Golf...and dinner...and hot air balloons...oh my!

So last week was Chris' turn for date night. We had a long weekend to fill, and fill it we did. Saturday morning started like it usually does: with coffee. Then Chris asked if I'd like to start date night early (keep in mind this is 10 am). I said sure, so he informed me we were golfing. While I wasn't joyous about the idea, I know how much Chris loves golf and I hadn't been in awhile, so what the heck. We played 18 at our local course: Oxbow Meadows here in Columbus. It is a beautiful course and not overly challenging for a rookie like me. Good Lord was it hot out though! I usually don't wear golf gloves, but I was sweating so much I had to after almost throwing my driver down the fairway. I didn't play horrible. I think I even legitimately made par on two holes. We had a pretty good time.


From there, we came back home and relaxed. Chris said we had to leave around 3:45 to head to dinner. Apparently the place opens at 5 and if you're not already standing in line you have to wait an hour. We both got ready and headed out the door for dinner. We drove about 45 minutes to Hamilton, Georgia and pulled up outside a tiny, one story cinder block building wayyyy out in the country. I was pretty confused. I remember driving past this place before during trips to Callaway Gardens, but I didn't realize it was a restaurant, let alone one that would warrant hour long queues. We pulled up and sure enough, the parking lot was already half full and people were already out of their vehicles sitting in chairs on the porch. Low and behold: Hunter's Pub and Steak House. By sitting on the porch with locals, we were able to eavesdrop on what was worth ordering at this place. Before even seeing the menu I had settled on the Snapper special and Chris was going for rib eye. Once we were in the place, it definitely had a unique ambiance. They have apparently since expanded off the

side of the building so it was too crowded. Our waitress was adorable, we had great beer and the food was phenomenal. We even got to partake in some local college football on the bar televisions. I liked the place so much that I ended up buying a t-shirt. Once we got to the Jeep, I opened the bag to look at the short again and realized our waitress had thrown in free coozies and a piece of peanut butter pie for free! We will definitely be back!

From Hunter's, instead of heading back to Columbus, Chris started heading toward Callaway Gardens. I was a little confused but it was still light out and a great day to drive in the Jeep. Once we got to the entrance of the gardens I realized why we were there: a hot air balloon festival! It was awesome. There is something really magical about hot air balloons. Because of Chris' military status we got free entry into the park (awesome!). We found a parking spot and headed right down to the beach area to get drinks from the beach bar. They had live music going on, food trucks, games, and not to mention all of the hot air balloons everywhere. Right at dusk the Veteran Sky Diving team dropped in right over the lake and landed on the beach. That was pretty awesome too. By the time we got home we were pretty exhausted. It was a long day, but a great one. My turn this week!