Soul Food and Hunger Games

I'm a bit under the weather today (allergies and staying out all/day night do NOT mix!) but I had a wonderful time this weekend that I have to share!

Yesterday, I went on a very fun outing with friends to Charleston, South Carolina.  I feel badly that I haven't fully explored it.  My only other visit to Charleston, I did the horse carriage and a couple of house tours.  This day trip was even quicker, but it really made me want to come back before I move!

We started off by wandering through the Historic Charleston City Market, which has been completely redone since my last visit.  You can find the gorgeous sweetgrass baskets that are famous here in the Lowcountry, or gourmet foods, souvenirs, and other crafts.  It's crowded on weekends and during peak tourist season, but still worth a stop.

For lunch, we went off the beaten tourist path a bit and sought out the famous Martha Lou's Kitchen.  It's a hole-in-the-wall soul food place, but has gained notoriety for its amazing soul food and celebrity passersby (Andrew Zimmern visited recently).  It's cash only, and the menu changes by day (and some popular items run out!) but it was AMAZING.  BEST FRIED CHICKEN I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE.  The sweet tea was to DIE for.  I can't stop salivating at the thought of this food.  It's amazing, seriously.  TINY but so hot and fresh.

Our other big stop was the South Carolina Aquarium, which is a very nice, interactive visit!  After visiting the Georgia Aquarium, it felt a little small, but it was still impressive.  I think the river otter and the jellyfish were my favorites, though I could stare at the multi-story giant ocean tank for ages.

Oh, and I had to stop at Kaminsky's to take a dessert home!  I chose the Tiramisu Cake, which was covered in amazing buttercream frosting.  ALL of the frosting at Kaminsky's is buttercream, not that whippy stuff!  YUM.

And the final event of the day?  A late-night showing of The Hunger Games, which I hadn't seen due to traveling for job interviews.  I loved it!  I cried!  I laughed!  It's different from the book, but I always expect that.  I love them both for different reasons.  It was a great representation of the novel, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the future movies turn out.  It was worth staying up all night and getting home in the wee hours of the morning... but I'm paying for it today.  I'm still in pajamas, and it was tough just to get myself out of bed.

I swear tomorrow I'll be more productive.

 

The Hunger Games

People have been bugging me to read 'The Hunger Games' trilogy forever.  (The same way they've been bugging me to read the 'A Song of Ice & Fire' series!)  And since the movie previews are out, and I hate watching movies before I read the books, I decided to start.

And within 48 hours, I'd read all three books.  I couldn't STOP.

I'm not going to go into the plot, because it's complex, and I don't want to give away any stories.  I will say that I spent the first few pages of the book convinced that Katniss, the protagonist, was a boy, but was pleasantly surprised she wasn't.  Girl power!  I enjoyed the first book the best... the rest of the books kind of lost my interest over time (like The Matrix sequels), even though I desperately wanted to know how it concludes.  I predicted a lot of the events that unfolded, including which of the two boys in her love triangle she ends up with!

If you like books like 'Dune' and 'The Giver', I think you'll like this series.  I love young-adult fiction...  it's accessible to everyone, and everyone has felt like an adolescent at some point, so you can relate to the characters.  It's driven by emotion, not practicality, like a teenager.

Now I can't wait to see the movie!

(Sidenote: I also can't wait to see the latest Pixar movie next year, 'Brave'.  More girl power!)