Our Greenville Stay

I'm sitting on my sofa, enjoying a fire, cherishing the last days of my winter break. The fire is on the television, but it gives the ambiance I'm longing for. I can hear the crackle and pops as the fire grows. 

I mentioned that Bill and I stayed in Greenville on our way to Atlanta. It's one of my favorite Christmas traditions. We've done this for at least three years...and plan to visit the city every year at Christmas time. Our first visit was our first Christmas in Asheville. We were driving back from Atlanta when I was overcome with sleepiness and simply had to stop. Even though I wasn't driving, I was too exhausted to even ride in the car one minute more. 

"We need to stop," I told Bill. "We need to just get a hotel and stay the night." Bill was startled by my request, "It's less than two hours left," he said. But I couldn't bear the thought of not stopping. It is not like Bill to break up what he considered a short trip. The idea simply didn't make sense to him. But, I reasoned with him that we had the time to add an extra day to our trip, and we would make it a short drive home in the morning. 

The next exit was for Greenville, SC, so I used my phone to look for hotels. The closest one was the Hyatt Regency, in downtown. I had never been to Greenville, SC. As soon as we got off the highway, the downtown buildings seemed charming. 

Once in the hotel, we were enchanted. The lobby has an open ceiling, giving it the feel of an atrium. It goes up at least 8 floors. There is a bank of rooms and offices that face the lobby; most have their curtains closed. The glass elevator is in the center of the large lobby, making the atmosphere even more elegant.  

After a much-needed nap to counteract my sleep deprivation, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. We were seated at a window that looked out onto Main Street. The street-level shops were lit up and decorated for Christmas. We saw families with skipping children make their way to the candy store, which was just outside our hotel entrance. 

After dinner, Bill led us to the candy store, and his eyes lit up the second he spied caramel popcorn. With one hand, he grabbed a bag, and he saw packages of peanut brittle. Excitedly, he grabbed a bag of that too. These two sweet confections made the stop in Greenville worth it.