Back-Road-Trips

Destination: Simpsonville
Total Miles: 50-ish
Cost: <$20

What a stir that last post caused! Perhaps I need to post guest articles more often? Well, with only a couple days off this go around, I've done more planning than traveling. And while both are equally important, I much prefer the traveling part.

Cue Monday.

Andrew, a friend of mine from Atlanta, GA, happened to be working this weekend in Simpsonville, SC. I have known his family for over 8 years, and when I've chanced to visit Atlanta on occasion, I have had the privilege of hanging out with him. Since he was in town over the weekend, it was decided we would meet up with his mom for lunch.


(background) Having grown up in Greenville, I have come to know many of the back roads, shortcuts from here to there. My dad was a Bus Captain in our church's bus ministry for years, and as a kid, I loved riding the bus with him after morning church to drop off kids. Having inherited a fairly decent sense of direction from Dad (which I am eternally grateful for), I do not get lost very often just driving around. The LPs and I will occasionally play a "Get Lost" game (basically, I drive around following their instructions: turn left, drive 2 miles, turn right...then I have to get us home from wherever we ended up). This and the occasional drives myself and the older kids used to take on Sunday afternoons (just driving around and finding random places) have familiarized me with random backroads in and around Travelers Rest.

Because I now work and attended a church in Spartanburg, I have worked the last 2+ years on learning some backroads in and around Spartanburg, and some of the backroads between TR and Sparkle City.

All this being said, I have never really had a chance to just drive around Simpsonville. When Andrew recommended that we meet for lunch in Simpsonville (where he was completing a job), I saw it as the perfect opportunity to drive around a small portion of Simpsonville.

I was not disappointed!

We met for lunch at Pete's of Simpsonville and had a great time catching up. After lunch, we all went our separate ways. I was meeting a friend for a pedicure in an hour at a place not 3 minutes from where we had lunch, so I decided to just drive around to see what I could see.

I found an interesting road named Scuffletown Road. The name made me laugh and wonder what caused it to be named thus. I also found some very large subdivisions which made me wonder about the appeal of living in Simpsonville. (I am very partial to Greenville and have difficulty fathoming why anyone in the Upstate of South Carolina would want to live further than 20 minutes from G-ville.)

My favorite part of the drive was the massive, gorgeous houses located off some backroads I chanced to drive on. By far, my favorite was a Colonial style, two story, gray-blue house that had white trim, a huge front porch, and dark blue complimenting shutters. (I admit...I liked it so much I drove past it three times.)

While these houses were located just a tad too far from Greenville for my tastes, I very easily saw the appeal of living around Simpsonville. Expansive lots with an occasional glimpse of the Foothills...coupled with beautiful houses set just off the road...all located just a few extra hops and skips from both Greenville and Spartanburg would make for a decidedly prime building location (if you weren't partial to Greenville).

All in all, a very pleasant afternoon drive.

Perhaps there are places you like to drive around? Feel free to leave a comment about your favorite back-road-trips. :)