Lake Greenwood, SC

     On Tuesday 11/8, which was Election Day, we departed Crossville, TN, where we had made a visit to The Gardens RV Community.  The Gardens are located up on the Cumberland Plateau, and is a housing community that specializes in building RV garages with their homes. There are about 170 homes in the community, each one with an RV garage, and there were numerous others in the construction phase.  The residents were extremely friendly and we were given 2 nights free camping, which we always enjoy.  We picked up some great ideas and perhaps there may be a new RV garage going up on Chateaugay Lake.
    We arrived at our new home over on Lake Greenwood near Cross Hill, SC at a motor coach resort called Lake Greenwood Motorcoach Resort.

This resort has privately owned lots to buy or rent, and overlooks Lake Greenwood which boast over 200 miles of shoreline.  All sites are paved, and vary in costs depending on the view of the lake.  Peak season here in SC is summer, so we had no trouble getting in, and the hosts say we can stay all winter if we'd like.  We've had temps in the high 70's the last few days, and it would be tempting.  But I would bet that Debbie would insist on going west to San Diego.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    This is how we like to spend the evening watching the sun go down across the lake.  We've been on the road about 2 weeks now, and this has been our first opportunity to stop and enjoy this wonderful weather.  We're located a little off of the beaten path, but it was definitely worth the journey over here.  We're not sure if we should keep this place a secret, or let our friends know of this place.

      It does have the restriction of only allowing Class A RV's here, and that may sound a little snooty, but the people here are extremely friendly, and love to stop and visit.  It really is comforting knowing the "rif-raf" won't be your neighbor tomorrow.   This place has all the amenities:  clubhouse, heated pool, jacuzzi and outdoor cooking area.  We really could get spoiled here.  We found a place up the lake to rent a boat, so tomorrow we're going to rent a pontoon boat and see what this lake has to offer.
   

     Today we ventured over to the Ninety-Six National Historic Site, which was the scene of several battles from the Revolutionary War.  Actually this site was more of a civil war type confrontation instead of a Revolutionary War site.  This area of South Carolina was deemed important since it guarded access to the west from the Charleston area.  British Loyalists and Colonial Patriots fought several battles prior to any formal army ever arriving in this area.

      For our friends who travel I-87 in NY, you will recognize the name Thaddeus Kosciuszko.  A bridge spanning the Hudson River is named after him.  We were surprised to read about his role in the siege of the Loyalist's Star Fort, built near the town of Ninety Six. Col. Kosciuszko was a Polish native, and had been trained in Europe in the classic siege type warfare.  A siege typically involves surrounding the enemy's position and slowly cutting it off.

Under the directions of Col. Kosciuszko, the patriots started digging parallel trenches from a distance of about 200 yards, toward the fort.  Eventually, according to plan, the trenches would allow the patriots to get close enough, with cover, to eventually storm the fort.  Unfortunately, reinforcements for the British garrison were due to arrive, and the attack occurred before the Patriots were ready.  A force of 50 Patriots attempted to storm the fort, but were unsuccessful in their attempt.  The Patriots had to abandon their siege on the fort with the pending arrival of 2000 British soldiers from Charleston.      Clearly visible today are the star shaped mounds which were the original outer walls of the Star Fort, along with the trenches used to approach the fort. Eventually the fort was abandoned and the town of Ninety Six was burned as the British fled back to Charleston.
     I forgot to mention the results of the election. Probably doesn't mean much today, but it will be interesting reading about this in about 20 years. Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in a hotly contested presidential election.  Two days later, the country is still in an uproar!  The Democrats are pretty pissed off, accusing the Republicans of a "whitelash", and being a bunch of racists.  Lots of friends aren't talking to each other right now, but I'm confident there will be a smooth transition of power on January 20, 2017.  And that's all I'm gonna say about that,
      We'll be here in SC through next Tuesday, when we move back north into Virginia. We have plans to attend the All American Bluegrass Festival, and that is really going to be fun.  Then we'll be heading up to Plattsburgh for Thanksgiving with MAE.  Boat ride on Lake Greenwood tomorrow.  Should be a great day!