Captain Steve's and IKEA

Today was a laid back day hanging out with Craig. (Kathey was working.) We slept in until 9:00, then made a visit to Craig and Kathey's church, which use to be the training facility for the Charlotte Bobcats--what a cool place to convert into a church. The training rooms, locker rooms, meeting rooms, and offices made for a great set-up. We met many of the staff that Craig has talked about working with. Next we hit an outlet mall so that Tim could pick up a pair of shoes and me a rain jacket. On the way there, I saw...an IKEA! While I certainly didn't need anything from IKEA, it's hard to pass one up since there isn't one in St. Louis. The only way I can describe this place is a cheaper version of Crate & Barrel but bigger--huge, in fact. It's a dangerous place for one who likes "stuff." It's a good thing Tim and Craig were voices of reason, "No, Amy, you don't need that (insert unnecessary item here)." Or better yet, Craig gave Tim the idea that for every dollar I spent, Tim could credit his "new car" account. (Thanks, Craig.) I came away with 2 cutting boards and hot pads--less than $10--an amazing feat.

Captain Steve. I did think that he may be an imaginary character to sell seafood, but the waitress set us straight. (There's no way to create, in text, the North Carolina drawl, so I will not try to actually recreate dialogue here.) She told us that Steve shuts the restaurant down about this time every year, so apparently there is a Steve. Thank goodness, it was last week. I would have been quite sad if Captain Steve's had been closed. How could you go wrong if you start with a hot basket of hushpuppies?

Tim and I debated whether to split a platter. We should have.

Needless to say, neither of us finished our plates, but it was sooooo goood! My plate had a little of everything--fried clams, scallops, and shrimp--the shrimp was my favorite. Tim had fried clams and shrimp. We all, as my dad would say, had a gracious plenty. Here we are before we stuffed ourselves.

Craig just served up cheesecake, (Did I say we were too full for cheesecake? No.) so now I must go eat.