Years ago, I made a move. It was something that at the time, I did not believe I would make. I was living in Dallas, Texas when friends invited me to South Carolina for a job. I said no thanks. I had never heard of Greenville, SC and I liked Dallas. They persisted. After a month or so they said, “Just treat this as a free trip to the East Coast, stay the weekend and listen to us on Monday.” I agreed to that.
What I found was a stark change from Dallas. Tall trees. Green everywhere. Mountains to the North. In the downtown, I found people that actually wanted to talk and did so whether you wanted to or not. It was busy and there was a free Jazz concert performed right outside the hotel I was at. Most businesses seemed locally owned. Finally, the temperature was in the Mid 80s; not the 111 degrees from DFW. “Alright”, I thought, “you have my attention.” I agreed that Monday to a job with NewSouth Communications. I planned to be there for 2 or 3 years and get back to a larger town towards the West.
20 years later I still reside in Greenville, SC. The upstate of South Carolina is a special place. Moderate weather in the winter. Not as hot or humid as my home town, New Orleans, in the Summer. But the people are the draw. Good natured; Good Souls. That secret is out though and you can read about the awesomeness of the Upstate, from Clemson to Taylors in other places.
I love this place. But its time to move on; at least for a short time. We have moved on our boat full time. As of January 29, I am no longer employed. While we aren’t sure how the long term plan will shake out. We will head south through Florida and to the Bahamas. We have gotten a late start compared to other Cruisers. Many of them will be moving south in the next month to make sure they are near Grenada for Hurricane Season. Others are planning to start the trek back to the US and go to New England for the summer.
We don’t know exactly where we will be in the coming months. And its an awesome feeling. Also, scary. But we are headed out to travel the globe for as long as the money lasts and its still fun. “So this isn’t a good bye, its till we see you again…”