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A Yankee in the South

post by Michelle Griep
Treasures found on a hike in Camden.

Day two of the research trip is in the can. The weather is making me feel right at home: cold and rainy. Actually, it was warmer in Minneapolis today than it was in South Carolina. Even so, I would not be stopped. Here are a few random insights into southern culture from a cold northerner . . .

- People really do "set" on the porch around here. I keep looking to see Andy Griffith out strumming his guitar.

- There are a LOT of abandoned houses and storefronts with vines and undergrowth squeezing the life from them.

- I've never been called sugar, honey, baby, and ma'am so much in my life -- especially not at a Burger King.

- Can we all just stop and give a big round of applause for banana pudding?

On today's dockett were two Revolutionary War sites. Despite the drizzly weather, we worked them both into our schedule.
Tiny houses were trendy back then too.

Site #1 BRATTONSVILLE

I had no idea this living history site was the place used to film The Patriot. I chose to visit simply because it had some sweet historical replicas of log cabins. They look like the original tiny houses but when you step inside, wowzer. Much more spacious than I imagined. We mostly hung out with the blacksmith, learning all about rifles and muskets

The Battlefield of Camden.


Site #2 CAMDEN

You don't have to be a huge military buff to visit this place because the tour guide is well-versed on way more than that. But yes, if you are into the Revolutionary War, then this is a must see. This is the place the Brits took over and used to supply their entire Southern campaign.

It doesn't look like you'd expect a battle"field" to look. It's in the woods, mostly because, well, that's where they fought, eh?

Stay tuned . . . the adventure continues tomorrow. Too bad the national weather service is predicting record rains and there are flash flood warnings galore.