Local – Page 11 – Random Connections

Greenville Poinsett Christmas Parade 2015

December 7, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

I have distinct memories of Christmas parades when I was growing up in Laurens County. Parade units would assemble on Fleming Street and march around the square. We would usually take up our spots on the corner in front of the old Winn Dixie. The smells of cigarette smoke entwined with sugary cotton candy pervaded the air. I remember the vendors – piles of inflatable crap, some related to Christmas, and some not. These came only with the aforementioned cotton candy, as well as other goodies such as candied apples.

So, with these memories, Laura and I headed out to meet Chip and Anna to enjoy watching the Greenville Christmas Parade with their little ones.

The Streets of Greenville

October 22, 2015April 26, 2023 Tom 3 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Local

My late father-in-law had a problem with Greenville. He grew up in the wilds of Idaho along the Salmon River. However, he spent most of his adult life in large western cities, namely Los Angeles, where the streets are laid out in neat, tidy grids. Greenville’s streets always left him bewildered.

Whenever he gave me trouble about my hometown, I would reply that it makes perfect sense – Laurens Road goes to Laurens, Augusta Road goes to Augusta, etc. While that’s true, there are lots of other…questionable routes, and I could see how someone not from here would be very confused. Greenville’s streets are based on an early 19th Century design, and that pattern STILL influences our traffic.

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Fall Paddle on Cascade Lake

October 13, 2015October 13, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

Local, Paddling, Photography

The week had been absolutely beautiful. After the rains of last week this was a welcome change. Now we had clear October skies, the kind that make me love fall. It was also warm, and seemed like the perfect opportunity for a paddling trip.

I ran down my list of easy solo paddling venues. There were a couple that piqued my interest, but what I really wanted to do was paddle up to Hooker Falls on Cascade Lake. I was hoping that fall colors would make for some scenic kayaking.

Waterfalls and Flea Markets

October 13, 2015 Tom No Comments

Local, Photography, Rambling

With all of the rain that we had gotten over the past couple of days I figured the local waterfalls must be running at maximum. In fact, I’d already seen photos on Facebook of Reedy Falls with tremendous amounts of water. I decided to check it out.

Taylors to Marietta – A Midweek Ramble

October 10, 2015 Tom No Comments

Local, Photography, Rambling

Even though I haven’t been able to finish my explorations of the Tobacco Trail, I haven’t been sitting idle. Once the rain stopped we had some spectacular weather, and I decided to get out and about. I hit a few spots in the upstate, so this is sort of a miscellany wrap-up of the week. This is part one of about a three-parter. This first part actually took place last week, before the deluge…

100 Year Flooding

October 7, 2015 Tom 3 Comments

Local

aptopix_east_coast_rainstorm_south_carolina.jpeg-0fbd0_0 — Photo from Associated Press

The photos from Columbia have been astounding. The level of flooding is beyond anything we might have imagined. I have close friends that have been directly affected by the flooding, and getting back to normal will take months.

Here in Greenville we got lots of rain, and there had been some localized flooding, but nothing to the scale of the mid-state. Our area is almost back to normal.

Spirit of 45 Military Vehicles on the Bankhead Highway

September 27, 2015 Tom No Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Local, Photography

There’s a reason I named this blog RandomConnections. The URL RandomThoughts was taken…but that’s beside the point. Time and time again the idea of “random connections” has proved itself to be the more appropriate title, as tenuous threads appear that seem to bind disparate ideas together. Such was the case this past week.

I got a forwarded e-mail from my brother, Stephen, with a note that a historical convoy would be passing through our area. The convoy would feature vintage military vehicles, and I thought it would be a cool photo opportunity. Little did I realize how closely this event would tie right into my recent research and explorations.

Old School Consumer Electronics

August 20, 2015 Tom 3 Comments

Gear, Local, Miscellaneous

Our television gave up the ghost. While it was a fairly modern hi-def LCD TV, by today’s standards it was quite small. We still hold to the old “TV as furniture” ideal, and kept it in a cabinet in a corner. This was actually a design decision, as we have picture windows overlooking our back yard and lake, and didn’t want a large TV interfering with that view. Perhaps it got jealous of the big new TV in our newly remodeled basement. Who knows? The upshot is that on Wednesday I found myself heading out to buy a new one.

Taylors Mill – 50 Years Later Celebration

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015 Tom 2 Comments

Local, Photography

I was looking for something to do for a Friday night. Laura was out of town, and I didn’t just want to sit around the house. Then my friend Mark Elbrecht reminded me about an event over at Taylors Mill. Not only was it a First Friday, which meant open art studios all around town, but the mill was having a “50 Years Later Relaunch Party” to commemorate closure of Southern Bleachery in 1965, and a reopening of many of the studios to the public. I decided to check it out.

Gallabrae 2015

May 29, 2015 Tom No Comments

Entertainment, Local

NOTE: I’m just now getting around to completing this post. This has been a very busy week.

Gallabrae – rhymes with Gallifrey, for the Whovians out there. It’s a made-up Gaellic term that’s supposed to mean “bold and daring” and “beautiful highlands.” It’s also the name that has come to symbolize the Greenville Scottish Games at Furman University. This year was the tenth anniversary of the games.

I hadn’t planned to attend the games this year. However, Laura’s plan for the day was to relax and read at the house. She needed the down time, but I’d been working around the house all week. I decided to head on up to Furman for the games.