A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
It had been awhile since I’d visited the Pickens Flea Market. I had visited once since returning from the west coast, and at that time I didn’t play with the musicians circle. I figured Halloween would be as good a day as any to pay another visit, and this time I was loaded with guitar, banjo, melodica, and tin whistles. Continue reading Halloween at the Pickens Flea Market
I’ve been wanting to get back on track with our “Water Wednesday” outings. This past Wednesday was inundated with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Michael, which dumped tons of water and brought winds to our area Wednesday into Thursday. By Thursday afternoon, though, skies had cleared, so we were good to go for an outing on Friday. This time Jeff Holland and I headed down to Laurens county to the Boyd’s Mill Pond on the Reedy River. While any day on the water is a good day, this one presented some unique challenges. Continue reading Up a Flooded Creek with Half a Paddle
When I was in middle school (or Junior High, as they called it back then), occasionally one of my classmates would show up with some cool contraband object that they would show off at recess. It might be a toy, a knife, or some thing they weren’t supposed to have at school. When asked where they got it, the answer was invariably the Anderson Jockey Lot.
When you’ve lived in an area as long as I have you can’t help but find yourself exploring places that you’ve been previously. Expect the term “Revisited” to start popping up more frequently in blog post titles. This was the case for a recent photo trek with fellow explorer Mark Elbrecht as we wandered over lower Laurens County. We both wanted to see what was left, if anything, of the old ghost town of Renno. Continue reading Renno Revisited
There’s been a lot happening over the last couple of weeks. We had a trip to Tampa, FL to celebrate my sister, Glynda’s birthday. There were computer OS upgrades, music events, and a major case of writer’s block. Combine that with an impending Hurricane Florence and I just didn’t get around to writing. I’m taking some time this week to catch up on posts. A couple of weeks ago I paid another visit to Greenville’s Cancer Survivor Park along the Reedy River. It was my first visit to the Falls Park area since our return from out west. Continue reading Cancer Survivor’s Park and Downtown Revisited
It was another Second Saturday and time for a paddling trip with my friends from Lowcountry Unfiltered. For our September trip we had planned to do the western portion of Okefenokee Swamp, but we decided to put that on hold. I had told Matt that after our epic Morris Island excursion I wanted something with current, preferably going on the direction we were paddling. We got that…sort of…by paddling a section of the Savannah River below Augusta. However, any helpful current was offset by the length of the trip, a new record for Lowcountry Unfiltered. Continue reading Nineteen Miles on the Savanah River
There was a time when I was directing the music for two different churches. I was rehearsing with several choral groups and finishing up my Masters degree, and singing the title role of The Mikado with the Greenville Savoyards. I had some sort of rehearsal three or four nights a week. Laura complained about being a “Choral Widow.” She had a point. This past week I had just about as many musical events and she once again felt like a music widow. However, I do have a strategy. Continue reading And Even More Music – Establishing a Routine
I decided it’s time to do a bit of housekeeping around here. I haven’t changed the theme or appearance of the blog (that may come later), but I have been working on links, static info, and some behind-the-scenes stuff that I hope will make life easier for this old blogger. Continue reading Blog Housekeeping
Now that I’ve started looking closely I’ve found many more music making opportunities than I thought possible in our area. This past week I was able to check out two more of those venues, one with blues-oriented rock, and the other with old time mountain music. Continue reading “Even More Music – Upstate Guitarists and the French Broad Valley Musicians Association”
I’ve been doing research and exploring the French Broad River, so when the Western North Carolina Kayaking Meetup announced a trip on the river, I knew I had to sign up. The trip wasn’t on any part of the river covered by the Mountain Lily story, so I’m not calling this “Part 3.” The timing was convenient, though, and it did give me a feel for traveling on the river. Continue reading “Paddling the French Broad River with WNC Kayaking”
