Travels with Edna and Papi: LAKE WATEREE, RUSSELL'S BBQ, COLUMBIA AND RENOFEST (fancy fiddlin') and "GO GAMECOCKS"!

March -April 2017

WATEREE LAKE RECREATION AREA AND CAMDEN, S.C.

Driving into Camden towards Wateree Lake (a recreation area for military and their families) was like driving back into time, more like the 1800's. The buildings and houses were old with small church steeples on every street pointing high towards the sky. Our drive towards the lake was only thirty minutes from town. Our RV spot was located between tall trees with a beautiful view of the lake. We were going to love this quiet, peaceful place with fishing only yards away and lots of space for the dogs to run with only a couple neighbors. The first morning at this "quiet" place we were awakened around 5am by the thunderous sound of engines and a mans' voice over a loud speaker. Being attached to a nearby military base, we thought they were some sort of military exercise only to find out it was an annual fishing tournament for a small fish called "crappie". The loud sound of engines were hundreds of fishing boats and the man's voice was the tournament official. There was so much to take in at this beautiful part of South Carolina. We drove to Camden (about 30 miles and the nearest town) for a craft beer festival where a local brewery made a beer similar to what they drank in the 1700's. The historic location was where part of the Revolutionary War was fought and close to plantation homes of the 1800's.

COLUMBIA AND "THE GAMECOCKS"!

On a walk in Columbia, the dogwoods were starting to bloom but driving out of the park area, was a speed limit sign of "18"mph?! The city of Columbia is a beautiful old historical city and the capital of South Carolina. We toured the capital and state buildings and at one point Daisy saw a squirrel, breaking away from our grip, nearly running into the state building. There was a lot of excitement here at Columbia due to the Carolina "Gamecocks" boys and girls basketball playing in the NCAA champion playoffs. We were on a mission to be part of the excitement by purchasing our "Gamecock" shirts! The boys basketball games were exciting to watch but they ultimately ended up losing to Gonzaga.

Staying right on the lake was exciting for Perry since he could go fishing everyday and of course (as promised), I joined him once or twice. Those darn "crappie" fish taunted my line and I wasn't leaving until I caught one. A crappie snagged my line and I was instructed how to reel it in. It was only about four inches long so I sent that little "booger" swimming! We ventured off to check out neighboring towns and driving down the tree-lined hilly roads once again I was fascinated by the run down houses neighboring the rather large, newer homes. When you're in the south (especially South Carolina) you have to try the local cuisine southern BBQ and of course the unassuming places are the best. It was after 2:00 when we walked into Russell's BBQ and were greeted with southern hospitality! The food was amazing but more importantly the owners, Allen and Sherie Russell, sat down and visited with us. We could have talked for hours! Enjoying our visit so much, we knew we would be venturing back that way again before moving on to our next destination.

RENOFEST

Blending in with the locals is fun for us and of course we needed some good ol' southern fiddlin'. We found a fiddlin' contest about an hour from Lake Wateree called "Renofest". I didn't know what to expect but loving music, I could appreciate the talent of the banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass players and apparently so did the man next to us who kept hollering "Geddir Done"! We enjoyed the Renofest but after a couple ours….we were done!

Perry and I volunteered to clean up the recreation area on a Saturday along with 90 other volunteers and were shown appreciation with a barbecue lunch.

We continued to relax on the beautiful lake but also explored the historical town of Camden with many areas of the town dating back to the Revolutionary War. The southern hospitality spilled over to the local church I attended and without a doubt we were really going to miss this place!

NEXT- YOU NEVER CAN GO BACK, THE MASTERS' TOURNAMENT AND TOTOS' TOO!