Columbia, South Carolina

When we got up on Wednesday morning, we debated whether we should stay through Wednesday, as planned, riding out the forecasted winter storm, or if we should pack up and head out while we had a chance.  Monday was chilly, but not yet freezing, it wasn’t raining, and the winds weren’t due until later in the day.  Considering all that, and the fact that the next several nights were supposed to be in the 20s, with snow, we decided to go ahead and leave!

Within an hour, we were packed up, hitched up, and ready to hit the road.  The drive from Maggie Valley to Asheville on I-40 was a little dicey, but manageable, and as soon as we made the turn southeast on I-26 it was smooth sailing with blue skies up ahead!

We stopped for a quick lunch at the South Carolina Welcome Center, and made it to Columbia by 3:30pm.  Our destination was Barnyard RV Park in Lexington, SC, and we were greeted with sunny skies and warmer temperatures!

We’ve endured a few windy days, and nighttime temps in the 40s, all thanks to “Sandy”, but it could have been much worse . . . we’re really glad to be in South Carolina!

The kids have been busy with school, and I’ve had work to do, so Tom has been pretty much on his own.  He’s been wandering around, finding people to talk to . . . one day he disappeared for hours, and we had no idea where he was!!  Bryce eventually found him . . . talking trucks with a couple of guys!  Yesterday he took a ride on the motorcycle to explore Lexington.  He even rode down to the RV dealer where we had bought our 5th wheel – it was the 1st time we’ve been back!

This afternoon, when we finished with school and work, we took a drive to downtown Columbia.  Columbia is both the capital of South Carolina

and the home of the University of South Carolina.

That’s quite a stadium!  You can tell we’re in a southern state . . . the stadium is so open.  Even though the University of Michigan stadium is open-aired, it still appears much more contained . . . probably due to the 3-story brick structures along the street that house the suites.

We drove a little closer to get a better view.

After leaving the campus area, we ventured over by the State Capitol.  This is actually the first state capitol building that we have visited . . . we walked around on the grounds first . . . checking out the various statues,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then we ventured up the steps of the Capitol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we passed through the X-ray scanner, we were pretty much free to walk around and take pictures.  The main hall was very elaborate, with large marble columns,

and there were seating areas on each side of the hall.

There were also two sets of stairs going up to the 2nd floor,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

where the Legislative Chambers were – the House on the right, and the Senate on the left.

From here, you could also see up into the dome.

While I was up on the 2nd floor, Tom was downstairs – chatting it up with one of the Governor’s “assistants” . . . I think his main job was to make sure that nobody wandered down the hallway leading to the Governor’s offices.  We did see her walk from one office to another several times . . . she had a lot going on this week, with the theft of everybody’s social security numbers from their tax returns!

After leaving the Capitol, we walked through the park and saw a tree with its roots growing over the top of the concrete.

Nicolas thought it was pretty cool!

Back at the campground, we grilled some chicken for dinner and ate outside for the 1st time in several days.  After dinner, Tom & I took a walk, and found some folks sitting by a campfire – we ended up sitting and talking with them, enjoying their toasty fire until it burned out.  It was a really nice evening!