Aviation enthusiast goes for originals

For Becky Shealy, the marketing director for Augusta Aviation, the Garden City is all about wine, wings and the occasional New York strip steak.

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Chris Thelen/Staff

Becky Shealy, Vice President and Marketing Director for Augusta Aviation.

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.