A SWEET Palmetto State Surprise!

In the middle of this pandemic - with everyone working from home and kids doing school from home and us making do with what we can find in our pantry (currently working on a sourdough starter because THERE IS NO YEAST) - it’s nice to get a little surprise. 

Enter my surprise! 

Y’all, I’m SO EXCITED to share with you that the newest book in my Amazing States series is here (like 4 weeks early too). Amazing South Carolina isn’t SUPPOSED to be available for purchase until May 16th (I think… time means nothing these days), but I just got my first copies from NewSouth Books and you can get yours early too! 

 Amazing South Carolina was a bit different than both Alabama and Georgia because there are only 46 counties. And while the book technically has less pages, it’s just as packed full of fun things to learn and color! 

 I have favorite pages and I’m sure you will too. My entire family lives in South Carolina and I grew up traveling up 85 from Georgia to see them. There are things on many of the county pages that are meaningful to me - things I remembered visiting as a little girl and places I’ve visited for the first time as an adult. 

One constant on every trip to see my family is the Peachoid. This massive peach shaped water tower also graces the cover of Amazing South Carolina and the Cherokee County page. 

As a little girl I remember begging my parents EVERY.SINGLE.TIME to stop at the “big peach” (as I called it), but in reality - the peach meant that we were on the home stretch. The peach is almost at the North Carolina border and we’re only about 30 minutes from my grandparents’ house when we’re passing the peach. Come to think of it - I don’t think I’ve ever actually stopped at the Peachoid. I’ve taken countless photos of it through the years, but I’ve never stopped. I guess that’s something we’ll have to do next time we’re headed to the Upstate. 

This gem is part of my Rock Hill family. From left to right: Dad, Mom, Granny, and seated in the front is my PawPaw and Aunt Anne. This has to be some time in the early 1970s.

My family all lives in the upstate - York County, to be exact. My Mom is from Rock Hill and my aunt and uncle still live there (or close by). My dad grew up in North Carolina but he was living in Rock Hill when he and Mama met. The surviving members of Dad’s family all live in Clover - also in York County.

 When I was little my parents had a camper and we would always pull it all the way from our home in Georgia to Myrtle Beach. Sometimes we’d go to my grandparents house first and pick up one-or-more family members before heading to the beach. Not an easy detour, but still fun. I remember LOVING it when we stayed at the Ocean Lakes Campground. It was/is oceanfront and they had a pool and a park. I had my first push pop at their little campground store. We’d get to our campsite and my poor dad would go to work while Mom and I went to the store and got some groceries. 

Me and Dad exploring the beach sometime in 1978.

I remember going to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, taking the ferry to Fort Sumter in Charleston, going to Kings Mountain and hiking through the park learning more about my Revolutionary ancestors. I remember going to see the Christmas lights in McAdenville, attending a beautiful seaside wedding in Hilton Head, and hiking the trails along the scenic Hwy 11.

Kings Mountain Battlefield: This was several years ago after Dad and I found out one of our ancestors fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain.

I haven’t been to every single county in the entire state, but I’m working on it - and I’m using my copy of Amazing South Carolina as a fun travel guide to the 46 counties that make up this incredible state! 

If you’d like to purchase your very own copy of Amazing South Carolina BEFORE it’s available in stores, click the link below and I’ll get it in the mail for you ASAP!