Columbia, SC

March 2019

Day 1

The welcome matt was out at Columbia Airport

A big surprise from Dollar Rental. A bigger surprise when it started raining and our bags were in the back.

Our night was spent at Five Points in downtown Columbia.

Day 2

The group shows off their 25th-anniversary shirts as they get ready to go into the games

Jim Nance points at Chol and says “Hey there, you”

Dinner at California Dreaming restaurant built in an old train station.

Day 3

We started with a work of the city and then took the boat to Fort Sumpter. Followed by a steak dinner next to a Hootie and the Blowfish concert.

A trip to Charleston SC was on the agenda for our day off.

Fort Sumpter was next on the agenda after the city tour and lunch.

The group awaits the arrival of Hootie and the Blowfish after unsuccessfully trying to get passes to the concert

Day 4

A trip to Congaree National park to see the giant Loblolly pines and Cyprus trees.

Dave nearly loses his glasses as they hit the deck, but the glasses he saved should have been donated to the swamp with his missing lense. (story below)

Duke narrowly escaped a buzzer-beater and finally beat the NCAA Tradition curse of the Dukies. The other three times we saw them, they did not make it out of the weekend.

Day 5

Greetings from Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette at the capital who looks a lot like former governor Nikki Haley

Now we are really running out of things to do as Dave hitches a ride at the “Tunnel Mural”

Other Memorable Moments:

Luggage Laughter
John checks his luggage as usual and shortly after he is ridiculed for checking a bag, Dave and Leo had to gate-check their bags and ended up stranded in the jetway waiting for it.

Marble Party
Leo decides to try body marbling and gets his arm dipped. Later he realizes why this is popular for 7-12 year old girls and not for men; it does not work well if you have any hair on your arms. After guys in the row in front of us asked if he had lost a bet, he decided it was time to wash it off.

No Jack?
The group had their traditional steak dinner at “Micheal’s on the Alley” was stated with shock as the group learned that Jack Daniels was not carried by the restaurant. John did a double-take and almost walked out when the announcement was made.

Hootie Ticket Snub
As we found our restaurant we learned that Hootie and the Blowfish would be performing next door for a private performance. Chol did his best to try and get us tickets from those walking in but the closest we got to the show was hearing it from outside the door until we were told to move it along.

Knock your Cap Off
As we were walking through the Congaree National Forest on a boardwalk Dave flailed his arms after a picture and knocked Chol’s glasses and hat off. As the glasses met the boardwalk, one of the lenses popped out and went through the boardwalk slot into the water, never to be found again. (picture on Day 4 above)

The Games

1 Duke	\|
	\|	Duke 85-62
16 North Carolina Central	\|		\|
			\|	Duke 77-76
8 VCU	\|		\|
	\|	UCF 73-58 *
9 UCF	\|

1 Virgina	\|
	\|	Virgina 71-56
16 Gardner-Webb	\|		\|
			\|	Virginia 63-51
8 Mississippi	\|		\|
	\|	Oklahoma 95-72*
9 Oklahoma	\|
				* upsets

* upsets Highest Final Seat:–