Discoveries

I had to get a picture of Lizard's Thicket, featuring the lovely Carolina Anole mascot. I've not been inside the place, but not only is this an actual place to eat here, it is a chain of places to eat here. Because one Lizard's Thicket did not meet the demand.

I left the hotel for Free Comic Book Day, and it was pretty awesome. The local comic shop I visited was well stocked and filled with geeks. The message board advertised the local "Jedi Order of South Carolina" for like-minded people interested in learning Jedi skills. I pray my family gets here before my free time hits critical mass.

This map, lit from below, covers are huge table in the welcome center of the subdivision where I've been hunting houses. I felt compelled to scatter bits of plastic across it and invade neighboring communities, annexing Australia and pushing north to secure Kamchatka, as is my traditional strategy in playing Risk. In fact, only my lack of available bits of plastic prevented me from doing just that.

The house hunt is going well on some levels. On other levels, my ideas of what we need keep butting up against the reality of thoughtful questions from Shana like, "Do we really need a turret?" and "What if we get a plain front without arrow slits and mounted cauldrons for burning pitch?" and "Can you find a house with a master bedroom that isn't 35 feet long?"

I found a liquor store, too.

In Columbia, apparently liquor is sold in these little bottles (shown next to a quarter for reference). They were pretty cheap and will fit into a laptop bag or desk drawer much more easily than the bulky flask I've been lugging around for years. They are adorable! When Gwynyth gets here she will be so happy to never have to look at another juice box!

I'm going to see which of these goes best in Coke Zero.

Finally, long after Gwynyth told me that her teacher contradicted me and told her that the Earth's geological layers did not include "Nougat" between Mantle and Core, it looks like I may have been right after all. Up yours, Texas "Education" System!