Augusta St. Haunted House?

View Larger Map

What's up with this place? It's located a block from Main Street between the SC Children's Theatre and Smiley's Acoustic Cafe, near the baseball stadium. It could be beautiful.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 0 miles.

Kaleidoscope Film, Food and Fine Arts Festival

If you'd rather take a drive to an event this weekend, Beaufort`s Kaleidoscope Film, Food and Fine Arts Festival occurs March 5-8th.

Beaufort is mainly known as the town where films such as the Big Chill and Prince of Tides, (among others) were filmed. Nick Nolte was even nominated for an Oscar for his role in Prince of Tides despite having the least realistic southern accent in the history of film.


Distance from downtown Greenville:

235 miles.


View Larger Map

Hickory Hops Brew Festival

Keeping with the Brewfest theme, Hickory Hops Brewfest is coming up April 18th in Hickory, NC. The town of Hickory isn't much of a destination with the exception of their recently refurbished downtown area where the festival is held. The festival is sponsored by the Old Hickory Tap Room, located on the square next to the festival area. This is a great place for dinner afterwards.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 120 miles.


View Larger Map

Classic City Brewfest

Sunday, April 5, 2009
2:30 to 6:00 pm

If you can't wait for the Asheville Brewfest, the Classic City Brewfest in Athens, GA is coming up much sooner. The bad news is that it is already sold out, but according to their website, you can still attend as a volunteer. I can speak from personal experience at some Greenville events, that pulling beer at a festival is a lot of fun. And downtown Athens offers a lot of good places to hangout afterwards.


Distance from downtown Greenville: 100 miles.


View Larger Map

Brewgrass Festival

Imagine being parked in a lounge chair under a large elm tree in a North Carolina mountain town in autumn with unlimited access to the best beer in the region, listening to the area's best fiddle, banjo and guitar players performing a few feet away. You can't beat that.

On that note, Ashevegas is reporting that tickets for the best micro-brew festival in the area, Asheville's Brewgrass Festival, went on sale at noon today. Although the festival doesn't take place until September, they always sell out early.

I attended this beerfest a couple of times when it was held in Asheville's Pack Square, which was an ideal spot for a beer festival. The past few years they've been holding it nearby at Martin Luther King Jr. Park which I can't vouch for one way or the other since I've never been there. But they always have an excellent collection of brewers who show up. Having attended several beerfests (in Athens, GA, Nashville, Hickory, NC and even here in Greenville) this is the best run festival I've attended with the largest variety of beer.

Yes, Greenville tried this a few years ago. I think it lasted for two years but South Carolina's restrictive alchohol laws prevented it from being financially viable. There have been efforts since to bring the Greenville Beerfest back but with little success.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 64 miles.


View Larger Map

Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve

Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve is a 374 acre preserve in Pickens County near Table Rock. The preserve is home to three rare ferns including one that is found nowhere else in North America. There are several primitive campsites that run along the creek. It's rumored that Eastatoe Creek is home to many rainbow trout but they apparently fear me so much that they run and hide every time I show up.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 38 miles.

Link to trail map

Map to parking area.

View Larger Map

Charlotte's Historic Arts District

Charlotte's Historic Arts District is everything West Greenville could be in five years. It's a funky little area that has been revitalized recently. There are great pubs, restaurants, and entertainment venues. (All things West Greenville needs.)



The Neighborhood Theatre is a great little venue, similar to the Handlebar in Greenville. We were fortunate enough to catch The Duhks and The Lovell Sisters there, both of whom will be performing at Merlefest in April.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 106 miles.


View Larger Map

Flat Rock Wine Shoppe

Update on the Flat Rock Wine Shoppe. They are now serving dinner featuring such things as Duck Breast with Risotto, Pork Tenderloin Scaloppini and Wild Mushroom and White Bean Ragout. Check out the rest of their menu here. With their extensive beer and wine list and their cozy atmosphere you can't wrong.

The Flat Rock Wine Shoppe has a great wine and beer selection, including many high gravity brews. In addition an intimate listening room serving a limited menu with a full bar is attached next door. Local folk and bluegrass artists such as Laura Blackley, Ginny Wilder and the Lonesome Road Band are frequent performers.

Featured here is Johnson's Crossroad, a great little "Bent Acoustic Country" band from West Virginia. Although the front man's last name is Johnson, I assume the band is named after the Robert Johnson myth. Or maybe not.

Location: 35°16'16.88"N 82°26'29.91"W
Distance from downtown Greenville: 35 miles
Local Geocaches

Green Creek Winery

Green Creek Winery is a nice little winery located in Columbus, NC (near Landrum, SC). Even though they've only been in business since 2005, they've already established an international reputation by creating a variety of wine that is made nowhere else in the world. They call it Chardonnay Rosso. Here's a description of it from Wine Spectator:

A winery in North Carolina has taken the idea of mixing white wine with red wine a bit literally. Instead of drinking the two over the course of a night, Green Creek winery in Polk County is producing a red Chardonnay. "It's very red," said winery cofounder Alvin Pack of his inaugural 2006 Chardonnay Rosso. "And it's very fruity." Green Creek, a newcomer to the wine world, was looking to come up with a "different kind of wine," not unlike a white Zinfandel or white Merlot … only in reverse. In the case of Chardonnay Rosso, the Chardonnay juice gets tinted with the skins of Chamborcin, a hybrid red grape. Pack chose Chamborcin after "a lot of research" and said the grape, when made as a single-varietal red, is "heavily colored." Therefore, a little of the skins go a long way for changing the color of the Chardonnay. While the Chamborcin influence is muted, it's definitely still there...



Distance from downtown Greenville: 48 miles.


View Larger Map

Art Loeb Trail

Named after an avid hiker from Brevard, the Art Loeb trail is a 30 mile trail running from Pisgah National Forest through the Shining Rock Wilderness. Several peaks over 6000 feet can be reached via the trail including Black Balsam, Tennet Mountain, Shining Rock and Cold Mountain. The trail starts near the Davidson River and ends near the Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp.





Distance from downtown Greenville to northern trailhead at Daniel Boone Scout Camp: 88 miles.


View Larger Map