Wonderful Wine

Since this is my last week in SC, instead of a cocktail post we're going to discuss the wineries I've been to in South Carolina and Georgia.

I'm rather proud of my current wine collection. There are several Georgia wines, a few South Carolina wines, some PA wines, and a German wine I got at the Outer Banks, NC.



I've found three new favorite wineries in and around upstate SC. Since I just took my parents there yesterday, we'll start with Habersham Winery. It's located in Helen, GA at the Nacoochee Village. They're pretty fairly priced, and have a complementary tasting of up to 4 wines in their tasting room. That's also where I got this:



It's pretty much the best thing ever. Also in Nacoochee Village is an amazing antique store in an old 3-story mammoth farm house. It's a never ending maze of gorgeous antiques and collectibles. There are also a working river-powered grainery, and a little coffee shop in the Village. Down the road is a Pizzeria/Tavern. We didn't eat there because we didn't want to fight the horrific traffic.

The first winery I found when I moved here was Victoria Valley Vineyards in Cleveland, SC. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of this, but it's a gorgeous winery - very European looking. They have free tours of the winery and vineyard, and tasting is (I believe) 5 wines for $5, and you can buy your tasting glass for $2. They have a lot of wines that I loved, and this is where I discovered Viognier and White Merlot. Loooove.

The last winery that I went to around here is the Boutier Winery in Danielsville, GA.



The woman who was there is one of the owners (the other is her husband - the winemaker), and is from Ireland. I could have stayed all day just to listen to her accent. The tasting is 6 wines for $6, but I was the only one there and she kept telling me I had to taste this and that, and I ended up trying about 10 for $6. I was pretty much tipsy by the end. The wines are a little pricier, but amazing!

Yesterday with my parents, we also stopped at Sautee Nacoochee Vineyards and Yonah Mountain Vineyards, both in Sautee, GA. The first one allowed free tasting of up to 10 wines, and had this slushy wine mix stuff that was AMAZING. The woman who did our tasting was a super-nice Italian lady with a fun accent. We got some of the slush mix and a couple of bottles of "Red Headed Stepchild".

Yonah Mountain had tastings of 4 wines for $4, or 10 wines for $10, and you got a free glass with the latter. We just did the 4 because by this time, I was probably already 3 glasses of wine in and had barely eaten all day. Their wines were good, mostly dry, and pretty expensive. I did get a bottle of the Bearly Sweet Red because it was delicious. Mom really liked their Dolce Bello wine that actually had chocolate extract in. I wasn't really a fan of that one, but it would probably be amazing with something like chocolate cake or fondue.

Overall, I'm very impressed with the wine scene around me. Once I'm back in PA, maybe I'll do a post on wineries up that way!

Chasing Waterfalls - Station Cove Falls

I visited my 9th SC waterfall the other night. I waited until the last minute again, and had to hike in the twilight. I went to Station Cove Falls, out past the Oconee Station State Historic Site. Apparently there are more trails and a pond and some old buildings, too. If I had more time here, I'd totally check it all out.

It was a half-mile hike both ways to the falls, so a nice evening hike. It started out fairly uneventfully. No other people around, no other cars in the parking area, so I knew I would be alone at the falls. I think the trail ran close to the pond, though. At one point, I could hear something like a quadrillion bullfrogs croaking. I'm pretty sure God stores his frogs there when he's not using them for Biblical plagues.

I hurried along to the falls to try to beat the darkness and avoid getting attacked by an army of frogs. About halfway there, I came to this:



The lower branch was about stomach-high, and there's about 3 feet between the branches. My choices were to go through or under. Well, I chose through. My problem was, I kept picturing huge spiders and nasty bugs getting on me while climbing through, so I tried to make as little contact with the tree as possible. I basically got a running start and Superman-ed my way through, and had to tuck-and-roll on the other side. It worked out better than I expected - I'm still alive. :-P

I hiked a bit farther and came to the falls. I looooved these falls.
































It was secluded, but easy to get to. The falls were tall and gorgeous. There was ample room to jump around on the rocks at the base. It was pretty sweet. I poked around for awhile and tried to find some kind of wildlife... well, I got my wish:



I didn't get too close, and we had an understanding. As long as he stayed on his log, we were cool. It was getting dark, though, and I had to head back. Leaving the falls, I saw something odd:



I'm not sure if this is an art installation... a statement of some kind...? Maybe you can listen to the sounds of nature better through the headphones? Was there an audio tour that I didn't know about? I thought about taking them, if for no other reason than to throw them away, but they looked happy there. Who knows, maybe the owner will come back for them.

I got back to my roadblock and went under this time... a much better decision. It got dark quickly in the woods, so by the time I made it back to my car, I could barely see. No bears/wolves/rabid frogs got me, though.

I have one more waterfall to see before I leave. I'll just have to let my parents entertain themselves for a couple of hours some day. I'm only one away from my goal of 10; I can't stop now!

As per tradition, some supremely awkward pictures of me at the falls:

Going Home

So I only have two days of work left at the Brooks Center. I'm honestly still not sure how I feel. I've made some amazing friends here, I love my house (sans giant mutant bugs), I love the Brooks and finally feel semi-competent at technical theatre, I love the hiking and abundance of waterfalls.... I've finally established a life here. I do miss Pennsylvania, though. Not the state, necessarily... just being close to my friends and family, and the familiarity that goes along with being closer than 12 hours away from where you grew up.

I'm starting to realize that it takes me about a year to establish any kind of lifestyle. In college, I wasn't really comfortable and happy until sophomore year. After graduation, it took about a year for me to start to accept working at Penney's, and thinking about finding an apartment around there. Here in South Carolina, it's taken almost a year to start going out and doing things with people, finding new hobbies and places to go.... It seems like I keep establishing myself in these short-term situations and then mixing everything up when I finally get settled. I know it's not completely my fault. If I could get a REAL FREAKING JOB, I would be perfectly happy to settle down somewhere for good, or at least for longer than a year. (SOMEONE HIREEEE MEEEEEEE. hint, hint) :-P

I am excited to see my friends and family. It's been about four months since I've seen my parents - the longest we've ever gone apart. I'm sure a few weeks into living with them again I'll complain mercilessly, but I have missed them! I've seen my high school friends during breaks, and at the beach a couple of months ago, but it's been a year since I've seen anyone from college.

What I really need is a month or two at home to reconnect with everyone, experience the things I've been missing, and figure out what I'm doing with my life. It's not necessarily the job or house that I'll miss here in SC, but the friends I've made and the independence I've had, away from everyone I know and alone in my 6-room house. (Dear God, I have to go back to just a bedroom....) I have to box up all the things I love and put my huge, comfy bed in storage. With any luck, it will just be a few months (or less) until someone somewhere realizes I'm awesome and they need me at their theatre.

So in a perfect world, my plan is this: Move home for a maximum of three months. Send out lots of resumes and start volunteering at theatres and doing overhire work. At the end of September, if I'm still unemployed, I'll come work the In the Heights pre-tour tech at the Brooks. At the end of three months, hopefully someone will have hired me permanently. If not, I will get a pay-the-rent job somewhere like Lancaster or Philly just so I'll have my own place again and be in an area where professional theatre actually exists.

I found this quote online: "To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward." ~Margaret Fairless Barber, The Roadmender

I feel like this is what I'm about to do. I'm regressing a bit - moving back in with my parents, re-bonding with my old friends - just for awhile to recharge and reconnect. When I'm ready, and when the universe decides to cut me a break, I can move on with my life - get a new house and job that I love even more.