When the wife and I moved to Greenville, SC from Washington DC, we didn’t really know anyone. I set a meeting with mayor to talk about the city, the local economy, and get a sense of what’s in store for the metro area. We spoke for almost an hour and I enjoyed the conversation very much. I didn’t think my meeting request was weird at the time, but everybody now laughs at the mere mention of it. Anyway, I told the mayor that the main reason we chose Greenville over other cities across the southeast was the city council’s commitment to urban redevelopment and the relatively low cost of living. He suggested I write a guest column for the local paper about our decision-making process, so I did.
Greenville
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Aug 10
Aug 10
My Guest Column For The Greenville News
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Apr 10
Apr 10
Falls Park In The Snow
I was in the process of deleting old pictures from my phone when I ran across some pictures of Greenville after a brief snowstorm a few months ago. I think all the snow had melted by mid-afternoon, but it was pretty while it lasted.
I already posted some pictures of Greenville after a recent ice storm, but I thought I’d share these as well.
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Feb 10
Feb 10
My Letter in The Greenville News
I recently wrote another guest editorial for The Greenville News. This time, instead of printing it just as I wrote it, they butchered it down and ran it as a letter to to the editor. As is all too common, their selective editing removed the larger context of the piece.
Here’s their version: Letter: Downtown wants you for 120 minutes
The full piece is here:
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Feb 10
Feb 10
Greenville On Ice
We had an ice storm this past weekend. It was very mild and by Sunday morning the streets were navigable enough to do some sightseeing. Here’s the Reedy River from the South Main Street bridge:
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Jan 10
Jan 10
Jones Gap Falls
Last week, the wife and I decided to leave the house get some vitamin D. The foothills of North and South Carolina have many waterfalls, so we decided to visit one of the prettier falls about a half-hour away. Jones Gap Falls is in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area in northern Greenville County. It’s easy to access, fun to hike, and soft on the eyes.
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Dec 09
Dec 09
Pelzer Light People
In a suburb of Greenville, there’s a family that gets decked out in light suits and waves to passers by. We’ve heard about this bizarre spectacle for a few years and decided to drive by last night:
I guess Louie the Lightning Bug didn’t visit the schools in Pelzer?
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Sep 09
Sep 09
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Ever since I bought a used bike and my wife restored her old one, she’s been bugging me to get out and ride the new Swamp Rabbit Trail extension in Traveler’s Rest, SC. The Swamp Rabbit Trail is named for the defunct railroad line that used to pass through the area until 1993. Eventually, it will connect to the larger Rails to Trails network that spans the East Coast. I’ve been reluctant to ride the trail because it’s still a work in progress. All of the rails and ties have been removed, but the path isn’t completely paved. Our bikes are old and without shocks, and I like my teeth the way they are. Still, we headed out to Travelers Rest and started riding toward Greenville. We didn’t know how much of the trail was finished, but we’d heard that portion was in good condition.
This benchmark is full of information.
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Sep 09
Sep 09
Hincapie Wins the 2009 USA Cycling Championship
Greenville native George Hincapie won the 2009 USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championship on Sunday. It was an amazing race and we got really lucky with the weather. It was overcast and in the mid-80s all day, and the only rain was a light drizzle. My wife and I watched the first couple of mountain circuits froma sidewalk in the North Main neighborhood. Next, we saw the leaders in a break-away from the peloton as they maneuvered a curve on South Main Street. Finally, we worked our way to the finish line for the final city-circuits. The race cam down to the wire. Among a screaming crowd of thousands of hometown fans, Hincapie overtook Jeff Louder and outsprinted Andrew Bajadali in the final hundred meters.
This was the fourth year that Greenville has hosted the championship, and it by far the best-attended of the events. I’ve posted a gallery of pictures below the fold:
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Apr 09
Apr 09
The Liberty Bridge
In case you were wondering about the picture at the top of this website, it’s the Liberty Bridge in Falls Park in downtown Greenville:
The park’s most striking feature is a unique pedestrian bridge that curves around a waterfall on the Reedy River. Named the Liberty Bridge at Falls Park on the Reedy, the 355-foot (108 m) long suspension bridge is supported by cables on only one side, giving an unobstructed view of the falls. It was designed by Boston firm Rosales + Partners with German firm Schlaich Bergermann & Partner as structural engineers and completed in the fall of 2004. It was awarded the Arthur G. Hayden medal for innovative design in 2005.
It’s pretty impressive, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Browse through this gallery to see more pictures of the bridge and the park:
