Good Times in Greenville

Ok, back to the present. My goal this year is to keep up with the blog, so I’m planning to write my post for a place soon after I finish up there. As I still have a long backlog of posts to get through from October and November, I’ll sprinkle those in when I have time to write them during longer stops. So it’ll be a kinda random mix of the past and present going forward, because just being 3 months behind wasn’t confusing enough. 

So I’m currently in a Waffle House in Waynesboro, GA. I started riding again last Sunday (1/18), from Black Mountain, NC. And on Sunday, I set a new record for the coldest weather I’ve ridden in: 30 with a real feel of 21ish. Within 20 minutes I was pretty miserable. Fortunately, it warmed up a bit when the sun came out in the afternoon. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gotten much warmer. Last night it dropped to 28 at my campsite, and right now it’s 48 with a real feel of 38. Even in Savannah, my target destination for the evening, the high today is 55. At least the forecast for Florida later this week looks good (sunny with highs in the 70s). The thought of sunshine and hot sand is really keeping me going at this point. 

My first stop after my hiatus was Greenville, SC. My friends, Elias and Theo (who I believe I introduced in posts last summer), were headed to their parents’ house for a day or two and invited me to tag along. 

Theo's worked many jobs in his day, but is currently an ER nurse. He enjoys going to music festivals, crossfit, and only eats velvety smooth ice cream. ChatGPT can tell you everything he's done in his life. 

Elias is the staffing director at the camp I worked at last summer. While this picture may have made you think otherwise, he's actually quite the master of chess. He's climbed mountains on several continents, including Asia, South America, and North America. He prefers to spend his vacation time free diving. Later this week, Theo and him are headed to Norway for a few days. 

In Greenville, I met (or re-met) the rest of their family. Their dad, Dwight, is one of the approximately 125 married Roman Catholic priests in the US. He grew up in eastern PA and went to college in Greenville before moving to England to study theology. While there, he was ordained an Anglican Priest and later married Alison (Elias and Theo’s mom). Eventually he realized that the Anglican Church and he were moving in different directions and made the decision to convert to Catholicism. He worked as a freelance writer for the next decade, contributing to over 25 magazines and writing the first of over 20 books and a very popular blog. At various times, he also worked as a film reviewer, tv presenter, and radio show host. 

A collection of Dwight's books in the Longenecker house. Some (on the far left) have been translated into French. He told me about some original research did into the identity of the 3 wise men for one of his books, Mystery of the Magi. 

In 2006, they (Dwight, Alison, and their 4 children: Ben, Maddy, Theo, and Elias) moved to Greenville where Dwight was ordained as a Catholic priest through a special provision for Anglican and Lutheran clergy who convert. Since then, he’s served as pastor at a parish in Greenville and continued his writing. 

Alison is originally from England (a town on the coast south of London) and worked as a nurse in the UK before the family moved to America. She initially planned to continue nursing in America, but was turned off by how much of a business healthcare in the US was. Deciding that if she was going to have to work for a business, it might as well be her own, she opened a moving company for seniors, which she still runs. 

Elias and Theo’s other siblings live nearby in Greenville. Ben and his wife, Meredith, are expecting their first child in July (drop your name suggestions in the comments and I’ll pass them along - its a boy). While Maddy and her husband, Jack, are glad to back near family after a few years in Salt Lake City. 

The English influence is still quite strong in the Longenecker house from the decor to the cuisine (tea and cottage pie are common place) to the accents (most of the children have retained a touch of an English accent). 

The Longenecker’s enjoy games - during my time there, we played draw-write-draw, pool, Munchkin, and Scrabble. And they’re pretty good at them too - I thought I played a decent game of Scrabble yet somehow still lost by about 200 points. 

It was about 50 when I rolled out of Greenville, heading to Augusta, GA. 

In Augusta, I first stopped at The Boll and Weevil Cafe and Sweetery, a spot recommended by a girl named Kristen, who I went on one date with in Cleveland about a year and a half ago. While the connection didn’t last, her recommendation did, and it certainly did not disappoint, as the Fried Green BLT, chili, and Hummingbird cale were fantastic. 

The Hummingbird cake was fantastic - a variation on spice cake. This was a half slice - can only imagine how big a whole slice would be. 

Fried green tomatoes on a BLT are a game changer. 

After my early dinner at Hummingbird, I checked out the river walk, putzed around town, and (unsuccessfully) attempted to sneak into Augusta National. 

The gatehouse at gate 6 of Augusta National - this is the closest I got to getting in. 

Then it was a 40 minute ride back east to J Strom Thurmond Lake to camp. While it was bitter cold, the stars were well worth it and the short lived campfire helped while it lasted. 

A frigid morning got even colder with a wake up plunge in the lake before a hot shower (sometimes paid campsites are worth it) to fortify myself before another ride in 40 degree weather. 

Hope you’re staying warm in this winter tundra, 

Ice-K