Florence, SC

On June 18 I took a day off work and Donna and I made a day trip to Florence, SC to eat at Red Bone Alley and to explore a bit.

We stopped by the Florence Museum of Art, Science, and History, but the building was locked despite several cars being in the parking lot. They should have been open according to their website, and I later sent email inquiries to two addresses I found on their site, but I have received no replies.

Though we couldn't go in, we enjoyed a pleasurable walk around the grounds, where we saw this propeller and sundial.





After leaving the museum we drove around for a while looking at houses and such, and we passed by this little schoolhouse used by Henry Timrod, the poet laureate of the Confederacy.


This angel was in a cemetery we visited.


We also visited a national cemetery.




Florena Budwin, the first woman to be buried in a national cemetery, is buried here. She enlisted in the Union army disguised as a man during the Civil War so she could be with her husband. They were captured and sent to Andersonville, where her husband died. She was later transferred to Florence, and her gender was finally learned during an examination when she became ill and shortly thereafter died right before the war ended. Her grave is isolated from the others; it's a bit sad that despite her efforts to remain with her husband she is now separated from him.




By then we had worked up a pretty good appetite, so to Red Bone we headed. There used to be one in Columbia that we enjoyed eating at occasionally, but they unfortunately closed. So we then ate at the one in Sumter occasionally when we would visit Swan Lake, but it also closed, leaving only the original location in Florence. It was every bit as good as I remember; their steaks are super juicy and have a nice citrus taste from marinating in citrus juice. Yum!

There was a Books-A-Million next door, so we browsed for a little while before heading back to Columbia. A book on the bargain table, The Amnesiac by Sam Taylor, caught my eye right as we entered, so I bought it, and it has turned out to be pretty good.