Our travel days are short--usually less than 250 miles. Today was not different. We took the back roads once we left North Charleston. Our destination was Wateree Recreation Area on Lake Wateree. The recreation area is managed by Shaw AFB which is located in Sumter, South Carolina. We arrived at the campground around lunch time and the office was closed. We had reservations so we knew which site was ours. The roads within the campground were a little hairy, narrow with pine trees growing close to the road. Our site was located on a hairpin turn on the upper level of the campground. Bob did a great job of getting us into the site!
Our first sightseeing trip into Camden was to the National Steeplechase Museum. I had no idea that Camden was home to steeplechase events.
We watched a short film on the history of the steeplechase, and then viewed the museum. The silks worn by the riders were on display above the pictorial exhibits.
I thought this was just a model of a training horse, but while we were there, a rider came in to practice! He rode the horse about 5 minutes, practicing different positions he would use in a race.
This scale was originally used to weigh the riders. The rider would sit on the left and counter weights were place on the tray at the right until the sides balanced.
After touring the inside of the museum, we headed outside to see the outdoor exhibits. This fence is a model of an original jump. The boards were made to break away if the horse did not clear the jump.
Newer fences had plastic tops to tickle the horse's belly as it went over.
The place of honor in front of the museum was a bronze statue of Lonesome Glory--the only 5 time winner of the Carolina Cup.
Another impressive horse was Battleship. It was the first American bred horse to win the British Grand Nationals. The horse was owned by Marion Dupont Scott (wife of the actor Randolph Scott).
Our next stop was Camden Battlefield. Due to crummy weather, we picked up information on the battlefield so we could tour it on a nicer day. We drove north of town to the second Revolutionary war site. We found it had walking trails which we would also do on another day. We read the kiosk and learned South Carolina had more Revolutionary War skirmishes than any other state.
Our second full day turned out to be nice so we went back to the battlefield north of town to get some steps. Our fitbits were sorely lacking in the step department.
The trail was interesting as there were signs describing the battle and troop placements.
After walking the trail, we headed to Wal-Mart to get supplies. We happened to find a South Carolina Atlas & Gazetteer, which we had been searching for for quite some time. The cashier noticed it and asked us if we had been to Forty Acre Rock. Of course, we had never heard of it. She told us how to get there and we put it on our list of places to see. When we got back to Sol, we looked through the Gazetteer and also found Hanging Rock. Hanging Rock was also a Revolutionary War site. It was well off the beaten path and we were glad we found it!
The Patriots surprised the British at this location. It was difficult to imagine how anyone could sneak up on someone at this location, but they did.
From Hanging Rock we continued to Forty Acre Rock. True to its name, it is a huge rock! There are trails around the rock and near a waterfall.
We found a huge "painted rock" near the main entrance.
We finally made it to the town of Camden to tour that portion of the battlefield. The Kershaw-Cornwallis house was the focal point of what was once Camden. Cornwallis used this house as his headquarters during the British occupation of 1780-1781.
While in Camden, we found that a baseball Hall of Famer was born and raised in the area--
Larry Doby. He was the first black to sign with the American League. He signed 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson signed with the National League.
On our final full day at Wateree, we decided to drive to Columbia to visit a craft brewery. We chose Swamp Rat, but on arrival, we found they were having an anniversary event and parking was at a premium. I used the search function on the phone and found Conquest Brewery less than a mile away! You have to love a brewery where the brewmaster has a wicked sense of humor!
Bob and I enjoyed our brews and then it was time to head back to Sol.
Our adventure was moving closer to Gaffney, but not too far from Wateree Recreation Area.
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