Places I have been
The heat and humidity have been super high in the Upstate and boy, are we all feeling it! The winds have picked up, hopefully to help curb this heat spell (it’s summer in the South, afterall.)
The clouds have rolled in and woosh, look at that rain and hear that thunder clap!
Don’t forget to visit my eBay shop and support this local artist and craftsman!
A beautiful, cleary, perfect day filled with sunshine and great weather! My Sweetness (aka my boyfriend) heard about Lake Jocasse from a a local South Carolina native (he is originally from Rhode Island, myself from the mid-west). A new adventure and location awaited us as we used the GPS to get us there! About an hour from Clemson, South Carolina, Devil’s Fork State Park is located in Oconee County, near the tiny town of Salem, South Carolina.
The lake itself was originally man made but it’s fed by local streams and more, keeping the water Very cool and wonderful. A tiny beach was created and a swimmer’s area is marked off with a yellow bouy line for a no-wake zone. While boating tours are offered (for a price), we decided to set up picnic in the grilling and table areas and hit the little beach for swimming!
The lake does cover up an old cemetery; gleaning from a a bit of research, the bodys were exhumed and relocated but the the village and cemetery are under the lake now. How the State park earned the named of “Devil’s Fork” is unknown to me but it sounds like something from the movie “Romancing the Stone” with Michael Douglas where he and Kathleen Turner have to use a treasure map and go past the Devil’s Fork to find the good stuff.
There were lots of families there today and at a neighboring picnic spot, the family was playing a variety of Mexican style tradiotional mariachi style music, which added to the ambiance of the day.
I swam from the beach to the no wake yellow buoy twice, which means my swimming in the pool is paying off as well (I swim several time as a week in an indoor salt water pool at a Rec Center. I used to be a lifeguard many many years ago, too). The water was cool/cold and super refreshing. While swimming around, one can watch the motor boats and kayaks, conoes and so forth, which are fun to watch.
Definitly 2 thumbs up for a great place and an lovely place to visit for a day-cation.
my cousin Amy and I were on a hunt for postcards and a souvenir T-shirt for our cousin Charlie, and in the meantime, we found some really cool stuff and amazing architecture.
while at walking was a lot of fun, there was a slight bit of a scary moment. There, as a Jesuit piece fell down and had a really bloody nose; so after helping him get himself together, we continued to adventure, and found a really pretty chapel dedicated to Saint Joan of arc.
Amy and I thoroughly enjoyed a Middle Eastern meal at a restaurant called FiFi which is located on Wisconsin Avenue
Adventuring with a buddy is always so much fun, especially when your buddy is your Egyptian neighbor and friend. Nourhan is an international student (such a lovely lady)-so this eveing, our schedules finally aligned where we could go on an adventure together!
Nourhan spends a lot of time in the classroom and labs at Clemson University, studying hard, doing research, and working on her thesis–and hasn’t had much time to explore before now; We are making up for lost time!
We enjoyed the local history of the Maiden taking shelter along the waterfalls to escape her captors- and the history of the Stumphouse tunnel(where the Clemson Original Bleu Cheese was originally formulated and made by the old irish immigrant recipe and more!) Plus, on our way out, a fun armadillo decided to grace us with it’s presence as it crossed the road as we drove away. Nourhan hadn’t ever seen one before and asked me what it was, a cute little armadillo!
It has been a giant blessing having Nourhand as a neighbor and a friend and I am so glad she moved in next door to me!
A race car party at its best! Old fashioned and muscles cars were features but the best part? The race cars were the hot feature and they were all fired up! Lots of cool things to see under the hoods and the rev’s were booming loud!
Ribs were barbequed and enjoyed, along with an assortment of sides and desserts while looking and hearing the chatter about parts, paints, features and more! What a splendid day of fun under the sun, seeking and seeing the thrill of the amazing cars!
I had mild, seasonal allergies before moving to the South; that story is far from being true any more. I think I might be allergic to the whole state, year around, at this point. Thanks to modern science, I do take an allergy pill that really helps. Achoo!
Spring is here, even while leaving in an apartment, I still enjoy having a small “garden” on my patio. God’s pretty glory is everywhere!
Spring is rolling in with the thunder and rain, as you can see the bushes in front of my building are already budding out and super green; it’s all the abundant rain we receive here in the upstate area!
My Godson got baptised today, a wonderful occurence to dedicate him to God in front of family and friends.
The church in which the parents got him dedicated is nearby, so they will be able to regularly attend church and teach their son the wonderful bible stories, having a family in God, and continue to have faith in Christ and growth as their family grows.
I hope you all enjoy the service!
Celebrations are running rampant today around the world and while I am not attending a celebration of Mardi Gras/Carnival/Fat Tuesday myself today, I participated in the past by attending Carnival in Ettlingen, Germany (where these photos were snapped in 2017).
Mardi Gras is a time of celebration and indulgence, of many things. Parties and street fairs and performances are loud, joyous and colorful. Hoops, hollering, music and dancing are everywhere, people wiggling and jiggling to all sorts of festivities, before Lent starts tomorrow; celebrating before the 40 days of Lent bring changes to their lives.
This year, my celebrations for Mardi Gras are cleaning house and catching up on things that need to be done, exciting? Not really but it still feels good to get stuff knocked out!
Our road trip back to Colorado included going through the beautiful, quiet state of Nebraska.
The rolling praries and grasslands, scattered amongst the grain fields and ranches, was quite stunning and we stumbled upon Chimney Rock, quite a stunning view as it just “pops” out of seemingling no where!
We stopped in Scottsbluff for a meal, Subway, and enjoyed the scenery of the quaint town (and found more postcards, which was a pleasant surprise in the small town).
In full truth, Chimney Rock is very pretty but the praries are something unique to behold, a hidden treasure of America’s bread basket country (which I have heard many people call a “fly over” area, which I believe is a true mistake, as it’s breath taking). If given the chance, drive and stay in Nebraska, it has lots of charm and the people are very warm and welcoming.
