Notes from the SC Road: Part 1

For over ten years, I spent every day working on the road in South Carolina. It allowed to me to see South Carolina in ways that few have. I saw its towns, its scenes and the living rooms of its people. I will be writing about some of the things I saw and learned over the next few weeks. Brian--head of the crackerjack staff of Voting under the Influence.

When I went to work for a law firm to provide in home legal consultations in the fall of 1997, I needed a job. I had no idea of the journey I would begin to learn about South Carolina. I thought I knew South Carolina and its natural beauty, but seeing it up close and personal gave me a new perspective. South Carolina's natural beauty is surreal.

I suppose the first thing that comes to mind is the most obvious about South Carolina. There is nothing quite like being on one of South Carolina's low country islands after dusk and seeing the crescent moon over a real palmetto tree. It can be a breathtaking scene.

However, the breathtaking scenes of South Carolina do not end there. There is the simple beauty of places like Fishdam Creek around Great Falls. There are the lighted scenes of the Grand Strand. There are Sumter's Iris Gardens and Orangeburg's Edisto Gardens. There is downtown Greenville with the rocks of the Reedy River in the midst of the city. There are the long and lonely roads of the Pee Dee that have dotted among them simple churches that are a century old. There is the beauty of Jones Gap up around Ceaser's Head. There is the quite dignity of downtown Charleston. Speaking of Charleston, there is that long road from Charleston to Georgetown that still has reminders of Hurricane Hugo . There is the beauty of the Congaree Swamp. There are the high pines amongst the sand in places like Jefferson and Chesterfield and Cheraw. There are the Christmas lights hung across the street in places like Camden and McBee. There are the green rolling hills of the Savannah River valley just outside Beech Island. There is the majesty of the Calhoun Plantation in Pendleton and the way one can see the Blue Ridge Mountains on a clear day from Anderson and Spartanburg.

There is so much more in addition to what I mentioned above. Over ten years on the road in South Carolina taught me how beautiful South Carolina is. Every region of South Carolina has well celebrated natural beauty. From the mountains to the sea, to all points in between, South Carolina proves itself as one of the most naturally beautiful places on the planet. If you doubt that, just take the time to travel to every part of her and learn the beauty she offers.