My Southern Living Exposure

I've been a terrible blogger lately.  I'm trying to break my silence today with a feeble attempt at an entry.  So bear with me.  It's not that I have something profound to say or a story that will make you think, wow, that's amazing.  It's just that I like to write and I haven't been doing it.  So as the ever-popular saying goes - I'm getting back on the horse.

For a girl that had only been to "The South" but once or twice before taking up residence in one of the deepest parts, I would say that of late, I'm becoming quite acquainted with it.  This past weekend we took a trip up to Atlanta, GA where we indulged in a fabulous performance by Zac Brown Band.  Now, if you don't know who this band is, they are kind of a cross between country and Dave Matthews or jam-band type music.  I suppose that generally they are considered a country group but as I found out this weekend in talking to some "true" southerners, there are bands that fit the country grain way more than Zac Brown Band.

We sat and enjoyed the concert at a beautiful (but cold) outdoor amphitheater and listened to Zac and his band sing their hearts out with songs like "Chicken Fried", "Highway 20 Ride" and "Sick 'em on a Chicken".  Now I at first thought "Sick 'em on a Chicken" was called "Sick OF Mamma's Chicken"... boy was I wrong! Case in point, I'm learning new things every day.  Apparently the song was not at all about Bad Chicken, but rather how they Sick the Dog on the chicken and then proceed to fry the bird...


The concert was wonderful, the songs were great and once I actually got the words right, I felt really a part of this southern thing.  As we were driving back home to South Carolina from Atlanta, my husband asked me a quite pointed question: "Sooo, what do you like better, South Carolina or Georgia?" I have to confess the look I gave him was somewhat of a blank one... well, gosh, I had never really thought about it until he posed the question.  After a few moments in thought as I looked out the window down Highway 20 at the seemingly endless road lined by a mass of beautiful green trees.  It is in those moments, it's hard to imagine cultures and areas more different than California, New York, and South Carolina.  I suppose I'll have to ponder that one for another day and keep exploring the many things the two states have to offer...

I've been pleasantly surprised living in our town in South Carolina at the amount of festivals and events they have going on almost every week.  There are live bands that play each week outdoors this time of year, and there seems to be a rotating festival featuring some kind of Southern delicacy or tradition every time I turn around.  Sadly, we missed the Crawfish Festival two weeks ago due to work, but hey, maybe we'll catch the BBQ event going on Saturday - they say they'll have 40 different kinds of barbecue... I wasn't even aware there were more than two kinds!

One last Southern Moment to share before I sign off for the day, victorious that at least I've completed a blog.  We live in a great apartment complex that is built right by a river and canal.  It's a wonderful thing living by water, especially for a California girl like me that has an unprecedented love for the ocean. While taking a sunset stroll just a few weeks ago, we stopped at the railing to peer down into the canal (I guess from that far away I was hoping for a gator sighting... yes, gator).  Well most lucky for us, it wasn't a gator, but a water rat.  Yes, a water rat.  If you haven't ever seen one, it looks just as it sounds.  A rat that swims.  It seems the rat, which we affectionately have named Frank, has a home in that canal outside our apartment.  We've seen him four or five times since the first sighting, swimming back and forth from his home - I guess he must be doing errands.  So as you can see, I'm embracing my life in the south.  Learning songs like "Sick 'em on a Chicken" and looking out for my neighbors like Frank.  Until next time, bye y'all :-)