Pickin' in Pickens

Many of you may have thought that I have fallen off the face of this earth… I assure you that if there was an edge of the earth that Pickens, South Carolina would be pretty close to it. But I love it out here. This will be extremely long, and I am certain that most of you will probably not read all of it, so I will just give a survey of everything that has happened in the boondocks. Maybe break up my story into little pieces like a bed time story… I have gotten pretty dang good at telling stories… just ask me. I have been in night story mode for about 5 weeks now. The "biggest" thing I learned out here? You may think that Georgia is known for its peaches, thus enabling it to have the largest peaches... but the largest peach in the world is actually located in Gaffney, South Carolina. Proof? I am to the right of the peach--Camera POV.

The ~7 days of orientation/training were pretty hectic. Long days not limited to activities such as an abundance of listening to things, doing tiring things, and practicing tedious things. It all paid off because I learned a lot about ropes, team building, and processing difficult situations. A little break: to the right is me sliding down Sliding Rock, which is a natural 70 foot waterfall slide. Cool, huh? North Carolina.

It was really fun working for a few days with the people from our sister camps such as Wildlife, Sewee, and 4-H. We work the more nerdy camps (ZQ and Voyager)… but not as nerdy as Summer Science Camp. Oh, and I learned that counselors do crazy things sometimes… like bring machetes to camp. The group I am working with is awesome: Jackie Kippen, Khalil Madani, Jeff Aglow, Lashia Wilson, Jackie (JP) Preston. Some of the highlights include: JP doing something manly (unladylike) during training, Lashia in downtown Greenville, Jeff on his 21^st birthday, duct taping Jeff’s sheets to his bed, flying fishing with Khalil, and talking about just about anything with Jackie.

Above/right is Jeff astonished at the kid's uncanny ability to duct tape sheets to a bed. Actually, it was me. Sucker. Below is our group at Table Rock/Caesar's Head, minus Jackie, plus Nick, who is this extremely knowledgable, awesome, hilarious, good-natured guy that helps us out as the maintenance guy, ropes instructor, and great friend.

The Youth Learning Institute is a big organization that runs through Clemson University. It has about 10 different camps, I think. The first two weeks of camp were Zest Quest University weeks. ZQ is a program that incorporates 7 healthy habits into curriculum. The habits include eating 3 vegetables, getting 9+ hours of sleep, incorporating more country ham into your diet, etc. Just kidding about the last one… that is one of the habits that I have been practicing on weekends. 

The biggest thing (literally) that happened at camp was Dwayne Allen being an intern. He is the tight end for Clemson University. He is going to play in the NFL. I could take him, though. Please do not blackmail him for giving the "Hook 'Em."

The first week was spent getting to know the ZQ coaches and the program itself. ZQ is a program with about 10 teachers, and many of those teachers helped us with curriculum. It was a lifesaver having them there assisting with field trips during the first week of camp. Our first week of camp was scholarship-based, so many of the kids had very crazy backgrounds. The coaches teach classes like physical activity, sleep, and etiquette. We were there to take kids around to do ropes, camp fires, and other stuff.

I will say that though I do not normally eat corporate cereal and milk, cartons of milk and Kellogg’s granola have been my saving grace during breakfast this past month. I am not going to eat pure sugar for breakfast, which is what many of the kids eat. Along with that, I have grown to love iceberg (bland) salad… that is pretty much the only thing I will eat at lunch, as lunch for the counselors is typically roast beef on cardboard wheat. One day a week we eat mashed potatoes from concentrate, processed chicken nuggets, and bitter green beans for dinner. That is the day that I bring my own snacks to dinner because I pretty much do not eat any of that! We get lasagna and spaghetti sometimes, and I eat about 4 portions to make up all the calories I missed out on the rest of the week.

As expected, I binge eat and drink on the weekends. No reason not to… I have to explore all the food I can on the weekends. I figure I only have 8 weekends to explore the culture of South Carolina. Did you know that none of the Southeast considers Texas part of the South? Khalil and I argue it a lot. If you think about it, Texas did grow the most cotton. On the other hand, if you think about “Westerns”, you think cowboys. What do people think when they hear Texas? Cowboys… There is no right answer. 

A little about Pickens: there is a mile of “downtown.” The rest is country and farm houses. It is awesome. To explain, let me show you where I get my haircut. If you look closely to the door's right (door POV), you see the classic red/white/blue candy pole. America!

My times fly fishing out here have been so humbling. They are what keep me going during the week. I get tangled most of the time and probably only fish about 50% of the time that I am on the water, but the tedious parts of fishing are not burdensome at all, surprisingly. Brett Deming, one of the old YLI directors, started a fly shop, and Khalil and he go out to the river a lot. I go out with them when I am up to it. I feel like I am holding them back, so I try not to bother them too terribly much. They love fishing so much, and I love their passion for it. It rubs off on me like crazy. One night, we went out to this gorge portion of the Eastatoe on SC11, and it was something straight out of a movie. We went around the gate, down a rock path, down a hill of tree stumps and rocks, and straight into a little valley of rocks and falls and rapids. We stayed until the late 9PM sunset. Amazing experience. Too bad I suck at fly fishing. 

Here is our most visited fly fishing spot. Khalil stands ready to conquer the little guys.

Now…what most of you expected me to write about: the food culture! Well, it is exactly what you expect out here. There is barbeque, meat and 3’s, and ham galore out here. I know I should be posting food pictures, but most of the food is not terribly photogenic. Plus, I take terrible pictures, to boot. A word about the BBQ: If you know me, you know I stand true to the No Sauce in Texas rule--save Franklin's because it is on a pedestal of its own. (See Franklin's BBQ) I love the Mustard-based vinegar sauce out here. It is typically the Eastern style, but I have found some solid mustard sauce out here in the Upstate. Apparently, SC has 3 BBQ styles depending on the region. Too bad I do not have enough time to explore this more. 

On weekends, we typically go out to Greenville. It has been listed as one of the top 10 places to retire. It is awesome; there is a big late night culture as well as a very close-knit community. I have grown to like coffee… mostly because of the wi-fi access. I do not get internet on my laptop at the site, so weekends are spent catching up on necessary things online at coffee shops.

Our latest week of camp was Camp Voyager. With 60 kids, there was bound to be some issues. The major one that freaked me out? Pink eye in my group. One of the girls caught it late in the week, and we all freaked out. She had to go home… and the next day, 3 other girls in my group complained of it. So scary. I also think one of my kids gave me a cold. You guys will get a hoot out of my group…. They were all black. And not just black… I mean like straight up black. I really liked them, and they really liked me, though. Let me just explain how hard I thought it was going to be. Their names are as follows: JAQuail, JAQcquez, Bri’Asha, Shayla, Shamir, Ronald, Ashaunti, Jasmine, Gabrielle, Bruce. Other African American names from the week: Tymashio, DeRonald, Tiari… the list goes on. Needless to say, it was a fun week. I mean... we did "The Dougie" for the talent show. Talk about soul. Below is my group.

 

There was plenty of stuff I left out, but I just wanted to give you guys a brief update of what I have been up to. Hope you enjoyed reading.

Welcome to Atlanta where da' playas' play

May 19th
Well, it has been fun, guys. My mini-road trip is coming to an end, and my mother is flying back to da' D F Dub from Hotlanta. I am starting to make bank in Pickens, South Carolina as a camp counselor. Yes, I am using slang because I am only in da' ATL once. Ok; sorry, that will stop now. Do not fear about my travels ending. I can assure you that this post will be SUPER exciting. To whet your appetite, this finale features enormous poultry, Will Ferrell-graced lands, and even... possible identity theft! Who knows, maybe I will be back for an encore blog while at camp. Not likely, as I will most likely not even have running water in the boondocks.

Oh, and yes, my clothing choice for my travels is still pretty much the same. I do change the necessities, though. If you do not know what that means, then shoot me an email: solomon.wang89@gmail.com

I headed out to Mountain Brook to get some breakfast early, and this area was so awesome. It was mountainous, brookous, and rich, and houses were awesome. I want to live in Alabama at some point in my life. It is green out here, and I do not mean chockful of marijuana or hippie and environmentally friendly, though those 3 aspects may indeed be present here. I just meant that I want to live among the foliage. Not to self: I will never use that word foliage again.

I swung back to pick up my mother at the great EconoLodge. We started our trip at 8AM, technically 9AM Atlanta time, so not to lose time on our day. As I was driving to my planned 1st stop, Anniston, AL (details to come), I saw something that caught my eye... TALLADEGA! The International Motor Sports Hall of Fame and Talladega race track are found here.

Now, I really did not enjoy Ricky Bobby, but I figured, why not be a true Southern boy and head out to the race track? I apologize that I did not take a really cool picture with me in my car giving a death stare to the camera; however, if you have seen my car, you know that it is a little girl car and would look a whole lot like a hot wheels car.

Next: Anniston, AL. As promised, I have now been to the World's Tallest Office Chair. Boom. See atop.

We got into Atlanta, and boy, is it big. We drove all around and were still in the city limits. We had lunch at Local 3. I got my pimento cheese fix here. Then, we drove to see the World's Tallest Chicken!!!!! Yes, I know you are jealous. While at this KFC of epic proportions, I noticed that my wallet was nowhere to be found. Cool and calm, I dialed Local 3, the only location where my wallet could have been misplaced. The conversation is as follows:

Me: "Hi, did I..."
Rafeek (nice African-American hostess): "Is this Mr. Solomon?"
Me: "Why, yes! My wallet is there, yes?"
Rafeek: Yes! Please come retrieve your monetary storage device.
Me: "Right away."

Praise the Lord!



We returned to rescue my lost wallet and proceeded to our hotel. Crazy awesome day, huh?

We took a long rest at the all-star lodge, Baymont Inns, and then headed into the Peachtree district to have dinner at Holeman & Finch, which is a really famous gastropub. Look it up! We walked around the area for a little while, and I am also sure that I want to live in Georgia at some point. There are so many trees around so many awesome eateries, with really hospitable people to boot. To the right, you will see that sometimes their signs are not as polite as the people. This "Wrong Way" sign simply just said NO. Well, at least they are upfront about your safety. We came back and watched the Mavs game. Oh, fiddlesticks. Then, rest. We had an early wake-up call for my mother's 8:30AM flight.

May 20th (doomsday--work begins)
I dropped my mother off at the airport and went to get some breakfast at West Egg Cafe. Pretty awesome breakfast. I met some girl that is getting her Ph. D at Georgia Tech, and she got her undergrad at UT! She is from the Memorial Area of Houston. Hook 'em. I walked around the modern Georgia Tech campus and then proceeded back to my hotel. Oh, I saw the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. Totally did not know that this sort of thing existed. I would totally want a job like that: researching what people write on. Talk about an impact. Countries are signed over on their products!



Before I left my hotel, I did what I do as tradition before I depart from a one-night stay. I made the bed fussy. That way, I know that I utilized my fees in cleaning, though I did not actually make a messy bed. I sleep fairly neatly, I think. The picture is as follows. Of course I do not actually roll up my blankets at home. Note the precise messiness.

On my way to camp, I made a (big) detour to Dillard, Georgia to eat some historical country ham lunch. :) Look up the Dillard House to get a picture of how random this trip was. Till then...

Walkin' in Memphis

Hey hey,

Sorry that I did not follow through with my desire to consistently post about my travels, but Tuesday and Wednesday were not very eventful. I did not want to make you read a pointless rambling of my thoughts, so I saved all of the goodies for today. I was also too tired, as I have been going to bed at the hour of 11PM. I mean, when in the back country, rise with the sun, right? Let me just give you a sneak peek of what you are about to experience: kisses! Talk about heated plots. Stay tuned to find out all about Solomon's life.

As a disclaimer, I know that many of you will ask, "Why are you wearing the exact same jeans and vest in all your pictures?" I will reply to you, "I am in God's great low country, and I am not trying to earn anyone's approval. I am merely trying to enjoy all that He has made for us." If you still find reason to argue with my clothing choice, then fight me. My jeans are indestructible.

May 17th

The 2nd day started with a little breakfast at Boulevard Bakery in downtown Little Rock, and I'll tell you, there is not much to do out in Little Rock, Arkansas. It just screams "retire here." We made our way over to Memphis, and as soon as we crossed that border (AR-->TN), we knew we were no longer in Arkansas, whose motto is "Regnat Populus." That means the People Rule. Arkansas is chock-full of Southern democrats... in fact, many streets were called Democrat Ln., St., Rd. That was way more political fiber than you wanted. Anyway, Memphis was pretty modern when you crossed that beautiful Mississippi River bridge.



I will say that there is one pretty pyramid when you come into Memphis. That is all I will say about the skyline. Above to the left: pyramid. There.

My mother and I had lunch at Alcenia's, which is a recently-popularized little soul food joint in the run-down district of Memphis. The owner gives everyone a kiss on the head. Nice; my mother and I felt loved. The food was pretty dang salty, but hey a little sodium never hurt anyone.. who did not show signs of heart complications. After lunch, we got an oil change for my automobile. Then, we checked into our ghetto hotel. They had 2 plugs for the entire room, no blow-dryer (my mom blow-drys her hair), and no facial tissue. That's whack.

We headed over to the Memphis Botanical Garden, and there were some cool flowers and trees and such. There is my mom inside one of the houses in the "Big Backyard" portion of the Gardens. Apparently, the MBG is a pretty cool venue; the Goo Goo Dolls, ZZ Topp, and many other artists are going to perform there.

Then, we walked around the downtown area and down Beale Street for a little while. Beale Street is a lot like 6th street, but a tad smaller, and I am sure that it is more music-oriented at night. There was this guy doing back flips. Also, music was blaring from 10 different bars at like 5PM. Oh, and there was this little public park with a band covering "Stand By Me." See to the right. That was awesome. We had a nice dinner at Restaurant Iris, this little house restaurant. Then back to to hotel to watch the Mavericks stomp the Thunder. Nice.

May 18th
Breakfast was had this morning at Brother Juniper's, sort of a local institution. We spent the mid-morning at the National Civil Rights Museum and learned about civil acts and what not. We saw the Lorraine Motel, where MLK was shot (see left). Martin Luther King Jr. did some historical things. After that, we walked down the street to Gus's Fried Chicken, which is apparently world famous. We had an hour long wait. Someone eating had a driver that left the car on the entire time to keep the inside cool. Talk about royal treatment with great American fried chicken and A/C.

After we waited, we dug into a slice of warm sweet potato pie. It was awesome. Then... the most delicious fried chicken ever. Perfect crust. Read my Yelp if you really want details. I am not using this blog to write about fodder. I even forgot to take a picture before I dug in because it was so good. Note the already-bitten wing.

We headed on over to Birmingham afterwards. Sadly, I never got to properly use "Roll Tide" while in 'Bama, but I figured it was not terribly appropriate, as we were not in Tuscaloosa? We checked in a little later, around 6PM. We rested up and then headed out to the 5 points neighborhood. This reminded me a lot of Berkeley, California and Highland Park in Dallas. The neighborhood surrounded a medical school/complex, and there was definitely some uppity shopping centers around. We had dinner at Chez FonFon where everyone was super fratty. Just picture Alabama, and you can probably get a good idea of the culture. Nice and Southern. To the left is us in Birmingham, Alabama. We walked around the area for a bit, then headed back for the night.

3 states, 2 individuals, 1 tiny car

As many of you know, my mother and I (2 individuals) are traveling to Atlanta, Georgia in my Mazda Miata (tiny car), and we have driven through Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas (3 states). The first day of traveling has consisted of 500+ miles of traveling, and I am beat. I am writing this blog to sort of document this faux-road trip, but I cannot promise that it will continue once I reach my personal destination: Pickens, South Carolina. My mother will be flying home on Thursday, the 19th from da' dirty ATL. Below is a picture of my trunk. Road trips are not meant for Miatas.

We started the day by swiftly getting a rotate and balance on my automobile. Then, my tires were finally rotated and balanced to my specifications: good. We got on I-20 East. Next, Hwy 175S. Then, I almost killed someone.

Yes; I almost killed someone.

No; I am not kidding. This hobo was in the middle of the highway. My guess is he was driving in this green pick up truck that was just up the road, and his orange blanket flew out. Then, I suppose he was willing to literally risk his life to save his blanket. Now that I have sort of set the scene, I will let you in on it from my perspective:

I was driving, and I saw this guy in this orange attire with a hat and some long shaggy white hair. I thought to myself, "surely this is not real... or at least he will jump out of the way." Well, he looked to his left (at me) and got this deer in the headlights look, and I veered to the left around him. He was smack dab in the middle of my I-am-going-to-drive-80-mph lane. Praise God that I was not thumbing through my Justin Bieber albums.


Anyway, we had lunch at Sue's Roost, in Eustace, Texas. It is exactly what the name denotes: small town, homestyle grub. 2 for lunch: Fried chicken, chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, biscuits, green beans, iced tea. The damage? $12 pat. That is how they keep the locals coming back day after day, expanding their waists inch after inch. Heck, I would return everyday if I lived in that 500 person town.



Next, in commemoration of this guy's life who Jesus saved, I stopped by Tool, TX. When I go on road trips, everything has a meaning. I purposely made a 20 minute detour to take a picture next to a TOOL, TX sign. Yes, I took a picture next to this sign because if you know me, I like to call people tools... but this guy was indeed a tool.

Off to Louisiana we went. We breezed through to cut north up to Magnolia, AR. Do you know why I went to Magnolia? You guessed it. To see the world's largest charcoal grill. I love to see really random things on road trips. Deal with it. Actually, I was slightly disappointed, but also amazed. Apparently, this coming weekend, the great city of Magnolia is having some celebration where the National Guard comes in and sets the grill up in town square. Thus, the picture that I took was the disassembled grill. Nonetheless, be amazed at the greatness.

Next, my mom found Waldo. He belongs in a small town called Waldo. There, he is living among 1500+ other Waldos.

We finally made our way around to Miniature Geographic Sediment, AR (Little Rock). The hotel was checked into, and dinner was had at The House, which was a little gastropub. For those non-foodies, it is basically a restaurant that likes to serve alcohol in excess. I will say that I am sorry for all those who I told that I would see the largest sundial. In fact, many years ago, Arizona one-upped the one in Little Rock, so Little Rock gave up and destroyed their own. Here is an article for your own reference. http://aristotle.net/~russjohn/sundial.html

So as my mother asked before bed, "What are we doing tomorrow?", I responded, "Same thing we do everyday, mother, try to take over the world... or Memphis, TN." If you guys did not understand that Pinky and The Brain reference, you did not live in the 90's.