For Becky Shealy, the marketing director for Augusta Aviation, the Garden City is all about wine, wings and the occasional New York strip steak.
The best part of the Masters Tournament, according to Ms. Shealy, an aviation enthusiast, is to check out the types of airplanes that come to town during the week.
"It's always a treat to see the different types of airplanes take off, but during Masters Week we see the bigger type of airplanes come through," said Ms. Shealy, citing large King Air planes and Polaris planes that sometimes fill the runway of Daniel Field that week.
When she's able to pull herself away from the traffic at the airport, Ms. Shealy said she likes to escape to the restaurant La Cantina just across the McCormick County line in Clarks Hill, S.C.
It's quite a drive from Augusta, but the restaurant has a down-home atmosphere and mouth-watering steaks cooked in a 7-ton earth-and-brick grill.
"It's such an unusual place," she said. "When you pull up to the 'driveway,' you really feel like you're in somebody's front yard."
From the owner's ventriloquist dummy to the dog that is as much a part of the dÃcor as the table cloths, Ms. Shealy said the restaurant's "eclectic" nature makes it one of her favorite places to visit.
Closer to town, Ms. Shealy said she likes to stay away from chain restaurants, preferring Augusta originals such as the Pizza Joint and Rae's Coastal Cafe.
When she wants a drink, she heads to the Ninth Street Wine Market, which she said has one of the best selections in town.
"If you are a brand new wine drinker, all the way up to a connoisseur, they treat you the same," she said.
Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3339 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.
MY AUGUSTA
For a week when guests are frequent, we asked several well-known local figures to share some of the favorite places they show. This week, watch for more stories to see what they had to say.
April 06, 2008: Janie Peel, commercial real estate broker 
April 07, 2008: Brian Graham, Professional Disc Golf Association
April 08, 2008: Terry Elam, Augusta Technical College
April 09, 2008: Scott Dean, former mayor of Harlem
April 10, 2008: Becky Shealy, Augusta Aviation
April 11, 2008: Mike Stacy, marina manager
April 12, 2008: Clay Boardman, building redeveloper
April 13, 2008: Allen Dean, U.S. Army Corps of EngineersYOUR AUGUSTA
Readers share their favorite places to take guests:
"Whenever family or friends come to visit us ... my husband and I take them immediately to the River Walk and then to the James Brown statue. We are originally from Philadelphia, and John Bartram and his son William, along with James Brown, are people we hold dear to our hearts." -- Lynn Herrmann
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE LOCAL PLACE? Why not share it: bill.kirby@augusta chronicle.com
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