Seeking the Kingdom of Happy Land

July 10, 2017July 10, 2017 Tom 5 Comments

kingdomhappyland — Kingdom of the Happy Land by Gary Carden. Acrylic on canvas, 36”x24”. Source

A few weeks ago I gave my talk on the Hidden Towns Under South Carolina Lakes at the Taylors Branch of the Greenville County Library. After the talk someone came up to me and asked if I’d ever heard of the “Kingdom of Happy Land.” I had not. After chatting for a bit I decided I needed to see if I could find this kingdom. Last Thursday things had finally settled down from all our traveling and the Fourth holiday, so it was a perfect time for an expedition. I went to see if I could find the Kingdom of Happy Land.

Washington State – the Non-Funeral Stuff

June 29, 2017 Tom 1 Comment

Family, Travel

This recent trip to Washington State was mostly taken up by the funeral for Laura’s mother, Merline Wright. However, we were able to do some things not related to funeral services. These included some shopping expeditions, meals out, and one trip up into the mountains.

A Funeral in Washington

June 28, 2017June 28, 2017 Tom 1 Comment

Family, Travel

I’ve been offline for the last week or so. Laura’s mother passed away on June 13 and we have been in Washington State on Samish Island for the funeral. I only had my phone for Internet access, so I’ve not been able to upload photos or do much blogging. I’ll try to catch up with things in these next couple of posts.

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Goodbye, Merline

June 15, 2017June 19, 2017 Tom 8 Comments

Family

On Tuesday of this week Laura’s mother, Merline Wright, lost her battle with Alzheimer’s. For the past year she had been living in the Harbor Chase Memory Care facility in Vero Beach, Florida. She was 87.

The Juniper Springs Run

June 12, 2017June 18, 2017 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling, Photography

It was a Second Saturday, and time for another Lowcountry Unfiltered trip. However, there was a problem. I wasn’t anywhere within range of my fellow paddlers. Even so, fellow paddler Craig Lee and I were able to do an LCU trip…sort of. We spent a spectacular day paddling the wilds of Ocala National Forest on the Juniper Springs Run.

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Quick Update from Florida

June 11, 2017 Tom No Comments

Family, Miscellaneous, Paddling, Photography, Travel

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. Before I do another paddling post I thought I’d do a quick update. Lots of family stuff going on, new instruments, and a bit of travel have occupied my time recently.

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Swift Current on Estatoe Creek

June 2, 2017June 2, 2017 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling, Photography

I was determined to celebrate Water Wednesday this week. Even if I had to go by myself, I was going somewhere. I really needed the solace and relaxation of being on the water. Fortunately, Jeff Holland was able to join me for an exploration of Lake Keowee and Estatoe Creek.

2017 Gallabrae

June 1, 2017July 12, 2017 Tom No Comments

Family, Local, Music

NOTE: I’m running a bit behind with the blog posts and I’m trying to catch up. This was from last weekend. Also, this is the first post since making some changes to the site, so I’m hoping this goes smoothly.

The Scots were back in town! That meant parades, weird music, weird athletics, and even weirder food. This year we participated in the Great Scots Parade, as we usually do with the Upstate Minis, and I made the Saturday trek up to Furman to see the games.

Lilyfest at Landsford Canal State Park

May 21, 2017May 22, 2017 Tom No Comments

Paddling, Photography

Once again it’s time for the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies (hymenocallis coronaria) to make their appearance along the rivers of the Southeast. This past weekend marked the peak bloom for the lilies and all week I was seeing photos taken at Landsford Canal State Park posted to social media. A paddling friend also posted a link to a tour run by the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation. Laura was away on a Furman trip, so I decided it would be a great opportunity to head back to the Catawba River for this event.

Return to Old Santee Canal

May 18, 2017 Tom No Comments

Paddling, Photography

I’m always looking for new paddling companions. Not that there’s anything wrong with the close friends I’ve developed in my other paddling groups, but different people bring different perspectives and and expertise on new paddling venues. The more the merrier (most of the time.). So lately I’ve been keeping track of the Tri-County Blueway Paddlers Meetup group. Ed Deal and Deb Mims have been organizing some insteresting trips over waterways I’ve wanted to explore and at times that I can attend. This week they scheduled a trip to the Old Santee Canal which I’d visited back in February with Lowcountry Unfiltered. I enjoyed that trip so much and the scenery was spectacular, so I decided to head back for this trip.