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Tag: South Carolina

Rope Swings, Rednecks, and Riverfest

Posted on June 15, 2009 By Tom 2 Comments on Rope Swings, Rednecks, and Riverfest
Paddling

It’s the second Saturday of the month, so it must be time for another Lowcountry Unfiltered adventure. Our goal was to retrace our tracks from July of last year and paddle a section of the Edisto River from Mars Old Field Landing down to Givhen’s Ferry State Park. This time, against their better judgment, my brothers Stephen and Houston agreed to come along.

Houston met me in Greenville and we loaded up the boats, then spent the night at Stephen’s place in Sumter. Early that morning we headed on down for our rendezvous with the rest of the gang.

Saturday was also the date for the Edisto Riverfest. We weren’t sure what to expect in terms of crowds, both at the parks and on the river itself. We decided to leave the boats with Stephen at the put-in, then drop off the truck at the take-out. That way if things got bad we could paddle straight through and load up and go without having to wait for the rest of the group. Turns out that wasn’t going to be a problem.

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2009 Scottish Games at Furman

Posted on June 7, 2009January 28, 2024 By Tom 2 Comments on 2009 Scottish Games at Furman
Entertainment, History and Genealogy, Local

Piping Competition

This morning I loaded up the photo and recording gear and headed up to Furman for the 2009 Greenville Scottish Games. It was a great day to be outside – finally no rain, and not too terribly hot. I decided to check out the games, and see if I could get a bit more information on family history.

The crowds were gathering, but not too back. Shuttle buses were running from the parking areas, so I boarded one. I should have walked. The bus I was on circled the same route twice until it had enough people to head on up to the games proper. I was beginning to wonder if we were on some perverse infinite loop.

I made it to the games and shelled out the rather pricey $15 for admission. This gained me entrance to a wonderland of Gaelic activity. In one field were the athletic competitions – caber toss, sheaf toss, and hammer throw. In another were the sheep dog trials. A tent was set up for dancing competitions, and pipers were competing on a hill near Cherrydale. There were vendors for food and Gailic stuff set up near the stadium, along with a large tent with a stage for bands. The main field was ringed with the clan tents, and each of the aforementioned competitions were featured on the main field at one point or another. Quite a lot to see.

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Oconee Photo Safari

Posted on May 31, 2009 By Tom 1 Comment on Oconee Photo Safari
History and Genealogy, Local, Photography, Travel

Geezers

When I knew that Laura was going to be out of town this weekend, I contacted a couple of my Chorale/Furman friends to see if they would be interested in a photo safari. Ken Cothran took me up on the challenge, so early Saturday morning I picked him up at his place in Clemson and we headed out.

Our first stop was the town of Pendleton. Once the major city in the Upstate, the whole area is now on the Register of Historic Places. We walked around the little town square and took a few shots.

Red, White, and BluePendleton ArchitectureCannon BarrelKen shooting a cannon

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Peak Experience

Posted on May 30, 2009 By Tom 1 Comment on Peak Experience
Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Local, Photography, Travel

Peak Trestle

Conditions were ideal for a photo trek. I had a day of vacation I needed to use before the madness of summer system installations started up. Laura had left town for a conference, so I was on my own. And I had gotten new information about an interesting place to visit. My main target for the day would be the old railroad trestle that crosses the Broad River near Peak, SC.

Jay Hope had e-mailed me earlier in the week with a link to a story in The State newspaper about completion of the aforementioned bridge and opening of a new section of the Palmetto Trail. Jay’s family has been working to restore the nearby Hope School, which is one of the historic Rosenwald schools. The trail passes through Jay’s family land and close to the school, and he knew that I had an in the area, so he tries to keep me informed. I followed up on his suggestion, and after getting Laura off to the airport, headed south.

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Photo Walk with Karen B

Posted on May 24, 2009 By Tom 1 Comment on Photo Walk with Karen B
Local, Photography

Been a busy week, so this is the first of three quick posts… Wednesday night Karen Buchmueller’s husband, Herman, and Laura had a meeting with the American Chemical Society, so the two of us decide to do a photo walk downtown, starting at Falls Park. We spent some time right at the entrance to the … Read More “Photo Walk with Karen B” »

Boulevard of (Broken) Dreams

Posted on May 13, 2009 By Tom 2 Comments on Boulevard of (Broken) Dreams
Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Local

Downtown from Wade Hampton
Evening view of downtown Greenville from Wade Hampton Boulevard

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
When the city sleeps
And I’m the only one and I walk alone

Green Day – “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”

The joy you find here, you borrow,
You cannot keep it long, it seems.
But gigolo and gigolette
Still sing a song and dance along
The boulevard of broken dreams.

Nat King Cole – “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”

Two shadows in the moonlight
Dance silently along the boulevard
Of dreams
Tonight

Dada – “Boulevard of Dreams”

A boulevard isn’t just any old street. According to Wikipedia, it is a “wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare…often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery.” Naming a road a “boulevard” means that it should be something special, something to evoke poetry and song as noted above. Some cities are known by their more famous boulevards – the Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard, and Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, for example. Greenville has Wade Hampton Boulevard.

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Weekend Update, again

Posted on May 5, 2009 By Tom 3 Comments on Weekend Update, again
Local, Miscellaneous, Music, Photography

Verdi dress rehearsal

Lots happening, and not much time to write about it. Laura and I discussed this, and we blame Furman. Since they have gone on a semester schedule their term is ending much earlier, and that’s thrown us off completely. I think, “Oh, Furman’s commencement is next weekend, so my school must be winding down” when we actually have a month more to go. With the compressed schedule, it seems like more is happening each weekend, and this past one was no exception.

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Photo Class Critique

Posted on May 4, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Photo Class Critique
Photography

Session two of our Town and Country photo class was this evening. Most of our class gathered at Diane Hopkins-Hughs studio to critique the photos we took on the “town” portion of our walk in downtown Greenville. We were to select our five best shots and print them. I gamely jumped in and printed my … Read More “Photo Class Critique” »

Belgian Delights

Posted on May 3, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Belgian Delights
Local, Restaurants

NOTE: This location is now closed. We were on our own for lunch today. Laura had stuff to do at Furman, and I had a rehearsal this morning.  I’d planned on something quick after rehearsal, so was en route to Taco Hell when I saw that Belgian Delights was now open.  I had to give it a … Read More “Belgian Delights” »

Town and Country Photo Class

Posted on April 19, 2009 By Tom 2 Comments on Town and Country Photo Class
Local, Photography

Photo Class

This weekend I took part in a “Town and Country Photo Hike” class taught through Furman University’s Continuing Education program.  The course was taught be photographer Diane Hopkins-Hughs, and I was looking forward to getting some new tips on photo composition, and learning about new places to shoot in Greenville.  Ann Martin also helped lead the class.  This session was the “town” portion, and we would be exploring the downtown Greenville area.  Next session will be the “country” portion, where we head out into the Upstate somewhere.

In most of the classes I’ve taken there is a wide range of abilities and skills.  You have some folks that really are just starting out, and you’ve got some that seem like they are taking the class just to show off how much they already know.  Even if the class turns out to be a very beginner class, as this one did, I try my best to stay out of that latter category.  I just don’t want to be that guy.  Even when a class doesn’t turn out to be quite what I expect, I always try to find something to take back from it.

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