South Cacalaki

We finally got our wheels out of Florida!  It was a long drive, but we landed just south-east of Columbia, South Carolina in between the small towns of Swansea and Pelian.

This was originally just a stop on the way to Virginia, but we lucked into Jellystone Park at River Bottom Farms, which for those that don't know usually means a bit more money, but more activities for the children.  This particular one had a great playground, a pool, an arcade, a massive dog park, and a bounce pillow!  The sites were green and separated neatly by split rail fence and the sites were placed around that central playground area. The owner and staff are onsite, and they were very helpful and extremely personable.  This looks like a great place to have a small rally somewhere down the road.

Of course the main thing Karen was hoping for was cooler weather, and all in all it was beautiful.  We had the windows open almost every night, and minus a little rain.  It was a pretty significant change from the Orlando weather, which has been trending hotter as of recent.  It was wonderful to get outside and really enjoy the weather.

Now, the Columbia area was also a bit of a surprise.  We had driven through on trips before, but never really thought much about the city itself.  This week gave us a little bit of a chance to explore.  We ended up checking out the city museum downtown, which was very nice.  They had an exhibit on the Romans that was very hands on and just tons of fun.

after the museum we checked out the Southern Belly's BBQ.  It was fantastic...huge servings of great BBQ!

We also had a chance to check out the Lexington County Museum in Lexington, SC.  It was great.  Our guide gave us a private tour of many of the old buildings they have preserved on the property.  She was full of interesting stories and a delight to chat with.  The buildings were varied and some were things we had never seen before, like the eight sided "pigeonaire" which was basically a big pigeon house where they could treat pigeons like chickens and collect eggs and birds for eating.  Cool stuff...I highly recommend it (the museum...not pigeons)!

All-in-all, we really liked the area.  It was not what any of us expected and ended up being a great stop over on our way north.  Next up...Gettysburg, PA!