The Thrill of the Hunt

Now that Hurricane Irene has finished her soggy jog up the East Coast, and I now know that my friends and family are all healthy (though Mom and Dad expect to be without electricity for several days.  The price they pay for living in the woods at the very edge of town, alas.), I can go on and talk about all the other stuff that my parents and I did while they were here.  In addition to getting educated at Cowpens National Battlefield, we hung lots of pictures in the house, and we wandered around downtown Spartanburg and Greenville, and the Furman campus, using satellites to look for Tupperware.

What, you've never geocached before?

If you're smiling and nodding in agreement right now, you either know what I'm talking about, or you're backing away slowly and hoping to make your escape.  Fear not!  Geocaching is a game - a scavenger hunt, really - played with the use of a handheld GPS unit and a website such as http://www.geocaching.com, where some people hide things*, and some people look for them**.

They're hidden all over the world, in cities and out in the wilderness, in local parks and on the tops of mountains, and they're a great way of exploring parts of your surroundings that you might not ordinarily know about.  So, when my parents came to town and I wanted to show them around... we went caching.  Conveniently enough, there was one "multi-part" cache located right in the heart of downtown Spartanburg that led us around two parks and several monuments, and right by this fella:

It's a dinosaur.  Made out of bicycle parts.

As I've mentioned before, The Cajun and I think that the Furman University campus is really lovely, so we also spent a big chunk of a day poking around the park and lake there, confronting the scary ducks (they ran away from Mom) and finding 4 caches while we were at it.  Not only is the campus beautiful, but the park is, too, and far more extensive than we'd guessed.  There's also the Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail running alongside, and a disc golf course, so it's a great place to spend some time.  After a morning there, I wanted to show them downtown Greenville***, so we headed down to Main Street for some lunch and a wander.

One of the nice things about caching is that it tends to lead you places you haven't been before, and our run through the Falls Park was a prime example.  I've been across the bridge several times since we've moved here, but not down to the bottom of the park or towards the back where (as we discovered) Furman University used to be.  It was fun to see the rest of the park, and there weren't nearly as many people down there.

A great view of both the falls and the Liberty Bridge

We also found the ruins of some of Greenville's original textile mills, and learned that Shoeless Joe Jackson got his start in professional baseball playing for the Greenville Spinners.  Not only is there a statue of him on Main Street, but it's built on a base of bricks from Cominskey Park in Chicago.  The cool things you learn...  Next time they're here, we'll have to run up the road to our local Earthcache and find the original boiling spring in Boiling Springs****!


* Sometimes the traditional Tupperware or ammo can in the woods, filled with a log book and cheap trinkets, sometimes just a tiny capsule with a piece of paper for your initials.  Here's one I made earlier...

It's a Lock-N-Lock container, covered in camo duct tape.  Lasted 3 years in the woods and never leaked.

And the insides.  A log book, an explanation sheet, and some wee plastic toys (optional).

** See also, letterboxing.  Similar, but without the GPS.  You'll need a compass, though.

*** Specifically, the gelato shop.  And the waterfall, too.

**** Apparently, it's next to the Chick-fil-A.  Who knew?

A Revolutionary Idea*

I am more than a little embarrassed to admit that I had completely forgotten that the American Revolutionary War was fought this far south.  Please understand, I grew up in Connecticut, completely surrounded by Revolutionary history - a small, early battle** took place on Main Street, just steps from my elementary school, and I spent a big chunk of my adolescence working in the gift shop of a 17th-century tavern (now a museum) that served as a meeting-place for the rebels, and still has a British cannonball lodged in a corner post.  All children in my hometown study the history of the village, the history of the state, and the history of our battle and the war.  As a matter of fact, we probably spend too much time on the Revolutionary War, since I don't remember very much about the Civil War, although I'm sure we studied that one, too.  The Revolution was easier for us because you could see where everything happened.

The problem with battlefields is that, once the action's over, they're just, well...

So last week, three New Englanders*** learned something new when my parents and I headed over to the Cowpens National Battlefield.  Not only was the war fought down here, but if it hadn't been, the whole thing would have turned out dramatically differently.  Cowpens is a nice little place with a fine visitors' center and some good walking trails.  The battle wasn't a long one (less than an hour), nor a particularly big one (3000+ men), but it significantly reduced the threat represented by the British General Tarleton****, and made the American Brigadier General Daniel Morgan a local hero; there are statues to him all over the county.

The British came marching down this road in their red uniforms.  Not very sneaky of them.

It's also the first I'd heard of the (rather clever, to me) tactic of taking a shot at the opposing forces, then turning and running like hell to hide behind the next row of your colleagues, thus giving you time and space to reload.  Apparently, it worked like a charm and surprised the British, who thought, reasonably enough, that the Americans were retreating.

So, thank you, Cowpens and the National Park Service.  This Yankee has been properly schooled.


* Pun intended, sort of.  So sue me.

** Early enough that Benedict Arnold was still fighting for the Continental Army.  There's a sign on Main Street where his horse was shot out from under him.

*** OK, Mom and Dad are from Ohio and Michigan, respectively, but they've lived in Connecticut for nearly 35 years.  It rubs off on you after a while.

**** By all accounts, Tarleton was not a nice person.  Shooting opposing soldiers after they've surrendered to you is tacky by anyone's standards^.

     ^ Except for Tarleton's, obviously.

Marching Through Georgia

In Which a Yankee Travels through Georgia, and Nothing is Burned Down.


So we have this adorable nephew who was born 4 months ago, but because of all the moving and other turmoil in our lives, we weren't able to get down to Alabama to be introduced to him.  Now that we're so much closer, we decided to meet up with with him, his mommy, and his daddy in Atlanta, which happens to be a convenient halfway point.  

I've been to Atlanta once or twice before, mostly for conferences, and I've never gotten a good feel of what the city's about.  We stayed in Buckhead this time, which is terrific for shopping, but it's all steel and glass, and not much character or sense of history*.  And, yes, I know there's loads of neat history in and around Atlanta.  It's just not terribly evident at the Lenox Mall.

Of course, we weren't in Atlanta for the history and culture anyway, we were there to see the BABY!**  Alas, there will be no pictures here of the WCN (World's Cutest Nephew) because I'd rather keep this blog somewhat anonymous, but if you know me (or my sister-in-law) personally, you can view pictures on her blog or our Facebook pages.  For the rest of you (sorry), read on; there's pretty stuff ahead.

After much discussion of what to do on a summer's day with a 4-month-old, we landed at the Georgia Aquarium.  

People and fish.  Lots of both.

Oh.  My.  What a wonderful place.

Fish.  As you'd expect.

The Cajun and I are scuba divers, so we tend to love aquariums***, and this one is, hands down, the best aquarium I've ever been to.  It was very crowded, but the tanks and viewing areas are so big that, most of the time, it didn't matter.

This is a BIG tank.  See the whale shark?  They have FOUR of them.

Did I mention they had whale sharks?  This was taken looking straight up.

As it happens, the Aquarium offers both scuba diving and snorkeling opportunities in the Ocean Voyager tank (the really big one), so we may just be back there in the spring some time.  I've always wanted to meet a whale shark, and going to Atlanta would be much cheaper than going to Belize, if perhaps not quite so much fun.

They also have 4 manta rays.  This one was doing back flips.

Introducing the WCN to the fish was really fun.  I don't know how much he understood what was going on, but he was clearly fascinated by the colors and shapes, and he refused to nap until we left the aquarium for lunch at the Varsity.  Must've have been exhausted, too, because that place is crowded and noisy, and he slept like a wee squishy log through the whole meal.  Haven't been to the Varsity before?  Well, it's certainly an Institution, and they make a fine chili cheeseburger, but it's no Marv's.

The rest of the weekend involved dinner at a Mexican restaurant and a trip to Ikea.  Nice thing about babies, all the adults had an excuse to take a nap, too...

* 'Course, according to my sister-in-law, you wouldn't have much visible history either if those wretched Yankees kept stomping through your hometown and burning everything down.  Touché, madam, touché...

** Yes, and his parents, too.  :-) 

*** Several years ago, we went scuba diving in the Baltimore Aquarium.  It was amazing.  Maybe I'll tell you about it someday.

In Which I May Take a Nap

Whew!  It's been a whirlwind around here for the last week.  We took a quick weekend trip to Atlanta to meet up with The Cajun's brother, lovely wife, and adorable son (henceforth to be known as World's Cutest Nephew, or WCN for short).  And then the morning after we got back, my parents arrived to see our new digs, help me hang pictures, and explore.  They just left, and I. Am. Pooped.  Also, I have a cold.

So there are lots of pictures of the Georgia Aquarium to put up, but I'm taking a nap first.  Here's a picture of a new friend to look at while you wait.

Hard to tell, but he's about 2 1/2 inches from nose to tip.  Adorable.

On ingredients

I admit, I'm kind of a geek when it comes to cooking*.  I like to try new flavors and new ingredients, which is one of the reasons why the spice section of my pantry is completely out of hand**.  So when we visited our local Whole Foods (not too local, fortunately, it's over in Greenville), I got rather excited over the salt.

"The salt?  You got excited over... salt?"

It smells like a campfire.  In a good way.

Yes, I did.  In the bulk foods section, they have 7-8 different varieties of interesting rice (which I plan to play with at a later date), and 5 or 6 different kinds of salt.  Pink salt from the Himalayas, brownish salt from Hawaii, grey sea salt from France, and... smoked salt.  It sounded (and smelled) too weird not to try, so I bought a scoop's worth and tried to figure out what to do with it on the drive home.

I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with it, but what I did do with it was sprinkle it rather liberally on a couple of pork chops with a bit of black pepper, wait 10-15 minutes, sear the chops off, and finish them in the oven.  No sauces, no other spices, nothing else.

Yum.

Which turned out to be a reasonably good thing to do.  The chops were both smoky and salty, without being overwhelming either way, and far more interesting than the usual plain pork chops.  I shall probably be trying this with steaks, chicken, and possibly veggies over the next months, unless anyone has any better suggestions...


* Yes, I'm well aware that I am a geek in a number of other arenas as well.  Focus with me here.

** If you follow me on Twitter, you may have already seen my vast collection of cayenne pepper.  I have no idea how we wound up with so much of it.

Out and about

My apologies for such a long silence.  I've been hoping to write things more often than once a week, but I spent much of the last week driving to the car dealership.  And then home.  And then back to the dealership.  And then home.  And so forth.  Not for anything catastrophic, fortunately, but The Cajun and I own the same make and model of car*, so I needed to bring his in for an oil change, and then mine needed a new refrigeration line**, and I had to go back when the right part came in.

So not much got done last week other than the usual errands, though I did find a new-to-me cross stitch store over in Greenville, and managed to get out of there for less than $15 on my first trip***.  Score!

Fortunately, we had time and motivation to explore the area this weekend, and did so.  As we've been unpacking, we've noticed a certain deficiency of bookshelf space.  This wouldn't be a terrible issue if it weren't for the fact that we have no place to put CDs, DVDs, and, worst of all, my cookbooks****.  The Cajun heard about an Amish furniture store not too far away, so we jumped in the car on Saturday, and headed up the road a bit to the little town of Landrum.  Landrum is a cute little place, especially if you like antique stores.  As a matter of fact, the reason we don't have a picture of it here is that it's basically all antique stores (and the Amish furniture store, where, yes, bookcases were ordered.  They'll be here in 3 weeks.), plus one rather pleasant pub.  We, alas, are not terribly keen on antique stores, so we had a beer at the aforementioned pub, and set off for more interesting pastures.

Our intended path was in the direction of Greenville, with the potential of having dinner somewhere downtown.  As we drove the backroads towards the city, though, The Cajun said, "I think Furman University is around here somewhere.  Wanna see if we can find it?"^  I should mention that he applied to go there many years ago, but had never visited the campus, so he was curious to see what he'd missed.

The Bell Tower appears to be one of the icons of the campus.

 
So glad we did!  Being a habitual academic, and a member of an extended family of habitual academics, I'm very fond of seeing what other college campuses are like, and Furman is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS.  Lots of brick buildings on wide, oak-lined avenues, a beautiful lake with a park at the bottom of a hill, and even a rose garden in a quiet corner.  Also some of the finest outdoor athletic facilities I've ever seen.

The Rose Garden.  I want one.

And did I mention that they keep their library smack in the middle of campus, with dancing fountains out in front?  These are my kind of people.

The roses smell good, too.

We wandered around the lake for a while until we were chased away by a sudden thunderstorm^^, but I would love to go back and explore a bit more someday soon.  Maybe get inside their arts center or the library.

These are cypress knees down at the lake.  Aren't they adorable?

With luck (and more favorable weather), there will be more exploration next week when my parents come.  I can't make them hang pictures all day...


* Though his has 50,000+ miles on it, and mine has 240,000+.  We both used to have wicked long commutes.

** Because my poor leaky little A/C couldn't possibly keep up with 103° heat.  I don't do well in these kinds of temperatures without some artificial assistance.

*** My fellow crafters/stitchers/thread hogs will recognize what an awesome accomplishment this is.

**** I swear, I didn't think I had that many.  Turns out I have 4-5 boxes full.  How embarrassing.

^ We should admit that there's a GPS in his car.  It wasn't hard.

^^ We were also chased away by these ducks.  I pulled out the camera, and they both headed straight for me at an alarming rate of speed.  Sorry the picture's on the blurry side, but I was backing away.  Quickly.  I'm still not sure if they were angry (don't think so), hungry (probably), or looking to break into reality TV.

The male (right) kept sticking out his tongue and muttering as he waddled.  So weird.

A Teensy Moment of Community

I had a nice, if minor, becoming-part-of-the-community moment today: I ran into somebody I knew at the recycling center!  OK, so it was actually one of the guys who mows our lawn, and he recognized me before I recognized him (hey, I was lugging two big bags of wine bottles*, give me a break), but still.  Other than our real estate agent, I don't know anybody else in town**, so it was kind of pleasant to be "known".

* OK, not just wine bottles.  There were beer bottles in there, too.  And soda cans and an empty mozzarella container, and a milk jug, and...  Sheesh.

** Other than the lady who sits at the main desk of the Spartanburg DMV.  We've seen each other enough over the last two weeks to recognize each other anywhere.  Alas, my business there is done for the time being, so those memories will just have to fade for a while...