Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not.

Yesterday we drove into the town of Laurens, South Carolina to visit the public library. Jim was trying to continue a genealogy search that his dad started many years ago. The Riddle lineage can be traced back to John and Mary Riddle who came over from Scotland via Ireland and settled in Laurens. There was a librarian named Elaine Martin who worked in the genealogy room since 1964. Jim’s dad spoke with her many years ago when he was doing research. We were hoping she could help Jimmy continue some research. When we arrived at the library Jim asked if there was someone who could help him and we were told Elaine passed away two weeks ago. They are naming the genealogy room in honor of her. Jim spent at least two hours in the room looking at old records and census reports but didn’t find anything new to contribute to what his dad already learned. In the meantime, I walked around with Boo and then found a shady spot to wait for Jim. There were fire ant mounds all over the grounds. 

After the library we set off on a quest to find the Old Riddle Schoolhouse and the property where Mary and John raised their twelve children and where they evidently were buried. We drove to the spot but were unable to find anything. There probably was a small cemetery deep in woods but undetectable from the road. The day was pretty much a wash. We went back to our unpleasant campground surrounded by fire ant mounds and overweight tan men smoking cigarettes and not wearing shirts. We were ready to move on to a nicer area. Yes you might say we are camping snobs but we much prefer to camp in the mountains as opposed to a lot by the side of the highway.

 This morning we were ready to pack up and head out. We reserved a site at Paris Mountain State Park which is north of Greenville. Jim was having trouble hooking the truck up to the trailer because there was not enough room between our trailer and the one in front of us. After many attempts we asked the man if he could move up a little but instead he retracted one of his additions that slide out and we were able to get on our way. We drove north of Greenville to a beautiful campground in the mountains. 

It was not crowded. It’s in the shade so we don’t need the air conditioning and it’s clean and feels safe. We set up camp and then decided to drive over an hour to Sassafras Mountain, the highest mountain range in South Carolina. First of all to those of you who solely rely on GPS, learn to read a map. GPS does not work in the mountains. Even with a good map sometimes it’s hard to find your destination. Eventually we reached Sassafras Mountain. There was nothing there with the exception of a spectacular view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

We got a little lost on our adventures back to the campsite and ended up in North Carolina. Like I said read a map and don't rely on GPS. All was good. We stopped in Brevard, NC at a really cool organic grocery store and stocked up on a few things. Jim bought the very last piece of fresh tuna from the waters of North Carolina. We've been wanting seafood to grill out every since we started the trip. We also pulled into a random parking lot with a self serve ice machine to add fresh ice to our coolers. 

Dinner was spectacular.