Upstate Roadtrip

Last week I went traveling with my co-workers for the express purpose of seeing small, Upstate South Carolina towns during the pretty time of year in the mountains. There wasn't much color in the trees and it didn't feel as much like being in the mountains as I usually do in North Carolina, but sometimes we would get a view and I knew I was definitely on the crest of the Blue Ridge.

Generally, I found small towns in the Upstate to be more prosperous than small towns in the Lowcountry. Here is the pretty B& B we stayed in in Lyman which is on the road between Spartanburg and Greenville. These days it's about the only thing in Lyman, but back in the day, (the early 1900s) it was the home of the owner of the textile mill. 

 The Walnut Lane Inn in Lyman, SC

Textile mills were huge in this part of the state -- as were classic mill villages. Say what you will about "paternalism" but many people worked in otherwise lean times. During the Great Depression no one had money, but the mills gave you "script" you could spend at the company store. It was better than nothing, which was another option of the day..

Here is my theory -- I'm sure those more learned than I can argue, but, from what I've read, it seems that maybe white people in the Upstate were not as dependent on slaves as they were in the Lowcountry prior to the Civil War. They had them, but they worked on farms, not the vast "plantations" more common on the coast. After the War when slavery collapsed,Upstate farmers were able to downsized their operations until they were manageable and pretty soon the railroads starting bringing business to town -- and then those textile mills got going. 

People in the Lowcountry couldn't manage the huge indigo, cotton, and rice operations with just family. They certainly weren't going to go wading out in the swamp and fight the mosquitoes, so they mostly just wrung their hands and despaired. Really, not much helped until air conditioning and tourists came along and if you were inland from the coast, you still aren't in great shape.

So, there you go, a one-minute overview of South Carolina, past and present.

Here is one more odd little happening on our trip. We met this Blue and Gold Macaw by the name of Co-Pilot at a restaurant in Landrum where we were having lunch on the patio. Apparently everyone in Landrum knows him and he goes out to eat frequently. He had just returned from a vacation to Dollywood (definitely fall under the category of "You can't make this stuff up.")

When Co-Pilot realized we were friendly, he moved right in on us. Below, Kerri's daughter Katie is standing beside her mom with her arms crossed while Co-Pilot checks out our leftovers. Katie's chair was Co-Pilot's quickest path between his own table and ours. She decided she wasn't going to stand between a parrot and the potato chips.

 It's good to be home. The next thing we're looking forward to is Mom's visit next week.