Columbia, South Carolina

July 4th, is Sasha's birthday, so we celebrated by requesting that our entire country celebrate with fireworks, brats, and beer! As for our four-legged family member, she enjoyed a much deserved small scoop of Vanilla ice cream!

'Twas a hoot watching her eat the ice cream! She had never experienced anything that cold and didn't know what to do with it. She tried licking with the back of her tongue....not good.  She finally figured it out and then got a brain freeze and wouldn't have anything to do with it! After much laughter and perseverance, she celebrated her birthday in grand style!

Tuesday morning we hitched up our drawers and hit the road for Columbia, SC, about 70 miles from Augusta. Not far, I grant you, but a little farther down the 2016 road, and a place we wanted to visit.

After settling into the Barnyard RV Park, an adequate park with a minimum of amenities and lots of long term guests (but there's a flea market right next door!), we ran down US 1 straight into downtown Columbia. A short drive got us to the largest fire hydrant in the country. Really.

Columbia is the Capitol City of South Carolina, and of course, is the center of political activity for the state. Among the various government buildings downtown is the South Carolina State House, and since we have a casual and ill-defined desire to visit State Capitols, we had to go. Taking our friend US 1 east until it turned into Gervais St got us to the Capitol between Assembly St and Sumter St.

Starting at the bottom, of course, we got a close look at the brick arches that support the center, domed section of the building.

From the main lobby, ornate stairs lead to the left and right up to the legislative level where the Senate and the House Chambers are.

The Senate Chamber is on the north side of the building. The elegant desk in the center of the chamber was hand carved in 1915 of British Honduran mahogany. Each time the Senate is called into session, The Sword of State is placed in brackets on the front of the desk. The original sword, dated 1704, was stolen in 1941. Lord Halifax, a former British ambassador to the United States, presented the current sword to the state in 1951.

Across the building, the House Chamber occupies a grand room. The large desk in the center is of British Mahogany and dates from 1937. The House likewise has a symbol of authority. The sergeant at arms places The Mace on the front of the desk to symbolize that the House is in session. The mace was made in London, England, in 1756 and is the oldest original mace used in this country. Hidden during the American Revolution, it disappeared for over 40 years, but was rediscovered in a Philadelphia bank vault! BTW, a mace is a weapon with a heavy head, used as a blunt force weapon back in the day. Ceremonial today, maces are heavily decorated and about 3 feet long.

A very narrow stair leads to the House or Senate observation areas.

The Capitol Dome is made of two parts, an interior and an exterior dome. The interior dome is purely for aesthetics, while the exterior dome is made of steel and wood and is finished with copper.

The Joint Legislative Conference Room was formerly used as a library. It is the only room in the building that has remained original. The twin spiral staircases, railing and pillars are made of wrought iron, and the ceiling is pressed metal.

We walked the grounds even though the temp was hovering at 99, stepping rather smartly from shade to shade!. We did stop to see where a cannonball struck the building during Sherman's march through the south.

This magnificent southern magnolia is named the Robert E. Lee Tree, and was planted by the Wade Hampton Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. I know I'm short, but this tree gave me a complex!

Down the street and around the corner is an area called Five Points, a shopping and restaurant area near the University of South Carolina. Named for the intersection of Harden, Santee, and Devine Streets, it was originally home to South Carolinas first supermarket (A&P). We walked for a bit (oh, yeah, still hot...). We stopped at the Salty Nut for a burger, then back to the car on a dead run...

Back in the Historic District, we happened upon the Chesnut Cottage. That's the correct spelling, incidentally. This was the wartime home of General and Mrs. James Chestnut. On October 5, 1864, President Jefferson Davis addressed the citizens of Columbia from the front porch.

Directly across the street is a spectacular house. Now an office building, it is extremely well kept, and has a number of unusual features. Check out the chimneys!

A late afternoon t-storm dropped the temp 12 degrees immediately, and it's now a pleasant evening. Prediction is for more 100+ degree weather tomorrow, however. The wifi and ATT cell service here at the park are marginal at best, so bear with me as we progress through the next few days!