Wanderings: September 20 - What a day in Camden!

We left for Camden at 8:45 am. There was low lying fog as we passed the scenic viewpoint at the end of the road where our cabin was. It was 65 degrees but was forecasted to be 90 degrees in Camden.

We passed Athens on the road to Princeton - the picture above shows the fog - Athens has some old gingerbread houses that were probably gorgeous at one time.

I am surprised at all the golden rod along the roads - sometimes fields and fields of it. Are people growing it? What can it be used for?

We passed through the tunnel under White River mountain. There was a sign along the highway "Purple Heart State" with a cop nearby laying in wait! We went through another tunnel - Big Walker Mountain Tunnel. How did they ever build these tunnels through the mountains!!

We passed by many farms and and cattle between the mountains. There was also a lot of road works. We saw 2 UPS trucks pulling UPS wagons - first time I've seen that - is that more efficient for the driver or more work?

We were driving down one main road and all of a sudden the road ended - no sign indicating which way to go!

We made it to Charlotte about 11:25 am. We stopped at a friendly visitor center in South Carolina. One of the guys' mother was from Crete - he told us that Greece had a history of dred locks from 300 BC! He said his family was just like the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Another greeter told Vickie that Camden was historic for Revolutionary War battles - Americans lost but it was a turning point in the war. Of course my brother already knew this - he is a history buff.

We got off the highway and started driving a wooded country road for miles - we were following an old pickup truck for a while - maybe we were driving through a forest - there was only one area with houses - it was on a lake and was full of boats and maybe a resort? We finally reached Camden about 1 pm maybe.

Vickie's cousin Barbara and her son Tim couldn't have been more welcoming - they were so happy to see Vickie and Johnny. They caught up, and then Vickie and Barbara reviewed some of their family history.

Barbara has a friendly black dog - some kind of spaniel maybe? She also has a nasty cat who scratches and bites Barbara, but she is too kindhearted to get rid of it. She has bird feeders in the yard and a humming bird feeder outside the living room window - I watched humming birds feeding while we sat there.

Barbara also has a pet duck - she bought it at an auction where they stuffed it into a box for her to take it home - in the process they broke the poor ducks' wings - so it is now wingless! He waddles up from the pond and pecks at the garage door to be fed!!

Here is a link to see the poor thing waddling along:

https://youtube.com/shorts/XaS1x_0YoHY?feature=share

Barbara had a nice charcuterie for us. Then we all took a drive to the cemetery where her husband Jim was buried. Then we drove through the downtown and to the visitors center where Barbara works part-time. It was a terrific set up - very educational and interactive. The National Park Service is set up beside the Camden visitors center - the house that British Lord Cornwallis took over is on the NPS. The battle of Camden was the worst American defeat in the war.

Camden is also horse country - they have a steeplechase course there. We want to come back here and explore the area more.

We headed back to Barbara's and said our goodbyes. It had been a wonderful visit - Barbara is so warm and kindhearted - Tim was quiet but was also very friendly. We promised to come again and stay for a couple of days.

We headed for Pipestem about 4 pm. We had gone along for about an hour and suddenly we got a flat tire! Johnny pulled over on route 77 at exit 75 in Rock Hill - we were right at the exit - not the best place to pull over. Johnny called AAA - they were sending someone. He also tried calling the Prep Boys who told them they were open until 7 and to call their tow company - they could fix the tire if we got there by 7. Of course we couldn't get through to the Prep Boys' tow company by phone or online. AAA said that someone should be there by 6:50ish. The tow company called and said they would be there about 7. Johnny called the Prep Boys who were sorry that they could not stay open a little later to fix our tire. So we started looking into hotels in Rock Hill since no place was open to fix the tire - every other place had closed by 6.

Johnny and Vickie had done all the calling because I had one bar on my phone and could not use it. I was thinking that if I had been driving alone and this happened, what would I have done with no cell service? I had a single bar of data but couldn't pull up anything on the internet. We were waiting for 2 hours in a dangerous location - no one stopped - no police came by. Could I have called 911? How long would I have sat there? Johnny and Vickie had cell service - maybe it's time for me to get a new phone.

The tow company arrived and put the donut tire on after inflating it with air. Johnny drove to a Comfort Inn in Rock Hill that Vickie had found online. We had no luggage - no pajamas, no clean clothes. They gave us toothbrushes and toothpaste. We got two rooms - ordered Dominoes delivery - we watched the end of The Holocaust in our separate rooms before going to bed.

The Holocaust ended with a service in Dachau concentration camp. I had visited this camp in 1978 with my friends GeeGee and Julie. I remember how terrible those gas chambers and ovens were - the whole place was terrifying and heart breaking. We were traveling on a bus tour with Abe, an older Jewish man whose family was murdered in a concentration/killing camp. It was awful to see his fear and pain. It is unfathomable to think that humans could do these things. But it is worse to see the rise of white supremacy again - to see the overturning of basic rights - to see the breakdown in our institutions - to see the mass killing of blacks, Jews, LGBTQs because they are different from the killers, the killings of innocent school children by young white men who feel alienated or bullied. It all reminds me of the Nazis and the cruel atrocities that they inflicted on millions of innocent peoples. As they say, history repeats itself.

I am home now preparing to publish this episode of the blog because I wanted to include some pictures I took at Dachau.

Dick and Diane Chernoff, Abe and GeeGee in East Berlin - Abe was afraid to go into East Berlin in case he would be detained because he was Jewish. But we all rallied around him.