Greenville

Alright at the moment I'm taking a break from the trip at my roommate Justin's parents' house.

I departed successfully on Tuesday and rode about 65 miles, stopping just past Bamberg. The first day of the trip was mostly filled with surprise. It was amazing to see how varied the land in SC was already becoming. I had expected it to remain the consistant with what I'd seen on my trips up to Jamestown, but I was greeted with fields, forests, swamps, and streams of all sorts. Night was spent inside my tent in a forest off the side of the road.

Day two I rode around 80 miles to Saluda and was going to camp in the town courthouse's courtyard because I had heard it was legal to camp on public land. I waited around and soon enough a cop pulled up and I asked him and eventually him and his police buddies decided I could camp infront of an abandoned industrial warehouse just outside of town. They supplied me with a county map, directions for where I was heading the next day, and some conversation.

The next day I was able to take it easy because I didn't need to be to Greenville until Friday afternoon so I travelled 65 miles, stopping in Belton. I spent the first half of the day stopping every five minutes to take a photo because everything along the first road was so beautiful. The second half of the day was spent in fear, as the clouds were gathering and I was being hit by an occasional wayward drop of rain. I still don't know what I'm going to do when I finally encounter my first storm. I ended up calling the police in Belton to see if they knew where I could camp, but they weren't much help and I ended up squatting in an abandoned building. It was lucky, because it ended up raining a bit that night and the wood above me protected me and my sleeping bag from the moisture.

I arrived in Greenville, SC at around 1 pm today. It's been an incredible four days, though it's strange not having a bed to go sleep in at night, or even a place with a roof to rest my head under. I'm getting used to it though. It's going to be a long four months, and I guess the best I can do at this point is expect the unexpected.

Sorry for the post being so long. Future posts will probably be shorter, but I had time to write what happened, so I used it. My next posts will be in libraries as often as I find them or feel like posting.

I'll put more pictures on my facebook and myspace.