Good times

I spent this past weekend in Greenville, South Carolina catching up with my longtime sweet friend Robin. Robin and I have known each other since we were 12, which if you do the math means that we have known each other for more of our living years than we have not. Robin and I attended middle school, high school, and college together, and we were even roommates our freshman year. What a history! And while we haven't seen each other in about five years, it only took about two seconds to fall right back into our easy-going and warm friendship.

Robin moved from Florida to Greenville about two years ago. When she wrote about how much fun she was having with her new life in South Carolina, I basically invited myself out for a weekend visit. What a good (greedy?) friend I am! I had such a good time with Robin!

I arrived on Friday and we spent some of the afternoon making preparations for our Saturday adventure (this deserves its own post, which will come soon). I got to visit with Robin's 12 year-old daughter Kiersten (what a lovely lady!) and then Robin's fiance Bryan after he came home from work. I had really been looking forward to meeting Bryan (a.k.a. Skippy) and I quickly discovered that he is a great guy and a perfect match for Robin.

Robin and Bryan took me downtown to a Belgian pub, The Trappe Door, for dinner. Below is a photo of Robin and Bryan outside - aren't they a lovely couple? And yes, Bryan wears Clemson orange all.the.time. (it suits him well!).
We enjoyed a delicious meal of upscale Belgian pub fare (for me: beef stew with salad and the most delicious Belgian fries with dipping sauces on the planet), and we may have had a few of these.

Saturday was an amazing day too (post on that to come!).

After breakfast on Sunday morning I explored Robin's picturesque backyard, absorbing the beautiful fall colors still on the leaves on the trees. The landscape surrounding her house is amazing! I feel like I should be accustomed to strong fall colors after living in North Carolina for five years, but I honestly don't remember an area looking as overwhelmingly yellow/orange/rust/red as Greenville did this weekend.

The last treat of the weekend is that I got to spend Sunday afternoon with my lovely cousin Jill! Jill has been living in Greenville for about three years and this is the first time we have seen each other in over six years. Jill took me downtown, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a cute Mexican restaurant on the main street. We talked for hours and it was comfortable and relaxing to catch up on Jill's life and to share stories of our families. After lunch we walked around downtown Greenville, which is quite charming.

Before we had to leave for the airport, Jill took me to Mast General Store, where we had fun selecting souveneirs for Scott and the kids. I definitely felt like I was in the deep south in this store.

How blessed I feel to have spent time with close friends and family that I have not seen in way too many years. Thanks, Robin and Jill! I had a fantastic weekend and it was great to see you both!