Tree-lover paradise/ Peach Country
Greenville, South
Carolina, USA
30th
of June to 10th of July 2014
Exited
children…understatement!!! I urged them all the have a wee kip during our 5h
flight from Reykjavik to Boston….but bless them…Alana was just too excited to
close her eyes. The 4h time difference did not worry me too much, but I knew
they would be more able to enjoy the first few hours of reunion with their best
friends. After a quick wee change-over, we were on our final flight of the day.
Boston to Charlotte, North Carolina.
All too soon the
children spotted each other and shut-eye-tight embraces, was followed by a loud
and excited overflow of word and emotions!! This was what these children were
praying for and dreaming about over the last two years. My God is a faithful
God, who hears my prayers and does not ignore the desires of a 7 and 9 year old
heart!!! The Kent’s came to pick us up in their 16-seater mini-van. What a day.
What a blessing!!!
At home in
Greenville, SC, a beautiful salt-induced swimming pool greeted us in her clear
blue beauty!! Big tall trees surrounded the house, neighborhood and ultimately
the city. Besides the welcoming green’ness, a proper sudden drawl and upstate
values contribute to the peaceful atmosphere of this city. Greenville is
classed as the textile capital of the world and also referred to as the ‘buckle of the Bible belt’. (300+
churches to be found in the perimeter of the city, increased to more than 500
if you include the wider Greenville!!!)
We quickly got
used to referring to dollars and cents when talking about money and the words
like ‘trash’, ‘GPS’, and ‘gas (meaning fuel for cars) crept into our language
without us even noticing. The sweet Southern way of addressing people not
related to our family is a formal ‘Mister’ and ‘Miss’. Even the kids of friends
will address the adults like this.
The children are
just so amazing in resuming their former connections. We were barely through
the front door of the Kent residence, or the girls disappeared to go and do some
arts and crafts; and the boys pulled out the car box…neither of Thomas or
Elijah has shown interest in playing with cars since last year or the year
before…but the moment they were together they got the toys out they used to
play with, all those years ago! Love it!!! The four little ones are also now
settling into loving each other in the same way as the bigger 4 has grown up to
do. Nina and Philippa has gotten to love the pool…and are not put off by the
normal Scottish instinct of fearing cold water…because the average pool
temperature is a good 28 degrees C!! To be honest, we can not stay out of the
pool….and it has rained a good few days now since our arrival. We LOVE swimming
in the rain!!!
With it’s 60 000
population Greenville city has a very cozy downtown atmosphere. “Friday night
live” closes the main street to traffic and music is provided by a chosen
band/artist. All the little restaurants put their tables out on the sidewalk
and people enjoy the cool breeze, catching up with friends. True community feel
to it all. We explored the Saturday downtown market last weekend. Again the
street was closed to traffic and an array of fresh produce, Cajun-Southern
music, mixed with the smells of pancakes and freshly brewed coffee. The free
quant shuttle bus/’downtown trolley’ took us on a neat circuit (Southern
equivalent of a Hop-on-hop-off city bus!!) and I well and truly fell in love
with the wooden houses with their big porches!
On Sunday we
could not but attend one of the numerous churches!!!! Billy and Rachel Kent
pastor the Greenville Vineyard Church. This was our obvious choice!! A good
word on ‘Intercede, Invest and Invite’ encourages us to make some more friends!
….this time with a gentleman by the name of Jim Kirkland. Now in his middle
60’s, he supported the troops in Vietnam as a medic orderly. We were talking
about the price many young (he was 19 at that time) men paid, for offering up
their lives in war. Reflecting on the emotional and spiritual scarring most of
them suffer after returning home, reminded me of my thankfulness for a peaceful
living environment. Jim was then and still is today, a Christian and according
to his testimony, God gave him the grace to forgive and the foundation of His
Word to rebuilt his life. In what other way can man overcome such trauma??
Sunday was not
done yet….. a opportunity to see the Greenville Drive vs Rome at Flour Field
Baseball stadium could not be missed out on! The sun was beating down on us in
the cheap seats (!!) but the entertainment between the innings were second to
none. I can understand now why it is market as a family event. From sack-races
to baby crawling competitions, promotions for library-reading-summer-challenges
to some singing-alonging….we had an awesome afternoon!! I can not left to mention
the AMAZING chicken pie, prepared by Rachel that was waiting for us at home!!!
We are so blessed by this family!!!
What great way to
celebrate a 40th birthday with a champagne breakfast and pool
party!!! (This time it was his REAL birthday!!!) The kids were happy to stay
with the Kent’s and Arno and I got a rear opportunity to spend a few nights in
the Great Smokey Mountains, Tennessee. OOOO WOW!!! We enjoyed the landscape and
history of this part of the States soo much. Our accommodation was a wee hide-away
mountain cabin with a heart shaped bath….. Very romantic!! A wee trip to cheesy
Gatlinburg gave us a good laugh. This holiday mecca(Dolly Parton’s Funpark –
Dollywood – is to be found in the outskirts) reminded us of Blackpool(UK),
mixed with Banff(Canada) and a bit of a Swiss Alpen villiage….defo not the
place where I would rush back to. Surprisingly, only one minute out of town we
were in an overgrown forest with not one single car on the road!!!! A 3 hour
walk to the Rainbow Waterfall, rewarded us with loads of fresh air and an
opportunity to witness the US way of wearing fitness gear. Yes, everybody we
met on the 5mile route were in running shorts and trainers (‘tekkies’)!!!
Apparently that’s the way you dress when you go hillwalking!!!
On our way back
to Greenville we drove over the BIG Smokey Mountains, part of the Appalachian
range and stopped at the Newfoundland Gap. These mountains were formed when the
American and African plates met each other.
On Thursday we
had a morning at the Upcountry History Museum and learned a lot about
textile-factory-villages, baseball and the Klu-Klux-Clan! Arno was a bit
board…..Luckily for the little one’s there was a castle exibit and play area,
so that’s where they were entertaining themselves…U can take the kids out of
Scotland, but Scotland(Her castles and dragons) will stay within them!!!
Billy and Rach
were looking forward in taking us up into the Blue Ridge Mountains bordering
South and North Carolina (really just their ‘back garden’). Luckily we threw in
the rain jackets, because we were doing our ‘supposed sightseeing’ from the
highest point overlooking Greenville, in torrential rain!!! The fog and clouds
actually gave the Ceaser’s head outlook a mysterious cozy atmosphere. Rachel
has shown us pictures, since then, of what we were supposed to have
seen……rolling tree-covered land as far as the eye can see. Maybe next time,
Rach!!!! A late afternoon stroll through the quant town of Hendersonville was
topped off by the bestest burger ever in the Carolina Ale House in downtown
Greenville!!!
Oh, and I nearly
forgot to mention our whistle stop tour of the biggest(?) BMW factory in the
world. This is here where all the X’s are begin produced. X3 are the most
popular. It takes 6h to assemble one car body, 10 h to apply the 5 coats of
paint by 90 different robots and 250 000 cars are build within each year. BMW
is leading the way in development of alternative fuel engines. A wee car called
the Isetta (1955) was the first BMW vehicle to reach 100 000 unites produced. Funny
looking wee thing, with a door that opens to the front!!
 |
| In Hendersonville we went on a bear hunt... |
Our wonderful 10
days in Greenville was slowly coming to an end. One last exciting re-union was
planned for Saturday. We connected with a Stellenbosch University (South
Africa) friend, Frans Mosca, via facebook. Very surprised to know that he and
his family relocated to Charlotte, NC only 4 months ago. After 13 years we had
the opportunity to visit together again, to get to know his beautiful wife,
Julia and their two cute daughters. God is soo good. We had a most wonderful
day with them and the Kent’s exploring a bit of the Swamp River Trail
(biking/running/walking path that stretches for more than 20 miles through
Greenville and surrounding villages). A ‘lekker braai’ around the pool, speaking
in Afrikaans to a long lost friend…what more do you want???
Our visit to
South Carolina left us only with a BIG longing for more!!! Our southern drawl
is coming on nicely, but we still laugh when we read the road signs like: Crab
Creek Road, Foggy Bottom Farm or Pumpkin Town!!
We have also
learned that the Star Spangle Banner was first sang in 1915 at a baseball game
(Chicago Cubs vs Boston Redsocks) and that it is celebrating it 100th
anniversary as the anthem of the United States of America this year.
Entry for our
dream book: Come back to hike the Appalachian Trail (2 100km over 14 states)…or
at least part of it!!!!!
Favorite drinks:
Rootbeer (Arno)
Favorite food:
Marshmallow breakfast cereal (kids)
Steak bought from Whole foods (Marilie)
Real
juicy sweet peaches (Marilie)
Favorite
activity: Playing football with Elijah (Thomas)
Doing crafts with Arwen (Alana)
Hanging out with the big girls-if
allowed (Philippa)
Swimming (Nina)
Pre-breakfast swim every morning (Arno)
Running with my friend (Marilie)
Next stop:
Orlando Florida!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!