Our second stop on the Christmas trip was South Carolina, where Austin’s family lives. The weather was warm and beautiful! We had a good time catching up with friends, family, and acquaintances there. On Tuesday, we went down to Falls Park, where they’ve built a new bridge. Called “Liberty Bridge,” it overlooks Reedy River Falls. I found out only today that the bridge, a fascinating structure, was designed by an architect from Boston.
As we walked through downtown Greenville, I was struck by how lush, green, and quaint everything looked. Greenville really is a pleasant little town. We passed the statues of some of its more famous citizens, like the founder, Vardry McBee, baseball legend “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and Joel Poinsett, who brought the flowers bearing his name from Mexico to the United States.
On Tuesday night, Austin’s mom invited her sister, Lois, and Grandma Matzko over for a huge dinner, including lasagna, Italian-seasoned bread and lemon meringue pie – all homemade. Her dinners are always delicious. She even made butter pecan ice cream from scratch, which we enjoyed at lunch the next day.
The visit felt short, but they always do. I guess that’s one disadvantage of living so far away from family.
