~Friday, March 26, 2021~
Day 285
After yesterday, it gave us a moment to pause and reflect just how scary a tornado warning can be. At least it buys you a little time to prepare for action, unlike an earthquake that we’re all too used to in the West. But, we really don’t know if we could live in a tornado prone area. The fear of them lasts too long in a season. However, the guy that Jeff shared shelter with yesterday, said he’s grown up in Greenville his entire life, with many tornado warnings, but in all that time, has never seen one. The chances, at least here, are pretty slim. We are definitely considering how the climate is changing whether it be water levels rising, hurricane’s becoming more violent, and tornadoes heading more easterly than ever before. Call us paranoid, but we call it smart. To us, we have to be cognizant of all of these things for our next move.
Before some touring for the day, we took a lovely hike down to the lake via Turtle Trail. A beautiful, sunny day, things sure have turned around weather wise. The spillway sure looks a lot different today (see video too) and the tiny bridge that we took yesterday to get across the dam area, has been washed away. Wow!
I think we heard there was 3 inches of rain just in one night. To complete our hike around the lake, we alternatively walked up the road a bit, to get back on the trail.
We have been eager to revisit Greenville and its surrounding towns as moving prospects. One of these towns is Greer, SC. The last time we were here, we knew it was something special, though it was a bit “sleepy” at the time. Our realtor even said she thought it would be an up and coming community, and in the short 3 years since we visited last, it has completely grown more vibrant and hip.
It still has the small town vibe (kind of like Murphy’s, CA), but it’s nice to see improvements such as restaurants, floral shops, yoga studios, retail shops and their parks. They’re even sinking some big money into renovating their train station. Before we drove to Greer, we had been in touch with our realtor to ask for neighborhoods we should visit, some in our price range, some not. So for now, Greer is definitely a possibility for us. The funny thing was at the end of our tour today, the neighborhood we liked the most, happens to be in the same vicinity as the state park we are staying in, in Greenville. We just didn’t know it. And, it’s the exact neighborhood our agent took us to 3 years ago. Who knew we’d be revisiting one of our favorite neighborhoods, while touring the U.S. full-time in an RV?
What’s become apparent is the more we see, the more perspective we have of what we really want. Example…..while in Florida, we thought a few of the towns there were contenders. But now that we’re back in mountains and trees, we realize, those are a HUGE criteria for us. As nice as the beaches and ocean are, they really are places we’d prefer to visit, not live. We’re definitely narrowing down what it is we want in a neighborhood and a home….more rural but not too rural, about an acre or so of property, surrounded by elevation and mature landscaping. We’re so grateful we have time, and that we don’t have to force a situation.
And a great way to end the day…..fireside with my hubby (I think our 4th or 5th campfire since the trip began-we really need to do these more often) and a nice chat with my best friend. Miss her alot!