Captivation in South Carolina:

Columbia, South Carolina, is a town not wanting in history and blooms. My second rendezvous with this destination only confirmed the ease in my heart for this Southern and unaffected place which bears the mark of Dum spiro spero.

With Georgia to it’s south and the other Carolina to it’s, north, the current allure of South Carolina encompasses 3 centuries worth of history, an awe-inspiring landscape and people still rooted in feet-to-the-ground hospitality. Founded in 1670, South Carolina was one of the original colonies to declare independence from the British monarchy and for better or worse was the first state to secede the Union during the American Civil War. 

With a penchant for photography one year long and a companion - true southern woman strong, I chronicle COLA’s wonders as best I could. Contemplating on one Daffodil caused me to inquire (like the Psalmist), what merit does man have that the Almighty would bother with him? Humbling. Rusty, a worker at one of the mundane fast food joints queries us if we were bothered by the cleaning he was doing some feet away as we eat inside the joint; he offers to stop if it was so. A fine example that values are well placed and practiced in COLA. 

The nightlife destination is dubbed The Vista, on and around Gervais St. It is an amalgamation of the old structures preserved and renovated for new business, USC apprentices earning extra for college and elegant restaurants and bars for folks ready to unwind. I however was not oblivious to the decline in commerce in this large-scale financial crunch at present. 

Still, Columbia has a bountiful land which houses luxuriant blooms of Azaleas, Daffodils, the most celebrated dogwood tree flowers, with more to spare. Spring wild flowers croon to sojourners and inhabitants alike and so do classic architectures of Colonial, Neo Roman and Puritan designs. Venturing into Columbia, for certain will connect one to the days of - old natives displaced, European settlers vying for a new life, slaves who’ve toiled, yet were residents all, who have hoped while they lived. The contemporary enterprise between citizens and visitors is a surviving testament.