It has been known to happen from time to time along my travels for a great opportunity that normally would cost me a lot of money, is now offered to me for free! The great thing about this is not just the money saving and the spontaneity of the event, but that the event is usually a "true to state" event. It is an event that gives me a perfect example of the culture and the persons in the state that I am living in. Rest assured that I have not participated in any illegal acts or offered any personal services to be able to attend these such events!
If you have been following my blog you may remember a little event back in January that I went to called an NFL playoff game Patriots vs Ravens. That was not planned, that was free, and that was the most fun. Now you may also remember a few weeks ago in Hilton Head, my friend Dhana and I landed on a party trolley that would have cost $50 per person, but we ended up on there for free going around the island to different places with fun people. It has just been a matter of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people that are holding the right tickets! :)
This weekend things happened a little differently. Coming off of my 4 day trip with Lindsay/Jen I decided it to be best to stay in Sumter for the weekend and conserve energy and money! I was sitting on my couch on Friday night, minding my own business when a text from Dhana came across as such, "wanna go to the Carolina Cup?" I reply, "um what is that exactly?" She says, "it's a horse race. If you want a southern experience this is as good as it gets and we have free tickets"!! I replied, "when and where do I meet ya?"
So I rummaged through the closets to find my large sunhat that I have been toting around since October and a fun flowery dress! We got to Camden around 11am and drove to the "island" or what they call the middle of the track. I would describe and have described this event as basically a tailgate where you dress up and wear awesome hats. Sitting there watching all of the fun outfits of both men and women could keep even the basic consumer of fashion entertained for hours on end. I fit in with the crowd reasonably well I do believe and if anyone says any differently.....keep it to yourself!!
Being that we were in the middle of the track we could walk up to the fence, watch the horses zoom by and then not see them again for the rest of the race. This proved to be quite pointless for us after the first trial. So we sat and enjoyed a lovely day at the races without actually watching the horses! It is illegal to officially bet on the races here so within our group we would bet $5 a race and then pull horse names randomly out of a hat to cheer for, but I did not win once :( There were several men with pink pants, usually dress pants and some with suspenders and a hat to add to the fun. Lots of bow ties for the men and stripped pants with matching colored Loafers! The woman were in sundresses usually with large hats of all colors and styles, some even with large horses on top of the hat. There were very few people that did not dress up for the event which was great to watch.
The outfits and the atmosphere was exactly what I had imagined it to be. A true southern experience, free of charge, and committed to memory :)
If you have been following my blog you may remember a little event back in January that I went to called an NFL playoff game Patriots vs Ravens. That was not planned, that was free, and that was the most fun. Now you may also remember a few weeks ago in Hilton Head, my friend Dhana and I landed on a party trolley that would have cost $50 per person, but we ended up on there for free going around the island to different places with fun people. It has just been a matter of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people that are holding the right tickets! :)
This weekend things happened a little differently. Coming off of my 4 day trip with Lindsay/Jen I decided it to be best to stay in Sumter for the weekend and conserve energy and money! I was sitting on my couch on Friday night, minding my own business when a text from Dhana came across as such, "wanna go to the Carolina Cup?" I reply, "um what is that exactly?" She says, "it's a horse race. If you want a southern experience this is as good as it gets and we have free tickets"!! I replied, "when and where do I meet ya?"
So I rummaged through the closets to find my large sunhat that I have been toting around since October and a fun flowery dress! We got to Camden around 11am and drove to the "island" or what they call the middle of the track. I would describe and have described this event as basically a tailgate where you dress up and wear awesome hats. Sitting there watching all of the fun outfits of both men and women could keep even the basic consumer of fashion entertained for hours on end. I fit in with the crowd reasonably well I do believe and if anyone says any differently.....keep it to yourself!!
Being that we were in the middle of the track we could walk up to the fence, watch the horses zoom by and then not see them again for the rest of the race. This proved to be quite pointless for us after the first trial. So we sat and enjoyed a lovely day at the races without actually watching the horses! It is illegal to officially bet on the races here so within our group we would bet $5 a race and then pull horse names randomly out of a hat to cheer for, but I did not win once :( There were several men with pink pants, usually dress pants and some with suspenders and a hat to add to the fun. Lots of bow ties for the men and stripped pants with matching colored Loafers! The woman were in sundresses usually with large hats of all colors and styles, some even with large horses on top of the hat. There were very few people that did not dress up for the event which was great to watch.
The outfits and the atmosphere was exactly what I had imagined it to be. A true southern experience, free of charge, and committed to memory :)
