6 Sep 2019
Well, off we go, unfortunately time to point north… Dipping out of Georgia and beginning to move through the South Carolina countryside I couldn’t help but notice a historical marker on the banks of the Broad River commemorating the Revolutionary War Battle of Fishdam Ford, which of all things, happened near the namesake ford by an Indian fishdam. Beyond those details it was pretty much unreadable! Too funny. The Americans had a leader, the British had a leader, American campfires made excellent targets of mounted British and one side won after the other was severely defeated! Curiosity piqued, had to read a little more…
Turns out that the story is a pretty good one, just have to go to Wikipedia to read it, not the road side marker :-). Gist is that the Americans were wary of surprise attacks by the British so slept in their cloths with weapons in hand while campfires burned brightly into the night. Sure enough, the British found the camp and made a Calvary charge imagining they were on the right side of the element of surprise. Sentries opened fire on the attackers as they approached, alerting the balance of the encamped soldiers, who scampered off into the woods, then turned around and opened fire on the Dragoons who were now in the middle of an empty camp and clearly illuminated by the camp fires. Turns out this band of Brits didn’t out wit their colonists subjects – and got the surprise rather than delivering it.
This place is certainly a unique one and I find it fascinating. A local community church that has survived long beyond it’s local community. We walked the grounds and felt the serenity of the place – could it be called holy ground? The sign on the door said “Welcome” and there is no doubt we were. The Lord is indeed a dwelling place of all generations. Thank you congregation for your faithful witness.
Not quite sure why this nondescript sculpture caught my attention as we passed by looking for food in Waxhaw NC, but it did, so I snapped a pic. Lunch around the corner at Stacks Kitchen was very nice and a great find.
Next stop the North Carolina Pottery Center. Seeing this pot at a distance is nice, and you understand it’s big – but wow, it’s really big! Who knew that this is pottery center for the U.S. and that it could be argued it has been for generations. We got a quick peek inside but only for a couple of minutes just at closing time. Perhaps visiting some of the 100 local potters could be put on the agenda for another trip.
Bit of architecture? Have to say that this pillar marking a drive along our route has to be one of the more interesting ‘modern’ examples I’ve seen. I put modern in quotes because, while it is a current build, the salvaged brick gives the column a beautiful patina, a cherry on top of this place dominated by red clay soil. Taken together with the pattern and stone it creates such a striking entrance. Have to wonder how much of this was thought out design, and how much happenstance? I’ll vote for thoughtful, creative, artistic, local aware design.
These two houses stood nearly directly across from each other near the border with Virginia, I wonder if they were related in some way? There were indications of restoral, I hope they can be returned to their former glory.
Well, that’s about enough for one day, we didn’t find a more suitable place to stop so this chain will have to do. Good meal, clean bed, and a shower – perfect end to the day!
Follow along on the map if you like. I do wish adding photos to the map works that way it should, unfortunately Google looses the photo reference and the links break so I stopped adding points. Perhaps I’ll sort out an alternative.