Guide to Getting Away from the Sunnyside Traveler

Amelia Island is an island off the coast of Florida, near Jacksonville. Amelia is the island's name, Fernandina is the beach on Amelia Island. It's a historical area where many of the original settlers arrived. I've spent some time there and I really like it. It's a good mix of Florida and the southern barrier islands (like those in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina). There's a neat historic downtown area as well as a few parks. Also there's a nice beach and good walking/biking paths on the island. But keep in mind that it's a fairly large island that would take most of the day to bike from one end to another (north and south). There is a wide range of places to stay, from B&Bs to the Ritz Carlton. Below is some information that I've gathered to help you plan a vacation. Visitor website -  http://www.ameliaisland.com/ B&B's in the Historic Downtown: Fairbanks House - Higher end but historical -  http://fairbankshouse.com/ Hoyt...

Fall! Time for cooler weather, Oktoberfests, Fall festivals, and other great outdoor and free activities. This list just covers October and November, I'll be working on another one just for all the holiday events (though some are mentioned in here). Go enjoy the great weather and fun events! Events in bold indicate Columbia-area events. Late September/Early October  - MOJA Arts Festival -  http://www.mojafestival.com/home/ Charleston area a festival for African-American and Caribbean art some events are free, some have a charge October  Early October - Congaree Bluegrass Festival -  http://www.cityofcayce-sc.gov/cbf/  free admission, free parking Saturday, 11 am - 6 pm bluegrass music, historical tours, food vendors, games for kids bring lawn chairs, but no outside food or coolers. Also, bring a canned good to donate to a local food pantry. - Carolina Foothills Heritage Fair -  http://www.carolinafoothillsheritagefair.org/ $5 adul...

Well, it's one of my favorite times of the year in Columbia. Football season, fall and...the Greek Festival! If you live in the area and haven't been, you need to make it a point to go. It's a great festival with lots of great food and some real friendly people. Now, disclaimer, it gets crowded! They usually take up one block with booths, games, entertainment stages, and food vendors so every free space there is can be filled with people. I recommend going during one of the off-times. Like take a late lunch or an early dinner. Or even an early lunch. They're open from 10 am - 10 pm Thursday through Saturday. They also have Sunday hours. But while you're there, try and make it a point to tour their church. It was just built in the last couple of years and they are always working on adding new artwork. It's beautiful. You can sit there and study all of the Greek Ikons and learn about the history of each painting. Greek Festivals are great family activities and I ...

A follow up to my post for April and May free events. It's been fun finding free things to do around the state. The weather has been great and summer is when it seems everyone is outside. And there's always great events during 4th of July! Some of my resources for finding events: Columbia's Free Times SCiway and local visitors bureau websites (great resources!) June June 1 - Williamston Parkfest -  http://www.williamstonsc.us/festivals.html#parkfest 11 am - 7:30 pm between Anderson and Greenville, off of I-85 family event with music, food, emergency personnel visits, farmers market June 1 - Sweetgrass Festival -  http://www.sweetgrassfestival.org 12 pm - 8 pm Mt Pleasant, under the Arthur Ravenel Bridge (free parking) celebrating Gullah Geechee culture; arts and crafts, music, food, demonstrations, water slide June 1-2 - Old Depot Arts & Crafts -  http://www.olddepot.org/index.php?page=arts-crafts-show 10 am - 5 pm Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm S...

I realize that on this blog I haven't shared one of my most helpful websites in making reservations, especially when travelling. I, personally, love it when a restaurant will take reservations. There aren't many places that I'm willing to wait for an hour for their food. There are usually other great restaurants that don't have a wait, so I like to check them out. And when you want to have a special night out, you don't want to spend a large amount of that time waiting for your table. Also, it's great when you have a large group since you know that it is more difficult to get a table for 5 or 10 people instead of just 2. Open Table is my preferred website for restaurants. They have an app and help you make reservations across the world. They also give you helpful information about price, cuisine, location and ratings from other patrons. I like to use them especially when I'm looking for places to eat in a town that I'm travelling to. I may not always m...

I wanted to share with you my list of free events coming up in South Carolina. This isn't an exhaustive list and I'm mostly focusing on the midlands area but I wanted to have a central place to list all these. It's a great time to be outside and there are lots of festivals going on. Feel free to share your own! Thursday, April 18 - Sunday, April 21 - Spring Plant and Flower Festival at the State Farmers Market 8 am - 6 pm Thursday thru Saturday, 12 - 5 pm Sunday Lexington County you can stock up on your plants for spring and Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer any questions there's also a restaurant on the premises if you want a bite to eat There's an Upstate one as well, May 2-5 in Greenville  Friday, April 19 - Sunday, April 28 - ArtFields -  http://www.artfieldssc.org/ Lake City, near Florence various free events, live music, dancing, food, art Friday, April 19 - Saturday, April 20 - South Carolina BBQ and Shag Festival -  h...

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted about restaurants in Greenville, South Carolina! I love Greenville, it's a great town that has done an amazing job with their downtown revitalization. I remember visiting the Falls Park area back in 2000 and it was a place you probably shouldn't go at night. Now it's one of the busiest places in Greenville, day or night. The South End has many shops and restaurants that you can't go wrong with. There are many places up and down Main Street that are great to visit. If you can, check out the Greenville Drive's baseball stadium. It's a great place to catch a game. These are a few restaurants that I have either been to or have been recommended to me. The Velo Fellow - I've posted about this place before, but it's my favorite restaurant in Greenville. We went there recently on a night we were looking for some jazz. We ended up there not realizing that they were having live jazz that night. It was great, the f...

So recently we were able to go to the Florida Keys again and it was just as enjoyable as before. I must say, if you have never been to the Florida Keys, or if your only experience was Key West, you really should try to make the trip. They're so unique. It just makes me happy to see the beautiful water in so many shades of blue when you cross over the bridge. We didn't get a chance this time to try many new places but we enjoyed visiting the places we have been before. Like Morada Bay Restaurant The view from our table at Morada Bay. and Islamorada Fish Company (We've been here before and it can get crowded but it's a good family place and there's a lot you can do while waiting for a table) The sunset from the docks at Islamorada Fish Company and staying at Breezy Palms . This time at Breezy Palms, we saw some manatees as well as some iguanas. Apparently iguanas aren't native to the keys and they want to get rid of them. But they are interesting to ...

Just wanted to let you know that I updated some of my past posts and will be working on updating more. A few that have been updated:  Savannah Restaurants Columbia Restaurants Tybee Restaurants Places are always closing, changing names or changing websites. Let me know if any links don't work or if something is out of date.  Also, I came across this great site for travel to Florida: Florida Rambler . This site has some great ideas and suggestions for experiencing the best, lesser-known parts of Florida. I hope to use their Florida Keys by mile marker this spring when we go back to Islamorada. I'm also excited about visiting Pigeon Key and seeing some of the history of the Keys. I'll let you know how it is! Hope you find an enjoyable way to make it through this winter! 

1 year! I can't believe it's been over a year since I posted last! I'd love to say it's because I've been so busy traveling and visiting new places, but sadly that's not the case. Life has just gotten in the way and I've been distracted.  I do have some places that I need to add. Some new restaurants and recommendations. But I have had this bit about the Golden Isles of Georgia that I've been working on some and I thought I'd go ahead and get it out there. This area is great if you want to plan a low-key family beach vacation. I'm sure we're all already planning those warm beach vacations.  My exciting trip for the year is another family vacation to Islamorada. I hope to try some new things while there and let you know how they go!  The Golden Isles and Amelia Island I’ve talked about Savannah, Georgia many times but about an hour’s drive south of Savannah is another good travel spot, what’s known as the Golden Isles of Georgia. These inc...