Spartanburg

A couple of weeks back Donna and I drove to Spartanburg to see Angela Easterling and the Beguilers perform a free outdoor concert at R.J. Rockers Brewery. They are a local group that I recently enjoyed seeing at the Rhythm on the River concert series in West Columbia and was eager to see again. However, when we got to R.J. Rockers around 7:00, the time at which both their and Angela's websites said she'd start, an opening act was performing. I inquired and learned that Angela wouldn't be going on until 9:00, which would have had us getting home really late, so we ended up passing on the concert, but we had a good trip nonetheless.

En route to R.J. Rockers we visited the remains of Glendale Mills near Spartanburg, a site I visited earlier in the year that was worth another visit. It was a booming textile mill during the 1800's up through 1961. The grounds around the mill are a nice place for a stroll; it's built on the Tyger River, so it's nice walk up and down it, with a dam and old bridge spanning it.















We watched this blue heron catch a few fish for dinner.


From Glendale Mills we headed over to the Beacon Drive-In, where we had their barbecue. It was pretty good, though a bit unusual - instead of shredded, pulled, or chopped pork, it was cut into 1-inch chunks. The sauce was a bit like salsa, but the pork had a good, smoky flavor on its own, so sauce wasn't really needed. The plates were served "A Plenty," meaning fries and onion rings were heaped upon the plate, covering the meat underneath ... a second, empty plate is very useful. It was a fun experience, which is what the Beacon is all about. We were happy to see J.C., the order caller; he recently announced his retirement, so we didn't expect to see him there. It just won't be the same without him.

Sufficiently full, we headed into downtown. After visiting R.J. Rockers and deciding to pass on the music, we walked around for a while before heading home. There were several interesting sculptures made of bicycle parts on display.





This plaque is at the base of a sculpture ... good words by which to live.