Riverfront Park & Columbia Canal – SC

Tuesday, Sept 5^th we visited Riverfront Park & Columbia Canal. It’s a popular linear urban park running along the Saluda River and the Columbia Canal. There are miles of paved paths for cyclists, joggers, and walkers.

The Three Rivers Greenway is actually composed of the West Columbia Riverwalk and the Cayce Riverwalk. It’s a series of riverfront pathways, at the confluence of the Broad, Saluda and Congaree rivers. We actually saw a small portion of the park on our first day, but decided we should come back on a morning rather than walking it in the afternoon. 

This morning we decided to go back to The Devine Cinnamon Roll Deli for a late breakfast. We slept in a bit and stopped there before heading to the park for a walk along the river. We split an Original Cinnamon Roll and a breakfast sandwich that had 2 eggs, cheese, roasted red pepper relish, roasted peppers, grilled onions and a couple strips of bacon. What a tasty sandwich it was! It came with a mini cinnamon roll. It was a ton of food and we brought home some of the cinnamon rolls for desert tonight. I remembered to take photos this time.

 The Original

 Breakfast Sandwich & mini roll

We walked a couple of miles of the trail that runs between the Columbia Canal and the Saluda River. The trail could use a bit more shade, but it had lovely views and a few other people out enjoying the great weather.

 Waterworks

 statue in the parking lot

 Mockingbird 

sculpture

 bridge over the canal

 hydraulic museum

 Great Blue Heron

 Christopher Columbus

 Brown Thrasher

 homeless man next to river

There were tons of turtles out sunning on rocks in the water. We saw some Wood Ducks and some majestic Canada Geese.

 Canada Goose

 Canada Geese

 Cormorant & turtles

 Wood Ducks

 Wood Duck

bridges over the river

 Great White Egret

Canada Geese

We came home and had a late and very lite lunch. We prepared to leave tomorrow for our next stop. (some of the things we do to leave below) For dinner we went to Lizard Thicket for Southern Comfort Food. We wanted to like it, but it fell short of expectations. I had the fried chicken (same recipe for the last 35 years) with mashed potatoes and gravy. Greg had a breaded & friend pork chop. It was all “OK”, but lacking in much flavor. Ah well, it’s a popular local chain, but just wasn’t for us. Mr. Friendly’s New Southern Cafe was to die for compared to this place.

 Chicken Dinner

Fried Pork Chop & Apples

In preparation to leave tomorrow: Not really that much to do, but anything sitting out on counters needs to be put away and we normally clean well before moving to the next stop. The toaster oven goes in a cabinet under the table, I turn off the ice maker, make sure the dishwasher is in locked mode (so the door doesn’t swing open as we drive) and I get the strap out that keeps the refrigerator doors from coming open. I keep a lot of small things in a caddy so the whole thing just goes into a cabinet and is easy to pull out at the next stop. Vacuuming is important so when the slides are brought in and out they don’t catch a rock or something and scratch the tile floors. So, Greg vacs the vents and fans and the dash of the coach and I do the little bit of carpet and the tile floors. Then, I get out the steam mop and clean the tiles. If the dishwasher is nearly full I run it or if it’s just got a few things in it, I just travel with the dishes in it. Greg checks the black & grey tanks and usually drains them. 

In the morning before we get ready to leave, we finish the living space checklist. Water is drained from the toilets and lids closed. (simply pressing both buttons for flushing together at the same time.) The shower door is locked, we make sure that all cabinet doors, drawers and closets are latched. The sliding doors all have strong magnets on them to keep them from slamming closed. We had an issue with the door between the bedroom and the living space, where the magnet holds, but it’s the type of door that one piece catches the other and they kept coming apart, so one piece would slam closed as we are driving. Greg tried taping it and when that didn’t work he got a serious clamp and that seems to be working. Greg sets up the navigator for the next stop and also backs that up with printed directions in case the navigator doesn’t take the best route. (usually it’s good, but sometimes he may prefer a different route.) He has a device that measures the tire pressure on the coach and the toad as we go down the road. (and in case we don't have cell phone data coverage)

Depending on where we have been parked, he checks the top of the slide covers to make sure there is nothing up there to hinder bringing them in. (including sweeping off water that may be up there as it can come inside as you drive) All window shades are opened to drive. 

Besides caddies and baskets to make small things easier to stow, in the cabinets I have plate/bowl holders to keep them from flying out. Shower dispensers eliminate clutter and need to put them away when we drive. (stock photos from the companies, not our actual ones.)

The cabinets have a ledge to keep things from sliding out, but the plate holder helps stack things higher so they don't fall out. (should the door swing open)

We quickly activated Sirius XM in both the car and the coach. We had it when we lived in the States and finding and losing stations as we traveled necessitated getting it again. 

Though we eat out a lot, I do cook some and it has been interesting learning to use the Induction Cooktop (2 burners). It works GREAT! It seems nearly impossible to burn anything. (not that I was trying) The nesting cookware I bought works great as well.

The combination microwave/convection oven also works very well. It bakes things very nice. My only aggravation with most new appliances these days is that you have to set a timer for them to work. Sometimes, you preheat the oven and when it comes to temperature you aren’t quite ready to put it in the oven yet, but the darn thing just turns off if you don’t set it within 5 minutes. You also have to open the door for it to work. So, if your food is already in there, then you need to open the door and then set the timer. It’ll come naturally eventually, but it’s a bit annoying! 

Well, next stop is near Greenville, South Carolina. We had trouble booking the next 2 stops as they were all full. So, we have deviated to nearby places and just wing it as we go.