Beautiful Upstate Does Not Disappoint Us (Greenville, Anderson: home, neighborhoods, school)

[carolinadreamin]

Our recent trip to the Upstate was a real pleasure. What gorgeous weather we had and a genuine surprise gift that we all enjoyed a late-blooming fall foliage show. Some trees were barren but many still had an explosion of color. I had read that this year the color was low so I can only imagine what a high color year looks like.

We encountered person after person more friendly than the last and even ran into a former TV on-air personality from our home town who had moved back to Greenville after many years in both FL and CA because it was "the best place" she could imagine living now.

We saw several neighborhoods in the Eastside, Simpsonville, Mauldin and Anderson county. Simpsonville, for one, was nothing like we expected. MUCH more countrified once you left the main drag, a very nice surprise. The established subdivisions anywhere in these areas are super nice, full of mature trees. Even though it's been talked about for its growth and development, to us (from SoFL), it did not look at all congested, even the so-called congested roads like Fairview and Woodruff.

I'm posting some pix of Table Rock Park and our cabin and G'ville. Table Ropck is gorgeous and the kids were able to make the whole 1.9 mile trail! We have many of the downtown but those areas have been photographed and posted so often and we don't need to duplicate. The pic that's a little blurry is the view outside our room at The Holiday Inn downtown. It came out a little surreal-looking but the fall colors on the trees are real. Sorry I don't know how to post the pix except as attachments. But they are worth clicking to view.

I wish we lived closer to make more return trips. But the lure of any wonderful place can be felt in the Upstate almost immmediately.

[justNancy]

Very nice photos, Carolina Dreamin. I'm ready to pack up and head north!

[Skyliner]

Thank you for the delightful story of your visit, carolinadreamin.

Lovely photos as well!

By the way, were you interviewed by a local TV reporter during your stay? There was a nice story about safety downtown last week and a few visitors were interviewed for the report.

[carolinadreamin]

Thanks, Skyliner.
We saw reporters downtown asking people questions during Black Friday but we were not interviewed ourselves.
It's hard to get anything but beautiful gorgeous photos when the subject matter is so beautiful.
And I'd come back again in a heartbeat if we had any more vacation time coming up but I'm really hoping my next "visit" will be alongside a moving truck!

[Adream]

Thank you for sharing those lovely pictures. Our DD's are checking out Clemson for college/grad school. DH and I will be checking out the area for our own reasons. Cannot wait for that trip, especially after seeing your great pictures. (Your DD is adorable, by the way.)

[wowdecia]

I love your pictures. Where was the one with the mountains and the road with Japanese Maples taken at?

[carolinadreamin]

Thanks!
The mountain shots were taken in and around Table Rock State Park. The ones with the red trees were shot at the Visitor's Center, which has a beautiful porch for sitting and gazing at the rock face and on the other side a long pier that affords visitors a great water view too.
The wonderful thing about this park, and many others in this part of the state, is its close proximity to downtown Greenville. Several gorgeous parks are literally in your backyard when you reside in the Upcountry. You can be there in about 30 minutes for some fantastic hiking, camping, swimming and major de-stressing.
If Greenville had nothing else to offer, this feature alone would draw us to live there. We're also looking forward to whitewater rafting within an hour. The kids can go too, when they are about 8.

[gsupstate]

Originally Posted by carolinadreamin

Thanks!
The mountain shots were taken in and around Table Rock State Park. The ones with the red trees were shot at the Visitor's Center, which has a beautiful porch for sitting and gazing at the rock face and on the other side a long pier that affords visitors a great water view too.
The wonderful thing about this park, and many others in this part of the state, is its close proximity to downtown Greenville. Several gorgeous parks are literally in your backyard when you reside in the Upcountry. You can be there in about 30 minutes for some fantastic hiking, camping, swimming and major de-stressing.
If Greenville had nothing else to offer, this feature alone would draw us to live there. We're also looking forward to whitewater rafting within an hour. The kids can go too, when they are about 8.

Totally agree with you carolinadreamin! Those are exactly the qualities that jumped out at me and caused me to choose the Greenville area.