Southern Livin’ Shriners
May - July 2022 (throwback!)
In May of 2022, we found ourselves settling into our rental house in Greenville, South Carolina... our home for the summer. This was our first ‘travel rotation’ and we felt a blend of nerves, excitement, and anticipation for some southern cookin’.
Greenville sits in northwestern South Carolina, not far from the Blue Ridge Mountains. The small city is humming with breweries, amazing food, artsy shops and scenic walking areas. Reedy Falls Park sits in the middle of downtown and is a popular place to visit; we enjoyed sitting in the shade and taking in the views of the waterfall and buzzing city.
We thought arriving in May would ease us into the southern summer temps, but for us ‘soft Montanans’ the heat was overwhelming from the onset. We would go for hot walks in our neighborhood that was filled with beautiful old Victorian homes and marvel at their lush gardens, massive hydrangeas, and magnolia blooms. It would seem that all life thrives in the humidity... except Tatum... Miss Mrs. Frizzle is back!
Within the first few weeks we fell into a nice routine. Tatum worked the night shift on the neuro unit at the hospital and quickly noticed a few differences compared to her previous jobs back home. Con to working in the south... terrible nurse to patient ratios. Pro to working in the south... warm patients and it being socially acceptable to call them ‘baby’. The second Tatum opened her mouth everyone at the hospital knew she "wasn't from 'round here" but they helped her feel right at home nonetheless. Corbin was just starting his business and was struggling to get it off the page and into practice. He fought through the imposter syndrome and Heel Clickin’ Services was born.
On our days off, we explored Greenville. We sweated at a minor league baseball game, laughed our asses off at a downtown comedy show, listened to live music at a mix of venues, and hiked in the lush hills (to be honest we only hiked once because of the heat... but hey, at least we gave it a try). One of our favorite activities was going to the ‘Saturday Market’. We would stroll from vendor to vendor sampling fresh fruit, barbecue sauces, and grits/cornbread mix (we found a cornmeal vendor that we still order from to this day!). Our hands down favorite item on a hot day was fresh watermelon habanero salsa!
For three months our taste buds were in heaven; we had a blast trying an array of South Carolina cuisine. You better believe we ate fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, pimento cheese, fried catfish, and BBQ everything (with a side of collard greens of course).
With our first anniversary approaching, there hadn’t been a single lie told; but that was about to change. Not a lie per say... just an omission. Corbin was in the kitchen cleaning up when a thick, long black snake came slithering out from under the dishwasher. Corbin jumped, not sure what to do, the snake froze and they stared at each other for a second before the snake retreated back the way it came. Was it still hiding under the dishwasher? Did it leave the house? Who knows! Corbin never saw it again and Tatum was blissfully unaware of the surprise visitor. After moving out Corbin came clean and we had a good long laugh.
Throughout the summer we had a few long weekends where we decided to venture beyond Greenville...
Weekend Getaway #1: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
We jumped in the car and headed northeast into the Blue Ridge Parkway where we soon were surrounded by dense rolling mountains. We got out to stretch our legs and pinched ourselves as we hiked a few miles along the famous Appalachian trail. It was such a treat to explore a section of a trail that we had heard so much about.
We continued on and soon arrived at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the states. We spent the next several days dodging other tourists and exploring the park... we hiked to a waterfall, fly-fished and sat on the banks of Roaring Fork River, drove a scenic loop, and even spotted a family of black bears.
During our Smoky Mountains getaway we stayed in a budget-friendly lodge in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. On our final afternoon we decided to explore the town. We had a blast walking around... we sampled Tennessee moonshine and wandered from shop to shop taking in the carnival-esque vibe of downtown. The highlight of the night was a stop at a distillery where a bluegrass band played live; it sounded and felt exactly how you’d imagine Tennessee bluegrass should. We spent our evening swing-dancing the night away with sugary moonshine buzzes.
Weekend Getaway #2: Ocean Isle
En route to Ocean Isle, North Carolina we made a pit stop at a destination that Tatum’s co-workers fondly refer to as ‘The Dirty Myrt’... Myrtle Beach. We only had time for a short walk in the sand, some amazing people watching, and a quick lunch… hot dogs on the boardwalk!
About an hour north of Myrtle Beach, we crossed the state line into North Carolina and arrived in the small coastal town of Ocean Isle. We crashed the McGhee’s family vacation and spent the next several days beach bumming it with our friends. Corbin gave sand boarding a try… thankfully there were no
broken bones but let’s just say he was quite sore on the drive home.
Weekend Getaway #3: Charleston
To celebrate our first anniversary and Corbin’s 28th birthday, we traveled to Charleston. We arrived, checked into our hostel, and headed straight to a cozy oyster bar. Our trip was off to one hell of a start.
First stop… Boone Hall Plantation, which was founded in 1681. We took a tour of the property and learned about its history as one of America's oldest plantations. Touring the slave quarters was sobering and a good reminder of our country's sometimes dark history.
The grounds were stunning so we decided to have an anniversary picnic. We laid our beach blanket down under a massive oak tree, popped a bottle of Kirkland bubbly, ate some snacks and reminisced on our amazing first year of marriage.
By the afternoon, we were hot and ready to head back to town. But the trip took a little longer than google maps anticipated because Tatum LOVED the street leaving the plantation and made Corbin loop around a few times. Imagine a dirt road, lined by massive two hundred year old oak trees weighed down by Spanish moss… it was picturesque. See for yourself…
The next day we strolled the scenic gas-lantern lined streets of the Historic District on a free walking tour. We visited the Pink House (Charleston's oldest building built in the late 1600’s), toured the Old Slave Mart Museum, stopped at the supposedly haunted Old City Jail (stories suggest prisoners were left chained in the basement to drown during historic hurricanes), and even saw one of those black snakes that Corbin is so familiar with. Charleston is tropical, charming, full of rich history, and absolutely beautiful.
To celebrate Corbin’s birthday we spent the afternoon bouncing from here to there eating seafood (she-crab soup being a standout) and slurping trays of oysters. It downpoured that evening and we laughed as we ran to our final stop, dodging puddles along the way, and arrived smiling but sopping wet. Happy Birthday Corbin!
On our last day we capitalized on being near the coast by having a beach day. After enjoying a day in the sand we set out for one more evening exploring Charleston… we strolled the cobblestone alleys, passed creepy cemeteries, and visited the oldest liquor store in America (established in 1686... that's nearly 100 years before our country was born!).
Though we were only in Charleston for a long weekend it quickly became one of our favorite cities in the US and we look forward to visiting it again someday. After a final breakfast at a popular biscuit shop… we headed back to Greenville with happy hearts, full bellies, and probably diabetes… worth it! (haha)
And just like that our epic three months exploring the Palmetto State came to a close. But don't worry... we are just getting started with this whole US 'travel rotation' lifestyle. Next stop… NOLA!
With Love,
Boots Abroad
Corbin’s
Highs: 1st anniversary, Great Smoky Mountains, Ocean Isles, Pool Party with Mom and Dad, Birthday Oysters (really everything Charleston)
Lows: Heat...Damn it was hot, trying to find clients for HCS, snake in house.
Tatum’s
Highs: Best anniversary weekend in Charleston, pool party with K&K, lush plants everywhere, Tennessee blue grass, the food (of course!), roof top bar with city view, fun co-workers
Lows: Heat, cockroaches, working night shift, knowing that Corbin was struggling with work, not knowing any of the names of the grocery stores (Publix for the win!)
Bloopers...
What do you do when you have four Shriners who have spent the last few days exploring Greenville and who've had a great time but are admittedly struggling to deal with the late July South Carolina heat… you buy a kiddy pool at the dollar general and have a redneck pool party in the back yard, duh! BEST dollar we’ve ever spent!
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