A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
For many years I’ve known about the underground railroad passage in Anderson, South Carolina. The passage hints at a forgotten history and neglected part of the city. I’ve visited the entrances to the passageway several times, but just never got up the nerve to explore it by myself. This past week fellow explorer Alan Russell joined me, and together we finally got a chance to explore Underground Anderson. Continue reading Exploring Underground Anderson
Kouign amanns (pronounced “queen amahn”, are an incredibly decadent pastry from Breton. According to Wikipedia, it is described in the New York Times as “the fattiest pastry in all of Europe.” So, of course I like them. Instead of cake for Laura’s birthday, we decided to try to make them at home. The first time … Continue reading The Queen of Kouign Amann
This year Laura’s birthday coincided with her Fall Break from Furman. Since I’m no longer tied up on Sundays and since she had a long weekend, we decided to do something completely different. Neither of us had been to Atlanta in a long, long time, so we decided to do a museum weekend with visits to the Fernbank Natural History Museum and the Georgia Aquarium Continue reading Birthday Weekend in Atlanta
I have let things slip. Yes, it’s been another writer’s block stretch. I’ve been doing research and some exploration, but nothing that would make a whole blog post. I’ve posted things to Flickr and to Facebook, but not here. So, I’m going to do a catch-up/update post with a few miscellaneous items, then do several shorter separate posts. Continue reading Catching Up Mid-October 2019
For many years I drove over the bridge over the South Tyger River at Berry Shoals, looking longingly at the old steel trestle bridge downstream and the twin lakes of Berry Shoals Pond and Silver Lake. I wanted to explore the area. However, I was always in route to one of my schools or on some other school district business, so I never got a chance to explore…until now. Sadly, my explorations were cut short, all for want of a hat. Continue reading Exploring Berry Shoals Pond from Tygerberry
After only seven months on the job I have resigned as music director at Hopewell Methodist Church. It just didn’t work out, for lots of reasons. When I took the job my duties were to play the piano for services, direct the church choir, and oversee the other music ministries. My stated goals were to … Continue reading Maybe There’s Hope
The TV show “Finding Bigfoot” had the biggest misnomer for a title. They never found him/her. All they did was run around in the woods making noise, claiming evidence that was easily debunked. I guess “Making Fools of Ourselves While Looking for Bigfoot” wasn’t quite as catchy. Despite my skepticism, I like Bigfoot stories. I … Continue reading Finding Bigfoot in Marion
A couple of my Facebook friends regularly paddle Stumpy Pond on the Catawba River. They regularly post photos of historic ruins and lovely scenery, It’s been on my list of places I want to visit. Fellow explorer Alan Russell and I finally got a chance to do just that this week, but this unusual September … Continue reading A Hot Sample of Stumpy Pond
For many years I was music director at McCarter Presbyterian Church here in Greenville. McCarter is a small church located prominently at the intersection of Pelham Road and East North Street, a spot it has occupied for the past 123 years. It seemed a unique little church in the bustle of a major neighborhood that somehow managed to survive.
But then I found out that it wasn’t unique. Continue reading The Oeland Churches
Last spring a guy with the unusual name of Beezer Molton contacted me about a photo. It turns out that Beezer is the owner of the Half-Moon Outfitters franchise. The Greenville store would be moving into a new store and he wanted a large print of the above photo to go into the new location. … Continue reading Full Moon at Half-Moon