there's no place like home!

Richard and I were thrilled to be able to go back to South Carolina for a weekend visit, but not thrilled about our reasons for going. Richard's dad had some knee surgery replacement complications and his mother was in a car accident (thankfully they are both ok!), and we felt like we needed to check on them in person. And it was just a bonus that Clemson was playing PC at home!

Because we were driving, we left on Thursday, which enabled me to go to Columbia on Friday for lunch with some of my favorite girls to celebrate Terra's birthday and catch up. It was almost as if I'd never left! I love that about good friends. DiPrato's was the easy choice, as it's one of our favorites, and I wish that we could still meet up every week there.

Ashley, Terra, me and Rebecca

After I visited a few friends at the Law School and had some yogurt with Suzanne, I headed back down the road to Spartanburg. Richard had spent a good bit of the day at the hospital with his dad, so we were both excited to go to Mellow Mushroom for dinner with the McDaniels (and I wonder why I have gained weight since the wedding?!). Meghanne is another September 13th birthday girl! It was so great to catch up with them over pizza and RJ Rockers beer.

Happy Birthday, sweet friend!

We headed to Clemson Saturday to cheer on the Tiger team. It wasn't much of a game, but I honestly don't know if there is anywhere I feel more at home than in Death Valley. It was SO good to be back! And final score (58-21) was not at all reflective of just how dominant Clemson was. PC is now 0-16 in their last 16 outings, so I am not sure why we ever scheduled them to start with. But a win is a win!

in the stadium with Hannah and Jason

tailgating with Jeanine during the 2nd half- so glad she was there too!

over in my parents' section after the game- they were 2 of about 100 who did not leave early- Herb does not leave games early...ever!

post-game dinner at PAWS diner- got to get in the fried chicken!

We also got to eat at Wade's for Sunday lunch and visit with Richard's newly engaged cousin Molly before heading back to DC early Monday morning. And while I miss SC terribly, it was actually kind of nice to be back in our Maryland home.