Columbia a Capital Place

I moved to Columbia, South Carolina a little over two years ago... before that time, to me, Columbia was that hot place I drove through on my way from my home in the North Carolina mountains to the beach... nothing more. It was a place filled with traffic, unbearable heat, humidity, Fort Jackson, the University of South Carolina, which this UNC girl despised, and not much more.

It's still the hottest place on earth in summer (to me anyhow), the humidity is still high, but there's more to Columbia than I originally thought.

There's art... the giant fire hydrant on Taylor Street, which serves as a fountain, is an interesting example of the art, as are murals all over the city, a famous one by the artist Blue Skye just across from the hydrant, depicting a tunnel... and in just the right light looks like you could drive right through it!

The State Museum is great... I had the opportunity to see the premier, as guest of the star, of a movie there and have taken my grandchildren to see the dinosaur exhibit... an afternoon of delight for a two year old and a twelve year old, as well as myself.

I learned from a former co-worker about an activity called "letterboxing" where you follow clues found on a website and "treasure hunt" at public areas... the best one we did was at the State Capital building... the "hunt" took us all around the State Building, through the enormous old magnolia and oak trees, past historical monuments, counting the bronze stars representing cannonball hits during Sherman's march during the Civil War... and ultimately among the branches of an old crape myrtle tree where we found our small treasure, a rubber stamp which we inked, stamped into our notebook and put it back to await another treasure hunter.

We recently went for a dinner cruise on Lake Murray, enjoying the summer evening on the water, eating barbecue, hash and rice, coleslaw and banana pudding, then as the sun set, we approached Bomb Island to watch the hundreds of thousands of purple martins go to roost for the night as they do every evening during the summer months on Lake Murray, on the island that is a safe haven for the birds as it has no predators to harm them. What a sight to see thousands upon thousands of martins descend at what seemed to be a preset time... and after the circling and settling among the branches of the trees, the sun goes down and the birds immediately become silent... an awe inspiring experience!

I've gone to a hockey game, the ballet at the Koger Center, and the play Menopause the Musical at Town Theatre... I've enjoyed book stores, health food markets (Rosewood Market is a wonderful store!), parks, the Riverwalk, bluegrass concerts, the State Fair, a ladybug release at a local elementary school, a benefit BBQ for the Carolina Children's Home, gun shows, an international festival, an Indian grocery store, a Ukranian market, a British shoppe, gun stores, pawn shops, fabric and craft stores... restaurants galore... some local favorites are the Kingsman, Ela's, Diane's, Nathan's, Compton's Kitchen, The Other Store, No Name Deli, Yesterday's, The Publick House, Harper's, the Capital City Club, The Summit Club, Ruth Cris Steakhouse... and more.

Columbia... there's more than meets the eye... and more than just "famously hot!"