Friday rolled around, and I snuck out of work a little early, and headed over to I-20 heading up towards Columbia South Carolina. I managed to beat the traffic leaving Atlanta, and within a couple of hours I was crossing over the state line. I made a quick pit stop, picked up a bottle of water and continued on my way. Earlier in the day I had done a quick hotel search, and found a really good rate in a little town called Lexington SC. I know NOTHING about the area, so I was nervous about being alone in a strange town. When I exited the interstate, it looked like every other highway exit...fast food, gas stations, etc. I headed into the town and was pleasantly surprised. Lexington is a typical southern small town. The courthouse is the centerpiece of the town, and the downtown district was full of small shops, restaurants and businesses. I found my hotel, the Quality Inn, and surprise number 2. It was very nice. Brand new, great TV, and one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in. I quickly unloaded the car, changed into my running gear, and headed out to explore the town on foot. I got in a nice 3 mile run/walk, came back ate some dinner and watched the remaining part of my NCAA bracket fall apart. At this point, I only had 1 team left. Disgusted with basketball, I called it a night.
The next morning, I visited the continental breakfast, grabbing a couple of eggs and a banana and headed to Congaree park to meet Sweetpea and the North Carolina Trail Dames, on their inaugural hike. I met Chris, Wendy, Lynn, Dedra, and Lynda, (sorry if I totally screwed up the spellings) and ran up and gave my friend Sweetpea a great big hug. Seems like forever since I had seen her. We picked up maps from the visitors center and headed out on the elevated boardwalk trail. Quite a different type of hike than I am used to, it was a self guided nature walk, and the map had information about different numbered spots on the hike, so we learned about all kinds of swampy stuff. The park is an old growth forest, so there were some really big trees there, and lots of Cypress trees and palmettos. 
At one point, we came across this huge tree that we were trying to estimate the circumference of, so we circled the tree, it took 6 of us to reach all the way around the tree. That sucker was huge. We also saw many palmetto trees, and I finally saw a pawpaw tree. I had no idea what they looked like before, but thanks to the map, I found several. We finished up the hike, said our goodbyes, and I headed home. All in all, it was a great first hike for the NC dames, I met some really nice women, and had a chance to catch up with what is going on in Sweetpea's life. I can't wait to hike with them again.
At one point, we came across this huge tree that we were trying to estimate the circumference of, so we circled the tree, it took 6 of us to reach all the way around the tree. That sucker was huge. We also saw many palmetto trees, and I finally saw a pawpaw tree. I had no idea what they looked like before, but thanks to the map, I found several. We finished up the hike, said our goodbyes, and I headed home. All in all, it was a great first hike for the NC dames, I met some really nice women, and had a chance to catch up with what is going on in Sweetpea's life. I can't wait to hike with them again. Until next time.... You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through- Rosalyn Carter.
Giant cypress AND pawpaw! Wow! I'll have to check this place out. Nice trip report.
ReplyDeleteHey you! Nice report. So glad you came. Thanks again for your support my friend!
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