Unlike Mr. Snow, I haven't been everywhere, man. I haven't been to Dayton or Houston, and don't really care to go to Tallapoosa or Oskaloosa, wherever they are. But as a sales guy for a regional contractor I could probably rewrite this song with South Carolina places, towns and cities.
From the Pee Dee to the Savannah River, the Lowcountry to the Blue Ridge Foothills, I can mark every county off of my list, and chances are, I can locate a place on a map on my first try. But traveling around this state on both business and pleasure, you're only bound to see some things unique to South Carolina.
It's been a few days since my last post, but lunch today led to a discussion about tobacco in the Pee Dee. Man, I can remember stopping in Florence en route to Cherry Grove and seeing trucks full of it at gas stations. Some of my most vivid memories growing up are getting dizzy looking at the rows of tobacco in the Pee Dee, and now, that crop has all but disappeared in South Carolina.
While tobacco, Jimmy Carter's Peanuts and a few towns have disappeared from that road trip to the beach, one thing that hasn't: Pedro.
South of the Border is one of those places unique to South Carolina. Thanks, for good or bad, to the Schaffer family in Dillon, the place is world famous. Fireworks, hermit crabs, hot dogs or adult "gifts," Pedro and the Schaffers had it all. As one of their famous billboards claimed: "You never sausage a place."
In its hey-day, cars were wall to wall in the parking lot, stopping off to buy fireworks, Blenheim Ginger Ale or pork rinds. Before the state decided to go into the gambling business, a lot of those folks came from North Carolina to play video poker. It was a sight to see, in both good ways and bad, and people loved it. They loved it then for what it offered, they love it now for what it stands for-- a bygone era of roadside Americana. They just don't make'em like they used to-- Enjoy your stop at the Flying J.
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