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Tag: South Carolina

Great-Great Grandparent Encounters

Posted on August 25, 2008 By Tom 14 Comments on Great-Great Grandparent Encounters
History and Genealogy, Local

I spent Sunday afternoon visiting my folks in Gray Court. My parents had just visited my Aunt Ann, who turned 90 this month. Therefore, much of the discussion involved family history, and we even took an excursion to a cemetery in Laurens County to look up some family history. First is the picture above. My … Read More “Great-Great Grandparent Encounters” »

In Search of Phantom Stairs

Posted on August 24, 2008 By Tom 3 Comments on In Search of Phantom Stairs
Local, Photography

I’ve always been fascinated by odd bits of masonry – remnants of long past days. Nothing so grandiose as the Sheldon Church ruins near Beaufort, or the Tanglewood Mansion columns in Seneca, these bits can be just a piece of a stone wall, a bit of a column that remains, or a set of stone … Read More “In Search of Phantom Stairs” »

Middleton at Night

Posted on August 17, 2008 By Tom No Comments on Middleton at Night
Uncategorized

We were worried. Not even a real thunderstorm, but the threat of one caused the power to go out for quite awhile. We attended the wine reception at the lodge without power (and AC.) When the large glass windows started acting like a greenhouse, we decided it was time to leave. Fortunately the power came … Read More “Middleton at Night” »

Paddling the Ashley River

Posted on August 17, 2008 By Tom No Comments on Paddling the Ashley River
Paddling, Travel

Laura’s goal for the day was to sit by the pool and read. While that would suit me for awhile, I was up for a bit more adventure. I changed into paddling gear and went to find one of the rental kayaks available from the inn. The boat I rented was a Perception Acadia tandem, … Read More “Paddling the Ashley River” »

Middleton Place

Posted on August 17, 2008 By Tom No Comments on Middleton Place
Travel

We got up early enough for breakfast at the Lake House on the grounds. It was a bit odd. There was no one to greet or seat us. We just wandered in and helped ourselves to a very nice full breakfast. I guess they figured that anyone who was there belonged there. After breakfast we … Read More “Middleton Place” »

Middleton Inn

Posted on August 17, 2008 By Tom No Comments on Middleton Inn
Travel

Laura said she really needed a weekend away before school got ramped up. Her only requirements were (1) that it had a decent outdoor pool and (2) that it be in a town where where we hardly know anyone. My suggestion of the Newberry YMCA didn’t go over very well. We went online and searched … Read More “Middleton Inn” »

Oh Blackwater, Keep On Rolling…

Posted on August 10, 2008 By Tom 3 Comments on Oh Blackwater, Keep On Rolling…
Paddling

John N paddles downstream

Saturday morning I got up at 4:00 am, loaded the kayak into the truck and headed south once more to the Edisto River. Last month we had originally planned to kayak the entire 20.3 mile stretch from Colleton State Park to Givhan’s Ferry State Park. We wound up breaking the trip into sections, running only the portion from Mars Old Field to Givhan’s Ferry last time. This time we were going to do the section from Colleton State Park to Stokes Bridge Landing – 8 miles, about the same length as our last trip.

This time there were seven in our group. Matt, John N., Rob D., and Chris J. returned. James B. couldn’t make it, but we were joined by John R. and his son Kevin. Matt’s dog, Cotton rounded out our entourage. We unloaded all the boats, then ran a shuttle down to Stokes Bridge.

As we got underway we observed a huge group of canoes and kayaks getting started on the opposite bank. This was a mixed group of all ages. As they passed I noticed several unusual seating arrangements. Several of the canoes had a man in the back paddling, and a woman up front just along for the ride – no paddle in hand whatsoever. Strange.

Read More “Oh Blackwater, Keep On Rolling…” »

Big Brother is Watching

Posted on August 8, 2008 By Tom 4 Comments on Big Brother is Watching
EdTech, Rants

Toward the first of the summer I took part in a webinar hosted by the state of South Carolina. This meeting informed us (the state technology leaders) that if we wanted more Internet bandwidth, we would have to place a monitoring device on our network. We were told that this was required to determine whether … Read More “Big Brother is Watching” »

Audio Journeys – The Anderson Jockey Lot

Posted on July 27, 2008 By Tom 1 Comment on Audio Journeys – The Anderson Jockey Lot
Local, Things Overheard, Weirdness

Jesus and Knives

Paul and I made our annual trek to the Anderson Jockey Lot. We always try to take a newbie with us – someone not yet immersed in southern flea market culture. Lately this has been a new faculty member at Furman, and this year was no different. Karen Buckmeuller was our victim this time. She couldn’t convince her new husband, Herman Holt, to come along with us. Several others were also supposed to go with us, but wimped out, too.

As I’ve learned, the denizens of the Jockey Lot get very nervous around cameras, and with good reason. We saw several less-than-legal items for sale. I was still able to snap a few shots, though. Most useful was the little Sansa Clip recorder. I clipped it to my shirt and left it recording the entire time we were there. I got some fascinating conversations. I’ve edited it down to the best clips and added a little background music, then posted it to Boomp3.com. It’s about six minutes long.

boomp3.com

In this audio clip, you will here the following, in order:

  • Question about the price of a Megatron helmet
  • Haggling over the sale of a car
  • A discussion about a breed of dog
  • The benefits of using fake security cameras
  • A bird saleslady
  • A call to repentance for stealing cars
  • A discussion of spicy pickled tomatoes
  • How society has been destroyed
  • The problems with Dale Earnhardt candles and Teresa Earnhardt
  • Good beans
  • Night blooming plants
  • A rooster crowing
  • Another dog salesman
  • And finally, selling big time

There were several more conversations I would have loved to have captured.

Read More “Audio Journeys – The Anderson Jockey Lot” »

Blackwater on the Edisto

Posted on July 13, 2008 By Tom 2 Comments on Blackwater on the Edisto
Paddling, Photography, Travel

After a fitful night of sleep I got up early and headed to our rendevous point – Mars Old Field Landing on the Edisto River. Our plan was to rendezvous at the put-in at 8:00 and paddle down to Givhan’s Ferry, about a 7 mile trip. We had originally planned to paddle from Colleton State … Read More “Blackwater on the Edisto” »

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