A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
The Christmas Dinosaurs have been put away and the trees taken down. We’ve been catching our breath before ramping up for the next round of madness. The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. There were paddle trips, swamp outings, drum circles, and we even celebrate a major milestone. All of this, while wrapping up 2018 and seeing in 2019 in grand fashion. Over the next several posts I’m going to try to summarize the Winter Holiday happenings.
This past weekend we learned of the death of my aunt, Nina Ruth Snellgrove. She passed away at the age of 92 and was the last of her family. On Tuesday of this week we said goodbye to Aunt Tootsie at a graveside service in Laurens. Aunt Tootsie was my father’s younger sister, and the … Read More “Remembering Aunt Tootsie” »
Last weekend my nephew, Mason Taylor, married his sweetheart, Ashley Nell Buettner. Laura and I made the trek to Chicago for the weekend. It was the first time I’d spent any significant time in the city, apart from passing through airports. Even though it was in the midst of the turmoil of packing and getting ready to move back to South Carolina, we had a great time with family and friends.
When you start digging into family history you’re bound to uncover some scoundrels. In my own family I’ve got Samuel Campbell Clegg, who was hanged as a British spy at Star Fort during the Revolutionary War. Then there are the two uncles that spent time in prison, one of whom I visited when he was incarcerated. Of one branch of our family a fellow genealogy researcher said, “They weren’t nuthin’ but horse thieves and ne’er-do-wells.”
Here in Washington we’ve uncovered at least one potential scoundrel in Laura’s family. While his story is interesting, I think the real story is that of his daughter, Vinnie Alethia Reed Burdick, Laura’s great-grandmother, and her ability to overcome what could have been a disastrous family situation.
This past week we took the opportunity to visit Laura’s Aunt Ellen in Coos Bay, Oregon. Ostensibly we were there to help her with some tech support issues, but it also gave us a chance to reconnect, review some family history, and see some incredible scenery along the coast.
To say that tulips are a big deal in the Skagit Valley would be a massive understatement. Just looking around the town of Mount Vernon one sees a huge smoke painted with tulips and tulip motifs worked into architecture and bridges. Several business are named for the flowers, such as the Tulip Inn. It’s a big business and it all comes to a head during the month of April when the tulips are in bloom. That’s when the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival takes place.
We’re back in South Carolina. It was an arduous trip across country, but we rolled into town on Wednesday and have been getting reacquainted with our house. It is good to be home and spend some time with family.
This past Friday was Aunt Ellen’s birthday. Since we’re now on the same coast, Laura and I decided to drive down to Coos Bay, Oregon, and celebrate it with her. We decided to take the Mini and drive down along the coast, catching some spectacular scenery along the way.
As we’ve been settling in Laura and I have been going through some of her parents’ things here at the house. It’s a huge task, and will take both Amy and Laura deciding what to do. For now, though, we’re just making a preliminary survey of what’s in the house. We’ve come across some interesting things, but the item that captured our imagination this past week was a small locked case. It was a mystery.
As our departure date quickly approaches I’m reminded as to why I started this blog in the first place. It was 2004 and we were getting ready to drive from Greenville, SC to Samish Island, WA to visit Laura’s mom. We wanted a way for her to track our travels, and RandomConnections was born.