Posted on 03/16/2009 12:26:33 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
I am going on a road trip to attend a conference in the Greenville area later this week and would appreciate any advice from South Carolina Freepers on area attractions, scenic routes, places to get good food, etc. Although I will be in the area from Thursday to Sunday, I won't have as much time as I want to visit Charleston and Fort Sumter or Atlanta, so I am restricted to Upstate. Your advice is very much appreciated.
Watch out for rednecks *ppfffft*!
Another vote for Cowpens, and King’s Mountain. If you have a little more time, there is Ninety-Six, another Rev-War Battlefield.
If you go north, take 278 and drive to Brevard, NC. A beautiful town just north of Greenville, then follow it up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping at Looking Glass Falls, Sliding Rock, the Cradle of Forestry and the Fish Hatchery. The Fish Hatchery has one of the most spectacular views on the east coast, sitting at the bottom of John’s Rock. If you make it to the Blue Ridge Parkway, go west and stop at Yellowstone Falls, and go up to the Devil’s Courthouse. If the weather is clear you can see forever from up there.
If you go East from 278, you get to see the Pink Beds and Mount Pisgah and the Pisgah Inn. Nice places to stop also. This is all within 10 miles or so of Brevard (admittedly straight up from Brevard) and worth the drive. When I was a Boy Scout, we camped about 1000 feet below the Inn in the Pink Beds. It was a wonderful stay, up to and including the visiting Bear.
Another worthwhile side trip is the botanical gardens at Clemson University. Mom makes us take her there everytime we visit and it's never the same.
I've seen a lot of the world and the only place which comes close to matching the Carolina uplands in the variety of flora is Japan.
The conference is at Clemson, so this is a perfect first place to stop at, after the conference is over.
Be advised that the hooligans in SC think that roast pig is improved by addition of a mustard based sauce. Be sure to eat your Que in NC or VA. Other than that strange aberration, they’re generally good folks.
Mustard Based sauce is ok by me, but, I do prefer the BBQ that you get around Augusta, GA (either side of the river), centering on Sconyer’s.
Any day with a plate of BBQ is a good day, no matter what the sauce, as long as it is Hot!
BTW, the Highway from my post is 276 not 278. 278 is a highway that runs through South South Carolina.
The drive on 276 is something to behold all the same.
There was a golf course at Clemson's conference center. And, perhaps, I should have skipped out for a bit. ;-)
My hotel is within walking distance of the Mimi's on Woodruff Road.
Tonight: the food was delicious, the price was right, the service was excellent, and the manager gave me a free tray of muffins because it was my first time at a Mimi's. It was like Carrabba's except better.
I love all roads, but I do hate deer. [Unless we're talking about deer bbq.]
Don't know about the "aberration," but you're right about the folks here in South Carolina. They are wonderful.
Terrain is a little steep for deer, once you get out of Cashiers. Honestly. The sort of road with sheer cliff going down on the Cashiers side, overlooking Whiteside Cove, and sheer rock going up on the Highlands side. There’s even a waterfall along 64 you can (or could, been a while since I’ve been up there) drive your car behind on a turnout off the side of the highway.
At the overlook, it’s a prettier view than just about any stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway, barring the Linn Cove Viaduct area near Grandfather; Only the Cherohala Skyway is better, as far as a gorgeous sweeping mountain view on the east coast, imho.
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