Located just on the outskirts of Central, South Carolina on Madden Bridge Road (about a half a mile down the road from the Jitter Brew House–which has amazing coffee of all sorts).
306 City Sq, Belton, SC 29627 · (864) 338-8556
November 18, 2021 | 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Open through December 17.
Take care of your holiday shopping with unique, handmade gifts you won’t find anywhere else. On opening night, enjoy a homemade bowl of vegetable soup with cornbread in this holly, jolly atmosphere with local makers.
After the opening night, come shop the market during our normal business hours. Tuesdays through Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, and Saturdays, from 10 AM – 2 PM.
A day out with my grandfather, with local history, a great variety of plants, and even a stuffed mountain lion, it literally rocked as toured the Botanical Gardens and Geology museum–an extra nice perk? The venues don’t charge admission but do take donations (which are well worth giving!)
There is so much more to do and enjoy in Clemson, beyond going to a football game, and there is ample parking! The parking lot abuts to the gardens and is easily accessible, and most paths are handicap/scooter friendly for those who desire to go with some assistance.
Yes, it’s true, I am a lover of beautiful masonry work and old stones– an appreciator of etchings and engravings and any opportunity I am offered, I enjoy a good cemetery crawl. Sometimes, more often than not, a “good” one is often off the beaten path and takes a little adventure and finagling to get there… and it’s always worth the effort!!
Fortunately, I had a bit of aid in locating/finding this particular older cemetery near Gatlinburg, Tennessee as a person briefly posted on a photo forum of Elkmont Cemetery and I had to use google mapping to get me there…the cemetery is quite small but hosts an elaborate amount of carved lambs on the headstones, those that are marked any way.
An interesting factor that I haven’t personally seen before… coins were left on certain graves… any one know the history behind that?
https://www.yelp.com/biz/old-elkmont-cemetery-gatlinburg?osq=Old+Elkmont+Cemetery
A Sunday drive (albeit on a Monday) was a true delight!! Just taking the whim, before heading home, to enjoy the last day of our vacation was worth winging it in Tennessee!!
The Great Smokey Mountains (yes, the home of infamous Dolly Parton) are well worth visiting!! The natural overlooks are fabulous and well maintained. While the Smokies are not actually on fire (it’s the fog that rises that make them look smoky.) Absolutely stunning views!!! I admit, getting “lost” in the forrest is truly a delight.
We started driving from Sevierville, Tennessee, area and headed out , We enjoyed taking a pit stop in the tiny town of Townsend (which, by the way, hosts a Post Office with wonderful, helpful staff, and yes, I dropped off quite a few postcards and the clerk was able to help give us some local pointers.)
There are theme parks all over the place but until recently, I didn’t have a clue that Dollywood Theme park was a “thing” and that it was so close to where I live, within just a few hours drive from home. I hadn’t been to a theme park in ages—and if my memory serves me correctly, I hadn’t been to one since going on an activity bus on a “date” in college, to the Halloween themed one at Carowinds in college—but I am not going to date myself on that one!
Dollywood Theme parks sent out flyers, which is initially is what the idea going, offering tickets at a big discount for “Essential Workers”, which I qualified for, working at a mental health facility–and having some time off, We (my sweetheart and myself) decided to take advantage of a package deal he had purchased (3 nights, 4 days in Pigeon Forge through another venue) . And off we went….
Dollywood Theme park was between “festivals” and it being a Sunday, the park was pretty slow, which suited us just fine as there weren’t any waiting lines for the roller coaster, finding parking was a breeze and the staffed was not stressed or rushed, which was so awesome.
The biggest winner of the day, though, besides getting to hold hands all day with my sweetheart and riding coasters and laughing at the funny pumpkin scenes? I got to mark an item off of my dream list (I don’t want to call it a bucket it list because I am not kicking the bucket–plus, what did the bucket ever do that someone thought it needed kicking?) I have always wanted to ride a ride, a roller coaster, more than once without having to get off the ride and go around again and wait in line… and the dream came true!
As I said, the park was having a “slow” day and when I got on the “log ride”, which goes by another name but I can’t recall, again, as I had already ridden it a couple of times during the day, the operator let me ride it again without getting off, not once, but twice! So, yeah, I got to ride the ride 3 times back to back without disembarking in between!!! Yes, I left the park looking like a half drowned rat from being splashed, oh by the glory of it all!!
A friend, many years ago, introduced me to the notion/game of playing “Where’s Waldo” postcard style and I fell in love with the game. The idea is simple, when on an adventure, in a new town or country or anything, find a few postcards and try to find each item on the postcard(s). Sometimes the greatest adventures are had while searching for the items, discovering hidden away treasures along the way and finding victory when you find the place!! It’s a lot of fun, I often will then send said postcard to a friend or family member, expressing the joy that was experienced or send it to myself, as a “rememberal” souvenir to add to my journal when I do return home.
Pineapple Fountain, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
The Pineapple Fountain, Charleston, South Carolina, located a couple of Blocks from Waterfront Park– a beautiful walk to reach the fountain, and what a stunner!! While the Fountain was bubbling and spouting while I visited, it provided beautiful entertainment and cool waters to splash my face in on such a hot day!!
A bit of history as to why the Pineapple is the symbol of welcome and hospitality, the Pineapple History can been joyfully read. This Pineapple sits on the welcome fronts of Charleston, most certainly welcoming locals, tourists and other adventures alike to the beauty of Charleston.
An evening out with friends has proven to be quite lovely!
Live music, performed by a local duo, and great food at Grits and Groceries. Open for the live music outside of normal operating hours, the live event was quite entertaining and the sound quality was great way to have a lawn party with a small bonfire going .
Grits and Groceries – Destination restaurant in Belton, SC, featuring eclectic southern cooking
A cematery crawl in Pickens County, near the Oconee Power Plant, quite a stunner!
While the second part of the cemetery has been moved, due to several factors that I didn’t quite understand, the historical site is only open during day late hours, which is why my photos are so well lit this time!
A brief history can be read in one of the pictures, showing how the courthouse used to also be established on the site but is no longer there but the church remains. Unfortunately, the church isn’t open for viewing, which is often one of my more favorite parts of the adventure.
While I often adventure solo, there are times when others go with me as well, which only makes the adventure that more fun, and as Tim Burton says, there’s something positive about such beauty.
