A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
Day 2 – July 16: I began today’s activities with a visit to CSS Hunley Museum located there in North Charleston, SC. The CSS Hunley was a one-of-a-kind Civil War submarine that was the first combat submarine to sink a warship (USS Housatonic) on 17 February 1864, but sank shortly after the historic engagement killing all eight crew members. The H. L. Hunley was lost on the bottom of Charleston’s outer harbor for 100+ years, before finally being discovered by E. Lee Spencer in 1970. However, it was another 30 years before the historic submarine was raised from its watery grave, in 2000, for investigation and its preservation. It is now submerged in a special tank of a sub-critical water solution where the iron structure is being neutralized before it can be exposed to the open air for all to see and touch. The photo below is of a replica of the H. L. Hunley on display there at the museum.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
I had planned today’s activities so I could end up spending as much time as possible with some good friends in North Carolina. So, after leaving the Hunley Museum I headed northwest on I-26, by-passing Columbia, SC (I had visited Columbia’s museums on my last road trip) and continued northwest to visit the Sigal Music Museum located in the old 1930 Cocoa Cola Bottling Plant in Greenville, SC. This museum (formerly the Carolina Music Museum) has recently been expanded with the addition of the Marlowe A. Sigal collection. The museum displays a variety of musical instruments dating from the 17th century and interestingly has recordings of many of those instruments for their visitors to hear in their special listing rooms. The museum’s library also has a collection of over 1000 individual rare record albums and sheet music.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
I wanted to visit the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum while I was in Greenville, but I got to the house where Joe Jackson lived and died too late to visit the museum. However, Wikipedia tells me that Joe’s house (also the museum) was moved to its present location in 2006 and given the number 356 Field Street in honor of Joe’s lifetime batting average (.356). It also informed me that Joe got his nickname in 1908 at the local game between the Greenville Spinners and the Anderson Electricians when he removed his new spiked shoes that were hurting his feet; and after hitting a home run, he ran the bases in his stocking feet. As he headed for home plate, an Anderson fan yelled, “You shoeless son-of-a-gun!” and the name stuck. Joe Jackson (1887-1951)
Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/Shoeless+Joe+Jackson+Museum
Heading pretty much west out of Greenville, I soon briefly crossed the border into the northeast tip of Georgia before crossing the border into North Carolia. I was looking for the town of Otto, NC where my friends Mike and Alta lived, and some of those winding mountain roads could make a person dizzy. The roads got narrower and steeper till I finally had to stop and call Mike for directions. Come to find out, I was within 500 yards of their driveway and Greta (my Garmin) didn’t know it. We had a great visit and ended up going to one of their favorite Mexican Restaurants in Franklin where I had a Chili Relleno & Enchilada plate with yellow rice and refried beans. Yummm! Back at their house, after dinner, Mike and Alta regaled me with their black bear story. That’s kind of a scary bedtime story, but the cool mountain air put me right to sleep.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
—–To Be Continued—–
Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing. He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville. Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.
One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is: John 10:10
Old Things R New 
Well Done my dear.
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