The reason I didn't post all day is because for the majority of it, I wasn't home. I noticed I left Trillian on when I was on the computer early in the morning and forgot to turn it off. I think a majority of my friends know I accidentally do that from time to time.

I bet you are wondering why I went to Charleston. Well, Nicki's roommate is originally from there. It seems her father had tickets to the ECHL Hockey game between the Florence Pride and Charleston's own South Carolina Stingrays.

There were six us in total on the trip: Nicki, Matthew, Nicki's two roommates, a friend of Nicki's, and myself. The roommates travelled together. My family and Nicki's friend rode together. The friend rode in the back with Matthew. The friend was just an older, Asian version of my brother. They got along the whole day.

We left for Charleston in the afternoon and it was a pleasant trip. The route we took was I-95 to exit 33, US 17. From there, you take 17 to Charleston. It's a very scenic rout, but also most direct. Plenty of water for the viewing. One of the communities we rode through was Ashepoo, SC and drove over the river of the same name. Imagine all the jokes coming from the back seat over that one. The term "Ashepoo" is derived from an Indian tribe that lived in the area.

Once we got to the major Charleston metropolitan area, we stopped at the Northwoods Mall to kill time, shop, and eat. Nicki saw a Dippin' Dots stand and got some. She let me try them and was telling me how great they were. While they were unique, they were too cold and too rich for my liking. We dined at the Ruby Tuesday in the mall and had a waiter that reminded me of a mix of John Mayer and Robert Downey, Jr as he was in Chances Are. And for those wondering if I was going to flirt, not with Matthew Squared at the same table. Before we left the mall, we stopped at a toy store and Nicki got Matthew a game that was on sale for the Game Cube. I tried to talk her into buying me Barry Zito but she wouldn't go for it.

After the mall, he had to pick up the roommate's father. I met her parents and their dogs. They lived in one of the Charleston suburbs Then, we went back to North Charleston for the game, being held at the North Charleston Coliseum. They coliseum is small but nice. It what we should have in Savannah.

This was my first ever hockey game. We had good seats behind one of the goals. We were told that the Pride and Stingrays are fierce rivals. One of the most fierce rivalies in the league. We are to root for the hometeam. Of course, with my luck, they lost, 4-2. However, it was cool and fun. While at the game, we found out that Charleston has an ice rink! All the attractions and sites I saw yesterday made me realize for the type of entertainment I like, Charleston, not rival Savannah, is the small Southern coastal city to be in. Savannah is lame and and the bit of Charleston I saw proves it.

After the game, we went back to the father's home and watched the Tennessee Titans lose. Posted by Shawn at January 11, 2004 2:40 PM in General.