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Greenville, NC
I decided to brave the rain and take advantage of a short dry spell and explore downtown Greenville. Even with the lousy weather, lots of people filled the sidewalks, restaurants and shops. Parking was challenging but I landed a spot, grabbed my umbrella and headed to the riverwalk and over the Eugenia Duke Bridge. It is named for one of Greenville’s female entrepreneurs (Duke’s Mayonnaise). It crosses the Reedy River and pointed me perfectly to the Liberty Bridge and Reedy River Falls. This beautiful 345 foot suspension bridge gives pedestrians a perfect view of Reedy River Falls, the gardens (Falls on the Reedy Park) below and an entry point to Swamp Rabbit Trail. The park allows you to get right on the water and take pathways to swings and other seating.
I walked down South Main Street to the West End. Apparently this area was the former location of Furman University. While walking around I enjoyed beautiful public art in the form of murals, statues and glass art including a Dale Chihuly. Pedrick’s Garden was next to the Chihuly piece. This two-acre garden honors a local community leader and was in full bloom.
I visited a fabulous bookstore in the former Greenville County Courthouse. It was another great example of repurposing a historic building for a new era. This bookstore had several nooks, murals and creative displays. It hosts lots of writing classes and events, too.
Greenville feels small in size but large in personality. The downtown area was clean and very walkable and served as a great introduction for my two weeks in Greenville. I look forward to exploring more in the upcoming weeks.
40th College Reunion
40th College Reunion. I don’t necessarily recommend going from 0 to 40 without any intervals of visits. But, that’s what I did given that my school was on the opposite coast of where I was living.
This weekend I spent celebrating my 40th college reunion for my AA degree. I was lucky enough to attend Oxford College of Emory, a small, intimate campus about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta. It was the perfect size given that my high school graduating class was 28 students! Most kids went on to Emory in Atlanta for their last two years of college, I actually transferred to University of Florida because I was required to take care of my brother.
The weekend started with happy hour in a hip part of midtown Atlanta on Friday night. It was an intimate way to start the festivities and some folks did not attend the actual reunion on Saturday, so it was good to be able to attend both the happy hour and the reunion the next day.
It was fun to walk the campus and go on a tour and have memories drop into my brain randomly. And even though the campus has changed and grown a lot, the original campus was alive and well, in my mind. The tour guides were students, and I loved their energy and enthusiasm. They enjoyed asking us questions about what campus was like when we were here. I told our tour guides to watch our reactions as we wandered campus because in 40 years they would be in our place going through the same thing and that 40 years happens quicker than you can imagine.
The day started with lunch at nearby Covington, which apparently is the town of Mystic in the Vampire Diaries series, which I have not watched. In college, I did not have a car so rarely left campus, except to visit TCBY in Conyers. Oh, the simple times.
I then spent the rest of the day on campus in a variety of activities. I think the best thing I visited was Dooley’s Tavern. So many memories of drinking, dancing and hanging out in that dilapidated, musty basement. So sad that it is now closed. As I walked through it, there were three current students asking me all kinds of questions of what it was like in it’s heyday.
It was fun to reconnect with old classmates, although many that I truly remember were not there. I wonder what happened to them. Overall, everyone looked great and seemed to have found happiness in their lives. I am so glad I was able to attend.
Atlanta History Center
Today I visited the The Atlanta History Center. It is one of the most varied museums I’ve seen with a large museum, three historic houses, and 33 acres of gardens and trails. Key things to see include the iconic Cyclorama painting, the elegant Swan House mansion, and the interactive Smith Family Farm.
Oklahoma City, OK
Once I crossed the border into Oklahoma (which I did not even realize because there is no grand announcement or large sign like many other states) I immediately saw Windstar Casino which is quite the vision – look it up! I did a double take.
After digesting it, I was struck with the wide open space on both sides of the highway. Wind turbines were present (another unexpected sight) and the air smelled so sweet and fresh. I took a quick detour to Turner Falls but could not walk it because no dogs are allowed (even though AI told me the opposite). I am learning AI cannot be trusted. I have found so many inaccuracies as I have used it during my travels.
My senses were alerted to all of the unexpected glimpses of Oklahoma. I love how travel can oh so quickly dispel the false notions of what is my head about a place! The surprises continued as I reached downtown. The city is beyond clean (like Singapore clean). Just wow!
I am visiting Oklahoma City because my mentee asked me to and I am so glad I did. We met for lunch as soon as I arrived in Norman, Oklahoma. Norman is the cutest town with University of Oklahoma as its main tenant. After a meeting, we met at the dog park. Needless to say, Pete was thrilled to meet all the fun-loving Oklahoma dogs! We then went to dinner in an area called the Paseo Arts District.
After dinner we went downtown since I wanted to see the Clara Luper Sit-In Memorial. I did not know about Clara or what she did. Her bravery was incredible and the bronze life-sized statues were impressive. Afterwards, we went to Tellers. It is a restaurant, hotel, bar and apartments in an old bank building. The bar is in the vault and we had a drink, of course. I also learned that Oklahoma has a sinners tax so be prepared for your liquor bill to have a 13.5% tax on top of the 8.5% sales tax! Thank goodness the building was beautiful, historic and so cool.
The next morning I visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, which was a sobering lesson in the Oklahoma City bombing. We walked the site with the ranger and he explained all the thoughtful details that went into designing and building the site including leaving the building wall with its damage exposed and the chairs in the garden that represent all the folks that were killed, including five lined-up chairs that represent the five people outside the building on the street that lost their lives.
I then drove to Myriad Botanical Gardens. Although this is not its prime season, it was still pretty and has a lot of great elements such as the ponds, children’s area, a stage and downtown as its backdrop.
I also drove through Bricktown. Needless to say, the weather has been amazing. My introduction to Oklahoma has been educational and surprising. I am really enjoying this part of the country. Tomorrow I will see Tulsa!
The Embarcadero
I walked the Embarcadero yesterday and learned of a new Port Art Loop being created on the waterfront. The goal is to bring up to 100 large-scale sculptures to San Francisco which creates a 34 miles walkable and bikeable trail. Public spaces=open-air art gallery. Looks like I better get walking!
Halloween
Today was a day of random experiences. It started with Twin Peaks. The view is unmatched (and so is the lack of parking). I will definitely visit again and try to find parking and hike to the top.
I then visited Buena Vista Park. This park has elevation, lots of tall trees and impressive views.
And finally I was on Grove Street in The Haight for Halloween. Yes, I walked Haight Ashbury and saw all the shops but more impressive were the beautiful Victorian homes. I then met up with a friend of a friend to hand out Halloween candy. But this was no ordinary event! The streets were shut off to cars, there was a band, lights and hundreds of pounds of candy. I was told that this is one of the primary areas kids come and trick or treat. And they showed up! Even Pete got into the action by licking any kid that got close enough while reaching into the candy bowl. The costumes were impressive and I loved seeing the sense of community.
The Pumpkin Patch
Just because I am wandering doesn’t mean I cannot honor traditions. My daughter loves time-honored traditions and the pumpkin patch is one of those traditions she holds dear. It does not matter that she is twenty-three; she still gets excited about picking out the perfect pumpkin or honestly, the one that no one else will take home because it’s not “perfect”.
We drove to Half Moon Bay, through Pacifica, along the coast with powerful, crashing waves beating the coast as we drove. Half Moon Bay has a cute downtown area and the pumpkin patch we landed at (Bob’s Pumpkin Patch) contained all the needed fall tidbits including goats, chickens, pigs, haystacks and plenty of pumpkins. It was a wonderful way to spend Sunday.
Coit Tower
It seems anything worth reaching in San Francisco requires an uphill climb and Coit Tower is in line with that requirement. But as in most places, I was rewarded with 360 degree views of the city and spectacular murals depicting California life during the Great Depression.
Museum Day + A Hike
Today I ventured out to visit the Legion of Honor (in Lincoln Park) and de Young (in Golden Gate Park) art museums. The Legion of Honor Museum is situated high on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The entry is stunning and the museum holds the largest collection of Rodin sculptures outside of Paris. It also has an impressive collection of European painters and contemporary art. This is the perfect-sized museum with just two floors and a digestible amount of art.
After leaving the museum I drove the Sea Cliff neighborhood (stunning!) to the Lands End hiking trail. The trail is easy and the views are spectacular.
I then drove to the de Young Art Museum. It is another two-level museum (so perfect-sized). It focuses on American art from the 17th century to present day. There was a special exhibit on Japanese comic art that I think Pearl would have loved. They also had some African art. Overall, I preferred the Legion of Honor museum but both are worth a stop.
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