So, this weekend two friends invited me down to Litchfield Beach for a weekend of relaxation. They met me in Columbia, fully patient with my inability to leave early because of class. They swept me off in a luxury SUV to laugh and talk our way to the coast.

We stopped for killer BBQ at a little shop in Lane, SC. Yummy vinegar-pepper style. Shortly thereafter we arrived at the beach house aptly named "Southern Comfort." Yes, not only was it more than amusing but it was indeed the tone of the weekend.

Friday, we stopped by the grocers and then I made a hot cocoa version of Ooomay...funny now that I think of it, I made it with Splenda as if the alcohol had no carbs! We stayed up til 0200, laughing and talking and discussing the SCA and our lives.

Sadly, Saturday am our trained bodies awoke much too early for a vacation weekend and Shannon made us the most wonderful omelets for breakfast. Shannon had brought temari (she is just phenomenal at it) and indulged me by taking my advice for a design color scheme. Manley had brought her loom and I brought nothing sweet nothin. More chit-chat and before we knew it we had whiled away the morning and it was time to make Nia salad and whipped cauliflower and more BBQ cause we had big plans for the evening.

Manley's daddy had really wanted us to have the perfect weekend so he made arrangements to host us at Frank's (the best restaraunt I have experienced on the coast). They had a lovely outside veranda enclosed and with a huge roaring fireplace and gas heaters stationed throughout the rafters. I dined on rare pepper crusted tuna with Wasabi, proscuito stuffed chicken and finished with the most perfect creme brule. Our waiter indulged us with taking our picture and we wallowed home to the house.

We put on some music and cracked a bottle of wine. We got on the internet and I showed them how awesome Southern Comfort is as a superhero and we decided that Colin rivaled Theo as best humorist on diaryland. We decided we could indeed be "Southern Comfort and the Righteous Indignation" cause it sounded like a southern rock band. Shannon immediately deferred her spot to Emma.

We had been missing Rachel who went to the Hidden Mtn event this weekend so we had called her several times and Janos to try to catch them. So, sometime between the top of the bottle and the bottom, Janos called back and as we were obviously having fun and giggling he said, "We aren't too far. I could turn around and come down."

"No!" I cried, "If you have a penis you can't come." To which he offered to bring his lady wife as his entrance as she had the right anatomy for the girls weekend at the beach. We laughed and talked for several minutes...did you know that there are women out there who BITE the end of the guy's white belts? Trust me, I was not too tipsy to be scandalized by such behavior!

In any case, the wine mellowed the mood and we went to bed by midnight. The morning dawned to the realization that all good things must come to an end. We slowly rounded up our things and made our way to Myrtle Beach to take back Christie's suitcase (narrowly avoiding drama as they did not want to exchange it initially.)

We shopped here and there then hit the road back. So relaxed, so happy and at peace.

Thank you Manley (and your lovely parents) and Shannon for the invitation which renewed my soul. Thank you Kal and Den and Les for giving your wives the time to just be women. Thank you girls for letting Mom have a non-work weekend.

I will need it as I do not have a weekend off now til mid March sometime.

Now, the girls are home in G'ville so I am going to bed!