South Carolina

Year of First Visit – 2000

Point of Entry – I-95 at South of the Border near Dillon

Perhaps I should have taken the roadside abomination at the North/South Carolina line on I-95 as an oman predicting that weird things would seem to happen to me in South Carolina.

On one trip home from Florida we pulled in to the Econolodge for the night.  We figured we'd have dinner, swim with the kids in the pool, and get a good night's rest for the drive ahead.  Once we walked next door to the Sizzler for dinner a massive storm darkened the sky.  The torrents during short walk back to our room drenched us and only a fence distinguished the pool from the parking lot.

We all got showered, changed, and in bed.  It was then that we noticed light coming from under the curtains.  With the sky so dark we'd lost track of time.  The sun had now come back out.  We were all in bed for the night and it was almost 7:30 p.m.

While on a southbound Amtrak through the state we were awakened by a phone call.  Our home's burglar alarm had been tripped and the police were on the way.

We stopped at Congaree National Park on January 1, 2010, as a part of a Christmas vacation.  We never expected that many of the boardwalk trails would be underwater from flooding.  (Even so, it was still a neat place to see.)

But back to the North Carolina border, where else can I stand atop a giant sombrero?  I guess a few weird experiences are some welcome relief from the monotony that is travel along the eastern seaboard.