Day 1 – We meet our gracious hosts, Rick and Ria who show us just how special Folly Beach really is. From bike rides on the beach, to rooftop drinks at a local bar hanging with sun conure parrots (Sweet Pea and Sunshine), and fish tacos, guacamole, and frozen screwdrivers at Taco Boy, beach living is definitely something we could get used to!
Day 2 – We take a private, guided boat tour with Rasta Rick and explore the estuaries between Morris Island and Folly Beach. Highlights include the Morris Beach Lighthouse, finding sand dollars and shells, and seeing dolphins, loggerhead turtles and tons of pelicans and other interesting birds. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!
Night 2 – We pre-party at Rick and Ria’s house across the street from our cottage before heading out for the night. Nightlife on Folly Beach proves to be just as sweet with live music at an open air rooftop bar called Lazo’s where we check out a local band called Po’Ridge. Rasta Rick joins the band on djembe drum. We end the night at a local’s favorite (and soon to be our favorite), Tokyo Crepes where we feast on freshly made crepes filled with mouthwatering fillings such as nutella, banana, strawberries and whip cream to more savory fillings like spinach, falafel and feta, better known as, The Mideast Miracle. Definitely a miracle in my mouth of irresistible flavors!
Day 3 – We venture into downtown Charleston with Rasta Rick and check out some shops, an open air market in the Daughter of Confederacy Building, and a sweet chocolate/ice cream shop. I bought a cute hat in the open air market for a whopping $10! What a steal and it’s cute too! Jon got his sweet tooth on with a chocolate and caramel dunked rice crispy treat on a stick….yummy, but a bit too sweet for my liking! We also checked out a cool rock and bead store that Rasta Rick likes to visit occasionally. You can find all sorts of beads, shells, shark’s teeth, djembe drums, didgeridoos, rain sticks, etc! We saw Rainbow Row which is the historical section of downtown Charleston with all the interesting, colorful old homes of Charleston….meticulously maintained homes that are beautifully landscaped and kept up to the code with the historical society. We headed back to Folly Beach to meet Ria before heading out to a Thai restaurant for dinner about 5 miles off the island. We were greeted by real ducks hanging outside the restaurant (kind of a scary sign)…needless to say, we stood clear of the duck menu items! We ended the night seeing Po’Ridge again at a different bar where Rick sat in again on djembe drum. Another night of great music and Tokyo Crepes…we can’t get enough of those crepes! I could eat one, two, maybe 3 a day…they are that good!
Day 4 – This was going to be our last day due to the inclement weather supposedly heading towards Folly Beach. We felt that we should probably leave Sunday around noon just in case the weather took a turn for the worse. The waves were increasing in size and the it started to get extremely windy outside. We decided to end our trip with brunch at Blu (a restaurant right on the beach) with Rick and Ria. This brunch was phenomenal…anything you could possibly want from home made omelettes, shrimp, fried chicken, sauteed collard greens, chocolate moose, fresh strawberries and fruit, stuffed flounder, bacon, mini pancakes…you name it, they had it, and it was all delicious! It was a great to end our mini vacation. We were in Folly Beach just a brief time, but it felt like we experienced so much in such a short time period. Our new island friends, Rasta Rick and Reggae Ria could not have been more hospitable and boatloads of fun! We love them so much…it’s like we have known them for years. Well, Jon has known Rick for 7 years, but had never physically met him until now. We definitely left a piece of our hearts on Folly Beach and plan to re-visit Rick and Ria time and time again. They are truly one-of-kind people and we are really happy to have been able to meet them, finally! We will miss hanging out with them. 
Until next time….I will be dreaming of Tokyo crepes, fish tacos, tranquil beaches, and more fun Folly Beach style.
Jon and I met Dad and Helen at their house for a quick coffee, bagel, macerated strawberries and papaya juice and hit the road. We had to make it to City Segway Tours in Fisherman’s Wharf by 9:45. We were there a bit early and met Johannes….a lively, gray-haired man with a slim physique. He would be our tour guide for the next 3 hours. We started off by viewing a short video on how to ride a Segway and followed the video with a practice session. After the session, our group took off. We had an intimate group….it was Jon, me, another couple, and Johannes. We started our trek in Fisherman’s Wharf. He showed us everything…and was full of information and interesting tidbits about the area. We had great weather and picture-perfect views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the San Francisco Bay. Riding a Segway is like nothing I’ve ever done before. The key to riding a Segway is pretty simple….you just step onto the Segway and stand straight while holding onto the handle bars. Turning is super easy….and backing up only involves leaning back ever-so-slightly. When going up hills, you lean forward…going down, you lean back slightly. You can play on them as well, making fun slalom-like moves and 360 degree turns. When we finally got back, we felt pretty confident with our Segway skills. We both really enjoyed this tour. It was a great way to see the city, for sure!
Yesterday was a fantastic day! We ended up having our favorite food in San Francisco…Dim Sum with Dad and Helen!!! Yummy! If any of you don’t know what Dim Sum is….it’s a style of Chinese cuisine where they come out and you select various small plates of food which might include sticky rice, steamed pork buns, steamed scallop dumplings, spinach and shrimp dumplings, egg rolls, flat egg noodles stuffed with pork and veggies….and the list goes on! If you have never had Dim Sum…you are missing out on one of life’s greatest culinary delights! So, after consuming more than we probably should, we headed over to Golden Gate Park to the California Academy of Sciences and spent about 2 hours completely enthralled. I don’t know what was more fascinating….the 4-story rainforest or the aquarium! I loved the rainforest….it was filled with interesting flora and fauna, gorgeous butterflies, parrots, and various tree frogs and lizards. A butterfly landed on my pinkie finger as I was taking a photo of another butterfly! It was heavenly. The aquarium was amazing too! You really have to see this place. We headed over to the Japanese Tea Garden afterwards. I had never visited this garden while growing up in SF, but I’m glad I was finally able to see it now since I have a greater appreciation for gardening and landscaping. We checked out the gift shop after perusing the lush gardens and we met Helen’s brother…Uncle Benh! I hadn’t seen him in decades! He volunteers at this gift shop, as well as, the wonderful bakery in Japantown where they sell mochi goshi (not sure of correct spelling). After an epic day in Golden Gate Park, we ended the evening at Bella’s…a nice Italian restaurant fairly close to where my Dad and Helen live, in the Richmond District. Jon got his favorite dish, gnocci, while I opted for my Dad’s recommendation, the lobster ravioli. What a perfect day! Could it get any better than this?
After checking into the 
(which are served flat not rolled). My combination plate included a tamale (still wrapped in the corn husk), one chille relleno, one blue corn enchillada, one taco with guacamole and beans and rice. WOW! A ton of food, but for those who know me well…I can eat! I devoured the chille relleno and blue corn enchillada, both topped with a red and green sauce. Simply outstanding! They also brought us a basket of fresh, hot sopapillas which were great for dunking in the left over sauce on our plates. The server also mentioned they are great with honey so Jon tried that immediately fell in love. I’ve included a picture of my meal, after I already dug in…sorry!
