Room Block

The room block will be available until May 3rd. Please book your room prior to the end of next week if you'd like to stay at the Marriott at the discounted rate.

If you need to make any changes to your reservation, please contact Megan Peevy in Sales at the Marriott. The Reservations desk doesn't handle room blocks, so they likely won't be able to find your reservation.

Here's the link again: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/SPAMC?groupCode=CCWCCWA&app=resvlink&fromDate=5/23/14&toDate=5/26/14&stop_mobi=yes

Megan's email address is megan.peevy@marriott.com and her direct phone number is (864) 591-3239.

Didya Eat Yet?

Here are some of our favorite restaurants around town:

Spartanburg Landmarks:
The Beacon Drive In - if you ever read anything mentioning Spartanburg and food in the same sentence, it will undoubtedly be about the Beacon: a political pit-stop, a greasy pig-out, a challenge to outsiders, and a true Spartanburg gem. Order a chili cheese a plenty at your own risk and don't be afraid to pass in line. JC Strobel's job at the Beacon was to take your order and then yell it out to the various cooks in the back of the open kitchen. He was a Spartanburg landmark in his own right and died last year. If you really want to understand the full Beacon experience, watch a video of him here: JC callin' it. 255 John B. White, Sr. Blvd.

Wade's - a classic "meat and three" largely unmarked by time. Wade's also has a lunch buffet if you can't choose between sweet potato souffle and macaroni and cheese. You can't go there without getting one of their famous yeast rolls (and if you're feeling indulgent, their peanut butter pie). 1000 North Pine Street.

Sugar n Spice - "The Spice" is over fifty years old and has the old drive-in style parking lot to prove it. It's a Greek diner with excellent burgers, souvlaki and baklava. 212 South Pine Street.

Southern Staples:
Waffle House - A cultural icon of the South. The closest Awful Waffle is at 102 Garner Road. Opened 24 hours for your waffle and patty melt pleasure.

Chick-fil-A - The newer ever-present Southern icon. The closest Chick-fil-A is at 1995 East Main Street. Open breakfast, lunch and dinner, but always closed on Sundays.

Zaxby's - Maybe you've had Chick-fil-A and you want to try another Southern fried chicken strip fast food chain. Zaxby's almost solely sells chicken strips, but they are delicious. The closest Zaxby's is at 1601 East Main Street.

Fatz - Are you sick to death of chicken strips? Too bad, because Fatz is famous for them. But it's a casual restaurant instead of a fast food chain, so you can also get a steak, burger, or seafood, or their fantastic baked potato soup. But you'd be crazy not to get their chicken strips. 100 Southport Road.

Mellow Mushroom - Ok, I'm pretty sure there are no chicken strips on the menu here. It's just pizza with lots of funky topping combinations.

Julie & Justin Recommend:
Hub Diggity Dogs - in walking distance, on Dunbar Street, this hot dog stand-turned-lunch spot is run by a former football player and New Haven native.  Go on Friday or Saturday for Connecticut style lobster rolls.

Cribbs Kitchen - this family is doing the catering for our wedding, but their restaurant at 226 B West Main Street will definitely have even more delicious goodies to satisfy your taste buds. Try the breakfast burger.

Further Afield

Why not make a trip of it? If you're traveling a long distance, you might like to make the travel time worth it and explore the South a little more. Here are a few suggestions if you're looking to extend your trip.

Asheville - a small mountain town with great food and the Biltmore House. Asheville is about an hour away from Spartanburg, west on Interstate 26. Western North Carolina and East Tennessee are full of great areas to hike and camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains and Asheville is a great base for that, as well as whitewater rafting and zip-lining too.

Nantahala Outdoor Center - Whitewater Rafting and Zipline

Biltmore Estate

Grove Park Inn

Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar - a favorite hangout

Tupelo Honey Cafe - a favorite Asheville restaurant (also in Greenville now)

Blue Ridge Parkway

Appalachian Trail

Chimney Rock Park

Sliding Rock and Pisgah National Forest

Davidson River Campground

Charleston - renowned for amazing food, beautiful architecture and a uniquely Southern attitude. We'll be heading there for our honeymoon after the wedding. Charleston is a three-hour drive east on Interstate 26.

The Market - so much in Charleston has changed over the years, even the two-hundred year old Market got a facelift. Watch the locals weaving sweetgrass baskets by hand.

The Battery

Rainbow Row

Waterfront Park - while away as much time as possible on the swings watching dolphins

Shopping on King Street

Beaches at Isle of Palms, Folly, and Sullivan's Island

Husk - truly one of the best restaurants in the country, sourcing nearly all their ingredients from the South

Spoleto Festival - running May 23 to June 8

Middleton Place Plantation

Around Town

Outdoor Activities

Walking Distance:

• Carolina Panthers training camp at Wofford College, just down Church Street
• The B-cycle bike share program offers bikes you can rent for $5 a day. B-Cyle Website 
• The Farmer's Market is on Saturday at the old train depot on Magnolia Street from 8 AM to Noon.
• Jazz on the Square is on Friday night in Morgan Square
• The pool at the hotel
• Barnet Park has an interactive water fountain; it's just down St. John Street from the hotel

Driving Distance:

• Walnut Grove Plantation - an 18th century farmhouse Walnut Grove Plantation Website
• Cowpens Battlefield - relive General Daniel Morgan's defeat of the British at this Revolutionary War battlefield. Cowpens National Battlefield
• Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve - 10 acres of nature beautifully sculpted by a retired couple and gifted to the City in the 1980s. It's free! Hatcher Garden Website 
• Walking and bicycling trails throughout the County. Trail Maps Website
• Hiking trails with waterfalls throughout the Upstate. Waterfall Trails Website
• Hollywild Animal Park, in Inman, is full of animals that have starred in movies and commercials. Hollywild Website 



Indoor Activities

Walking Distance:

• Morgan Square and Main Street, where the original village of Spartanburg was founded after the Revolutionary War
• Hub City Books
• Cakeheads bake shop
• Growler Haus - growlers of beer
• Three Sisters boutique
• Petit Armoire kids and juniors boutique
• Haute Mama maternity boutique
• Lemon Peel shoe parlor
• Two Doors Down boutique
• Pink on Main - Lilly Pulitzer
• The Local Hiker
• Green Papaya Salon
• Dottie's Toffee
• DK Boutique and Spa
• Yogalicious - one-time passes for $10 (90 minute classes for $12). Yogalicious Website
• RJ Rockers Brewing - tours are Thursday and Friday between 5 and 7 PM and Saturdays between Noon and 4 PM. RJ Rockers Website 
• Imagination Station toystore 
• Krispy Kreme doughnuts. When the "Hot Now" sign is lit up in red, you can see the doughnuts come off the conveyor belt and get iced. Go across the street and take a peek at the old KK with its mint formica countertops. Address of the Krispy Kreme

Driving Distance:

• Baehr Feet shoe store is also downtown, just a little further from the hotel. They have Tory Burch, Kate Spade, Sam Edelman, Jack Rogers and more. Baehr Feet Website
• Premium Outlets in Gaffney, is at exit 90 on Interstate 85, going north from Spartanburg. It has Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, BCBG, Michael Kors, Juicy, Coach and more. Outlets Website
• The Gaffney Peachoid water tower, made newly famous in the Netflix show House of Cards, is visible from Interstate 85, going north from Spartanburg. Kevin Spacey with the Peachoid
• The BMW Zentrum, in Greer, is the museum and visitors' center at the only BMW plant in America. Zentrum Website 
• Downtown Greenville has many shops and restaurants on Main Street, as well as in the West End, around Falls Park on the Reedy River.
• Bob Jones University has one of the largest collections of religious art in the country. Bob Jones Museum Website

Photos from Life Magazine's online collaboration with Google



Registry

We have registered for some items that we plan to use often and for many years to come. We deeply appreciate your generosity and look forward to treasuring your gifts to us over the course of our marriage.

At Bed, Bath & Beyond you can use the coupons that frequently come in the mail. We're searchable at the store and online by either one of our names, but you'll find it more quickly online if you search by Justin's. There are a lot of other Julie Cooks in the world. It will say our location is New York, because that's the shipping address, but don't think we're changing any plans -- the wedding will still be in South Carolina.

Bed, Bath & Beyond Registry

We've registered for a few things at Williams-Sonoma too.

Williams-Sonoma Registry

We went to San Francisco last June and visited the Heath Ceramics stall in the market at the Ferry Building. We've registered for some handmade pieces from the Rim line as a complement to our formal china, which belonged to Julie's grandmother, Isabel Caton.

Heath Ceramics Registry

Airports

If you're leaving, on a jet plane, you have your choice of two airports:

1. The closer, regional airport is Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP). It's right on the county line in a town called Greer (pronounced "Gruhrrrr"). It's about a 25 minute drive on Interstate 85 to the hotel. Although it's small, it has all the major airlines, as well as Southwest and Allegiant. They also have all the major rental car companies if you want to rent a car for the weekend. They do not have a Super Shuttle, but you can let us know if you need a ride and we'll be glad to arrange a ride to Spartanburg for you. And of course, there are cabs.

2. Flying into Charlotte-Douglas (CLT) doesn't add on a lot of travel time, plus it can be much cheaper. It has Jet Blue, and it's the hub for US Air. The drive down to the Marriott would take about 1 hour and 11 minutes.

If you're thinking of renting a car, there is a Hertz rental desk at the Marriott. It isn't open on the weekends (or Memorial Day Monday), but it could be helpful if you want to return a car after driving from the airport, or if you want to pick one up in Spartanburg.

If you're going to be driving in, here are all the relevant addresses for your GPS:
Hotel: 299 North Church Street, Spartanburg
Indigo Hall: 190 Ezell Street, Spartanburg
Tommy & Cheri Cook's House: 219 Lottie Lane, Chesnee

Our Wedding Venue

We'll be getting married at Indigo Hall on Sunday, May 25th at 5:30 PM.

Indigo Hall is a converted cotton warehouse located at 190 Ezell Street in Downtown Spartanburg. If you know your Spartanburg geography, it's right behind the Mayor's house, next door to where Java Jive used to be, and across Daniel Morgan Avenue from RJ Rockers and Cribbs Restaurant (our caterer). For the regional historians, it used to be the Loading Dock, a bar frequented by Julie's parents - Tommy and Cheri - in the 1970s.

The ceremony will take place outside in the garden. It will be on grass, so high heels may sink in. Please consider the weather when choosing what to wear as well. There is a covered veranda if you think you'll need some shade (or if it's raining). The reception will immediately follow the ceremony in the side of the Hall closest to the garden. The buffet will be inside, but the band and bar will be outside on the veranda.

We invite everyone staying at the hotel to walk to the wedding venue. It is 0.4 mile. You may want to consider this when choosing footwear; feel free to bring a pair of flip-flops for later in the evening. It's much easier to celebrate if you're comfortable!

There will be free parking on the streets around the venue, and also in the QS1 parking garages. If you'd prefer a ride to or from the venue, please leave a comment here or email Julie at julie.m.cook@gmail.com.

Feel free to check out the venue here: Indigo Hall