Visiting the Tigers, then on to Kentucky

We spent our last 2 days in South Carolina by going to Clemson and looking around that area. It’s only about 20 minutes from Greenville, SC, and the scenery is similar. We drove through the Clemson campus and saw the football stadium, which is nicknamed Death Valley:

And we saw a bit of the Clemson Botanical Garden:

Both of these were huge- probably 6-8 inches across! When we were leaving the Clemson area we encountered more hills:

So not as hilly as Tennessee, but still hilly…

There is a Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in the Asheville area, so we decided to go there for dinner:

It was very pretty, with beautiful grounds! We were too late for a tour, but we had heard great things about the restaurant, so we figured it was worth the 45 minute drive. WRONG! On the night we were there the restaurant was closed and they had music on the back porch, where you could get a beer (yum! Love their pale ale!) and a burger, a bison hot dog, or a quinoa bowl- NOT what we wanted for dinner! So we enjoyed our beers and looking at the grounds and then went elsewhere for dinner. There is a lesson here- research where you are going before you go there!

Final thoughts on South Carolina- We liked it a lot! It is similar to Tennessee as far as scenery except it is a bit flatter. You still get that southern charm (calling you ma’am and sir, and having them say “I appreciate you”.) The roads are better, and real estate is more in line with what we expected- probably what Tennessee was like a couple years ago! It is definitely a contender for our next chapter. I took a pic of our campsite as we were getting ready to leave:

The campground was kind of in a gully, with a creek running behind our campsite and a hill across from us- and forest everywhere! And to prove it’s a small world- the family camping next to us, Mitch and Heather, and their 2 beautiful daughters, Hannah and Claire, used to live in Bakersfield! We had a lovely time chatting with them, and the 2 girls, Hannah and Claire gave us the coolest gift of petoskey stones, the state rock of Michigan, which is where they live now. These are fossilized coral, and they are super cool, just like Hannah and Claire– thanks, girls!

After packing up- on to Kentucky!

This was a little longer drive, but luckily we got to stop at the Kentucky Buc-ees! They really do have the best advertising- there are billboards tempting you for about 75 miles before you actually get to the travel stop- here are a couple:

Buc-ees is known for their brisket sandwiches, their bargain fountain drinks, their huge and spotless bathrooms, and the hundreds of gas pumps. Another sign I saw (but was not fast enough with my phone) said “Two reasons to stop: #1 and #2”– you gotta have a sense of humor!