A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
I’m trying to play catch-up with the blog. We’ve been on the road and just got back this past weekend. Things didn’t slow down even then. It was either too windy or too stormy to paddle much of the time that we were in Florida last week. Even so, I was able to get in two trips that pushed my year-to-date mileage to over 90 miles.
Lots going on, most of it’s fairly cool stuff, and lots about which to write. However, I completely lack motivation to do so. Add to that problems with this website and other headaches like a dead air conditioner and ongoing pain from gout, and I’ve fallen behind. I’ll get around to it, maybe tomorrow while … Read More “Yeah, Writer’s Block, or Something Like It” »
Ongoing issues with Laura’s mom’s Alzheimer’s care meant a sudden trip to Florida. Laura caught an immediate flight on Friday, but it was a concert weekend for me. So Monday morning I loaded up the car with cameras, computers, paddling gear, and musical instruments, and headed down. Here’s what happened Tuesday…
This was going to be a very different post. I was about to explode with righteous indignation about the theft of yet another photo. And while the photo theft did take place, it was a different photo and my culprit turned out to be…me. It was an interesting rabbit hole of research that led me to an unknown (to me) photographer and an appreciation for his work.
It was another one of those weekends where everything was happening at the same time. It’s a Chorale concert weekend, downtown was hosting the Reedy River Race as well as the March for Science. There was baseball, festivals in just about every small surrounding town, and more than one individual could take in. Yet, we managed to squeeze in quite a bit of it in one day.
It was a beautiful day and I decided I needed to be outside. While I’ve done lots of paddling lately, I have done very little pedaling, so I decided to take my bike over to Pickens and check out the Doodle Trail.
I was intrigued by this idea of a Beer and Hymns event. When I found one in Columbia I sent a note to my friend Dwight saying that he and his wife Sue should check it out. He responded that there was already such a thing in Greenville. After doing some digging, I found Hymns and Hops would be holding its next event at What’s on Tap, a bar on Woodruff Road. I contacted my partner in this endeavor, Don Kirkindoll, and we made arrangements to attend.
Say the words “drinking songs” and what pops to mind is probably a group of swaying revelers, mugs in hand, slurring away off-key in an Irish pub or German biergarten. Asked to name a drinking song, most could probably only come up with “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” Lately, though, a new phenomenon seems to be popping up – drinking beer while singing hymns. Sounds kind of strange, a bit sacrilegious, and right up my alley.
There’s one really good thing about being a member of the Church of the Double-Bladed Paddle. Services can be spectacular. Such was the Easter Sunrise Service Houston and I shared on Lake Oconee.
Laura was in Florida for the Easter Weekend visiting her mother and sister, and I was spending time with my brother Houston at his home in Georgia. Every time we get together Houston tells me about all the paddling opportunities near his house, but I’d never had a chance to try them out…until now. On this Saturday before Easter we decided to launch from the Dyar Pasture Recreation Area and explore Lake Oconee and the Oconee River.