Random Connections – Page 69 – A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

9 Bits of Advice for the Casual Adventurer

January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 Tom No Comments

http://adventurearchives.blogspot.com/ — “What’s in Your Haversack?” from the Adventure Archives Blog.

Over the past year I’ve joined several Facebook groups focusing on local history. I’m most active on the “Abandoned, Old, and Interesting Places in South Carolina” group, but there are similar groups for North Carolina, Georgia, and the south in general. I’ve seen some fantastic photography and learned about some new locations to explore from participation in these groups. However, to be honest, I was starting to suffer from a bit of “decay fatigue.” I was starting to see the same photos of old falling down farm houses and barns over and over, often with no explanation as to their history or significance.

Those minor sins aside, what most of the participants share is a sense of adventure. I decided to put together my own thoughts on advice for casual adventurers.

The Selfie Stick

January 12, 2015January 12, 2015 Tom No Comments

Gear, Photography

Behold, the Selfie Stick!

The very name conjures up the worst in narcissistic tendencies. Selfies are bad enough, but to have gear specific for the purpose is even worse. However, I’m here to defend the Selfie Stick, not as a narcissist’s assistant (I wanted to see how many S’s I could get in this sentence), but as an essential tool in my photo bag.

A Mid-Winter Table Rock Hike

January 11, 2015 Tom 4 Comments

Photography, Rambling

I should have known better. I thought I’d be ready for the challenge of Table Rock. After all, I’d hiked it many times before. I’d even run it once, hiking to the top quickly, then coming down in a flat-out run. However, that was 30 years and 80 pounds ago. This would be almost more of a challenge than I could handle.

This was a Second Saturday, which meant a Lowcountry Unfiltered outing. Lately our group has been ranging much further than traditional Lowcountry locations. Last fall they came up for Jocassee, and for our 2015 adventures we’ve decided to take some longer trips.

A Panoply of Cameras

January 4, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

Gear, Photography

Sometime before Christmas I was doing some straightening around the house and I kept stumbling on cameras that were out of place. Some are ones I’m currently using, and some are vintage cameras we keep for nostalgia. I began to wonder exactly how many imaging devices I have in the house. In addition to the obvious cameras, there are webcams, tablets, computers, and just about any phone we’ve purchased in the last decade. That’s a heck of a lot of cameras. I decided to gather as many as I could an create a panoply of cameras for one grand photograph.

This post tells two stories. The first is the story of the an image. The second is an idea for series of future blog posts that the image engendered.

Busca Mediterranean Cafe

January 2, 2015January 3, 2015 Tom No Comments

Restaurants

When Laura is gone I usually try to visit a couple of new restaurants. This time I found myself either dining with family, or eating my own cooking. Even so, I saw a sign for a new place on Pelham Road and decided to check it out. So, Friday evening I headed over to Busca Mediterranean Cafe.

Background

Busca is located in the space once occupied by Schwaben House German Restaurant. Schwaben House moved to a new location on Laurens Road, leaving a big empty in this little shopping center. The manager’s wife, who was operating the cash register, said that the restaurant opened on December 8th.

When I did a bit of digging online I had a few unusual hits. There were no reviews on Yelp or Urbanspoon for Busca. However, all of the Google reviews for Busca referenced a “Carolina Pizzeria.” The reviews for that place were tepid, at best. If you go to carolinapizzeria.com it redirects to the Busca website. Carolina Pizzeria still has a Facebook presence that hasn’t been scrubbed. The photos on the Facebook page look exactly like the place that I visited, down to the artwork on the walls. This leads me to believe that the December 8 opening was more of a rebranding/renaming event, perhaps with a change of ownership.

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Fake GoPros – Buyer Beware

January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

Gear, Photography

Before Christmas I wrote a post with some things to consider if you wanted a GoPro. There are some other options out there. With the success of the GoPro, other companies are putting forth their point of view cameras. And, of course, with the success of GoPro come the imitators. There are lots of fakes and look-alikes on the market. Some of these look good – others, not so much.

New Year’s Sunrise on Sassafras Mountain

January 1, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

Miscellaneous, Photography

I’ve already commented several times that 2014 was a weird year, and one I’m kind of glad to see in the rear view mirror. New Year’s Eve was equally weird. It was the first time in our marriage that Laura and I weren’t together to see in the new year – she’s still in Florida helping with her mom. It was also the first year in memory that I didn’t make it until midnight.

RandomConnections 2015 Calendar

December 30, 2014December 31, 2014 Tom No Comments

Family, Photography

As has become my tradition, I have made calendars as gifts for my family. This is my eighth year of doing this. The photos usually come from the previous year, but not necessarily. I keep an album of calendar potentials, and sometimes pull from those if I don’t have something seasonally appropriate.

When I started this way back in 2006, I was using Qoop to create the calendars. They have long since gone, and for the past couple of years I’ve been using Lulu.com. I like their layouts, and I get a bit more room to add captions. That just wasn’t possible with Qoop. Because Qoop didn’t allow much room for captions, it had also become my tradition to do a blog post with a description of this year’s photos. Captions or no, I decided I’d still do a post on the photos, with a behind-the-scenes story.

BTW, if you want your own calendar, they are still available. Just click the link and you can order one.

Christmas Wrap-Up 2014

December 30, 2014 Tom 2 Comments

Family, Miscellaneous, Paddling, Photography, Travel

2014 has not been an easy year. We lost my mom, and Laura’s mother has had serious health issues. I’m still trying to adjust to retirement, and Laura is trying to adjust to new work challenges. Even so, we were able keep some of our holiday traditions, and it was a good thing.

A Wright Family Christmas

I’ve already written about the difficulties with our time in Florida. I had begun my time down there with the Solstice Paddle, but there were multiple other kayaking trips. Usually I managed to get out on the water at about 9:00 am. At this time, the incoming tide was ripping from south to north, with an accompanying wind. My usual route was to paddle against the current, then come back with the wind and tide.

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Celebrating the Winter Solstice

December 21, 2014 Tom No Comments

Paddling, Photography, Travel

Winter Solstice on the Indian River-016 — Winter Solstice on the Indian River

The shortest day of the year. When I can, it’s gotten to be my tradition to celebrate the winter solstice by paddling out to watch the sunrise. I had just driven ten hours on Saturday and arrived in Fort Pierce so that I can do my dawn paddle on Sunday. I was not disappointed.

Knowing that I’d be heading back down here in a couple of weeks, I left one of my kayaks when we came down at Christmas. It was waiting and ready when I got up at 5:30 am. Sunrise was at 7:09, so I had time to enjoy a bit of paddling in the dark.

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