Saying goodbye to Spartanburg, SC…

Tomorrow we leave Croft State Park here in Spartanburg, SC to head up the road to Gafney, SC to stay at the freightliner repair center. They have RV sites behind their facility so that will be our temporary home till we get our repairs done. Our time here in Spartanburg has been enjoyable. We liked our stay in the Aberdeen, NC area better but this has been a pleasant stay none the less.

The highlights here were the park itself, the proximity to Greensville, SC, the inexpensive prices of gas and diesel as compared to the rest of the USA, and quaint little downtown area of Spartanburg. I also have to put in a plug for Ranger Rick here in Croft because without his hospitality our stay would not have been as nice as it was.

We would definitely stay again here in Croft State Park if we were passing through this area. If you wander through this way and have a 35 foot or larger rig make sure to reserve sites 28, 30, or 49 in the lake loop as they are the best sites for this size rig. These sites have fairly level gravel pads and good views of the lake (it is down a fairly steep slope and the view is through a buffer of woods – but it is still nice).

While here we enjoyed mountain biking, hiking, and exploring the history of this area. The mountain bike trails in Croft SP are very demanding but even walking a bit of the trails were found enjoyable by us. Biking in nearby Greenville is easy and also very enjoyable and while there a must see is Furman University and the Falls Park as they are both so serene and peaceful places to visit.

The music on the main and jazz on the square are weekly Spartanburg events that can be enjoyed by all. Also there are numerous “joints” to try out for a meal or cold beverage as well. We enjoyed our “aplenty” meal at the Beacon, our vegetable plate at Wade’s, our breakfast at Papa’s Nook, our cold beverages and dinner at the Copper River Grill, and our cold beverages and redneck burger at Nu-ways.

We will spend our last day here cleaning up the motorhome and we may go up the road a ways to explore an old historic cemetery on the park property. Our final night will find us exploring the RJ Rocker’s Brewery for their “taste and tour” that is held on Thursday evenings to try their finely crafted brews. Then we will pack it all up and head to Gafney in the morning, farewell, Spartanburg…

Bike Ride in Greenville, SC…

Well after a hectic Memorial Day weekend we moved one more time on Sunday to our final spot here along the Lake in Croft State Park. We will be here till Friday when we will finally leave Croft and head to Gaffney, SC for some repairs to the motorhome. You see, when we drove east from Texas about half way here our emergency flashers and cruise control quit working and our turn signals are not acting right either. The Freightliner shop in Gaffney said we could come over on the weekend for our 8 am Monday appointment, so it off to the shop we will go on Friday…

Before leaving this area we wanted to return to Greenville, SC one more time so we could ride our bikes along the Reedy river in downtown Greenville. We also needed to visit Trader Joe’s there one more time to stock up on some “Two Buck Chuck” and other Trader Joe goodies. So on the last day of May we were headed over to Greenville. But, before we got there, we stopped at a local church that we had seen in the area but had not yet visited. The architectural style of this church first caught my eye a week or so ago and we said then that we needed to visit it. So when we were passing by it this day we stopped to take a closer look since we were in no real hurry…

Now I am a spiritual man but not a regular Sunday go-to-church worshiper but this church, if we had found it sooner, may have called for a visit on a Sunday just to see the inside and what messages were being delivered from such a gothic structure. The church, as with many I have seen here in the deep south, has people buried right on the property. We even found one grave marker with a person born in the late 1700’s… WOW!!! We found this church so fascinating I am going to write a blog for Road Treats to include more pictures… look for it soon…

Then it was off to Greenville where we found some free “2 Hour” parking near Falls Park in the downtown area. We packed a lunch and our bikes and rode from the parking lot over to the “Swamp Rabbit Trail” to Falls Park for lunch. Right in the middle of the downtown area is a small river that flows through the heart of it and there is a fabulous waterfall right in the middle of downtown. The header picture is of this falls.

From Falls Park we had a nice bike ride along the scenic river through Cleveland Park over past the Zoo. We rode around on the rather hilly trail for about 7-8 miles and then returned to the car.

But before returning to our home we wanted to visit Furman University since one of Sharon’s former bosses went to school there and said we should visit since it was such a beautiful campus. Boy, was he right as the campus sits in the foothills of the mountains and has a central lake that is surrounded by lush green vegetation that is the focal point of the campus. The bell tower reflects nicely if the lake. We even saw a swan building her nest alongside the lake. What a beautiful campus it is…

Then it was off to Trader Joes and the return back to our home. We had a great day and ended it with dinner at the Copper River Grill.This is a regional chain that I think has great potential to go nationwide. The food is excellent, the service is excellent, and the quantity of food and prices are perfect. If in the area you need to visit one of their establishments.

From Gaffney we will likely head north into Virginia and West Virginia but we have no plan yet as to where we will stay. Since we don’t know for sure when we will be able to leave Gaffney we will just play it by ear…