surprise, neither E nor I had ever been to this famous and historic landmark.
I struggled for quite some time with the menu while stuffing delicious cornbread and butter rolls into my mouth. So many choices.
I finally settled on the fried oyster plate and their signature salad and almost clapped my hands with delight to learn I could have a side order of my choice as well. Hello macaroni and cheese!
Sarah ordered the fried shrimp plate with the signature salad, and lima beans. and E ordered the "Vegetable plate" which allows you to combine any 4 sides of your choice into a meal. He opted for chili ("full of meat" he was in formed), fried okra, mac and cheese, and in a rare display of restraint, avoided additional fried awesomeness in favor of a salad.
At the high point of the meal, our table was an impressively brown and yellow display of southern awesomeness.
Suffice it to say, we were incapacitated after the meal and went straight to bed. It was a good introduction to the next few days with absolutely nothing on the agenda.
After driving to the lake, we slept at least 9 hours a day (3 naps in the hammock for me). When I finally woke each morning, I'd sip on some coffee, head out for a run and then jump in the lake to cool off. We lazed around on the screen porch and boat dock while reading and watching the babies and chatting with one another between the rainstorms. We took a pontoon boat ride around the lake to enjoy the sunset. And, of course, we ate and drank too much.
I came home more refreshed and relaxed than I'd been in months.
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