A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
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It seems like spring break got away from me without my being about to get out and visit the lookout towers like I wanted. This Friday was one of the best days, as far as weather was concerned, so I was able to visit some of the locations. My target would be those towers located in Northwestern South Carolina, along with any other interested tidbits I might discover along the way. It was a push, but I managed to visit eight tower locations in one day.
While out driving the rural highways of South Carolina you may have come across a road sign with this symbol… Seeing a road sign like this lets you know that you are on either the South Carolina Discovery Route, or the South Carolina Nature Route, both parts of the South Carolina Heritage Corridor. On the … Read More “South Carolina Heritage Corridor” »
Once, many years ago, I made the statement that while other cities like Austin and New Orleans had cool Riverwalk areas, Columbia had built a penitentiary on it’s riverfront. Fortunately, in the past couple of decades since that statement attitudes have changed, and both Greenville and Columbia have recognized the importance of their waterways and the potential for tourism. While in Columbia this past week I was able to spend an afternoon at the Columbia Riverfront Park, and it was quite a pleasant outing.
The park is located at the site of the Columbia Waterworks, and incorporates historical elements of the waterworks, the Columbia Canal, and the Congaree River. One enters the main portion of the part at the Waterworks entrance, with a path that leads past the portions of the water treatment plant that are still in operation.
I watched one last Bahamian sunrise, this time without a camera in sight. We had packed, and we were ready to head home. We had a good, large breakfast at the hotel, then went to meet our transport to the airport.
The trip home was uneventful, which was a good thing. By this time I had caught the cold that had plagued Laura for the entire trip, so we were both coughing up a storm (much to the annoyance of our fellow travelers.) There were no delays, and we arrived safely in Greenville at the appointed time.
Our luggage, however, was a different story. There was nothing awaiting us in Greenville. We were just glad it happened at the end of the trip rather than the beginning. The airline was able to locate it, and about 11:00 PM it was delivered to our house. Apparently my luggage tag had snagged in a conveyor belt and had caused damage to the bag and the delay. The contents were OK.
For our last full day in the Bahamas I had booked a kayaking tour and trip to the Lucayan National Park. Laura had been fighting a bad cough all week and didn’t feel like going, so I was on my own. After watching another stunning Bahamian sunrise, I began gathering my gear and headed down to meet the group.
I was the only one from our resort going on the tour, but there were nine others that had already been picked up, and we stopped for four more on the way out. Along with our guide, we had a party of fifteen.
Things are more relaxed. Nothing is rushed. Everyone has a good time and things get done when they get done. That’s Island Time.
Even so, I was up at the crack of dawn, literally. Even on Island Time some habits are hard to break. However, I did have a purpose. I wanted to try some time-lapse videography with my little Nikon S50. The only problem was that I didn’t have a good tripod with me. My solution was to drag the floor lamp out onto the balcony and strap my little mini-pod to it with a Velcro strap. It looked weird…
As previously noted, most of the day was spent watching inauguration festivities. However, we did get out an do other things. I woke up early to watch the sunrise. As I was standing out on the balcony with my camera I looked out over the other balconies to see others out with their cameras. The … Read More “Bahamas – Day 3” »
What did we do today? Not much. And that was just perfect. After a nice breakfast we headed across the street to the Port Lucaya Market. This shopping area has a split personality. The middle section has restaurants and high-end shops with duty-free jewelry, etc. On either side of the shopping area is the straw … Read More “Lazy Day at Lucaya” »
The fact that we left the United States during Inauguration week should not be taken as a political statement. Quite the contrary. We brought our Obama pins with us and plan to wear them on Tuesday. No, it was an unfortunate bit of scheduling. We had planned this trip to the Bahamas to celebrate our … Read More “From Greenville to Lucaya” »
For the second Saturday in a row I got up very early to head out on a photo trek, this time with the Lowcountry Unfiltered group to the Congaree National Park. Instead of paddling, this would be a hiking trek. I think we would have stayed drier if we had been in kayaks.
I left a foggy Greenville at 6:00 AM, with the plan to meet the rest of the group at the park between 8:00 and 8:30. It was a cold mid-30’s, but I was appropriately dressed. The forecast called for rain later in the day, so even though it was cold, I was glad we were getting an early start.
