So I think I've mentioned this before but just in case I haven't, I'm originally from Connecticut. A lovely place to grow up for the most part; 4 distinct seasons, hockey and soccer are very popular, people are to the point, a history lesson to be had in just about every town, and everything is very close together - what's not to love? To say coming to South Carolina for college was a culture shock is an understatement. After college, I really never expected to live in the state of South Carolina again. Well, you know what they say about never...
So here's my little list of pros and cons about South Carolina:
Cons
1. Home and former employer of Gov. Mark Sanford. You know that Governor who disappeared, telling his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail but was really in Argentina visiting his mistress while his wife and kids were wondering where he was (along with the rest of the state)?
2. Home of Rep Joe Wilson, the Congressional Representative who yelled "You lie!" when President Obama was giving his State of the Union a few years ago. Ok, that was kind of funny if for no other reason than it's the truth - I don't think there is any politician alive who knows how to be honest.
3. In my lovely little town, they are suing the former city manager to get his severance package money back, money they offered him. Amount they want him to pay back - $1.1 million, amount they've spent in legal fees to get said funds back - $2.3 million...I must be missing something here...
4. The world revolves around Clemson or Carolina football even though 95% of the fans did not attend either school. I cannot even begin to tell you how sick I am of orange.
5. When I first moved back to SC, I was coming from Houston, the 5th largest city in the country. And for the 2 years I lived there, we never had a serial killer. Within the first 2 months of being back in SC, you guessed it, serial killer on the loose - what gives?
6. Recycling is optional. What?!?! So we end up with idiots who leave things on the side of the road (or in the middle of the road) that do things like this to my trailer:
Pros
1. This is a biggie - some of the cheapest gas in the country: currently in the neighborhood of $2.88/gal. Now that's $2 more per gallon than I was paying while in college 10 years ago but whatever - it's still cheaper than most of the country.
2. Seriously, some of the best sunsets I have every seen and this includes all the ones I saw while deployed on a ship (middle of the ocean = almost zero light pollution = amazing views of the sky especially sunrises, sunsets, and the stars).
3. Plenty of horse stuff - 1.5 hours to Tryon, 2.5 hours to Aiken, 4 hours to Southern Pines, 5 hours to the Virginia Horse Trials, and 6.5 hours to Lexington, KY.
4. Where else can you shoot an opossum at midnight in a residential neighborhood and not worry about the neighbors calling the cops? Please note *I* would never shoot a poor, defenseless opossum so maybe this should go on the Cons side...
5. South Carolina doesn't tax my Navy drill pay. Now that I've mentioned that, why do I have to pay federal taxes on my drill pay? Couldn't they just pay me $100 less and save me the trouble of having to file? Seems logical to me...
6. While I may complain about the heat, you really can ride all year long if you're not a baby like me. Ground doesn't freeze like it does in New England and while we may get a few cold snaps, things warm right up, sometimes a little too much...;)
Charlie enjoying the lovely fall weather - sunny and 65.
I've got a lot more things to add to these lists so maybe I'll revisit this topic but I need to plan a little better next time as I'm a little light on photo evidence.
Charlie modeling his lovely fleece - please ignore the mess in the background.
As for the Pony, he's good. Enjoying the weather and keeping his older girlfriend on her toes. More on him and our plans this weekend if I manage to get all my school work done.