January 9th - 2021 was off to a good start with a Buckeye win in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s night. Coincidentally we have been in South Carolina this week- not far from Clemson.

I refrained from putting on all my fan gear and heading into town for lunch, though I did sport the new socks that my Dad gave to me for the game. #11

This picture was before kickoff, so Johnny was resting up - getting ready!

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We were at a great spot on Lake Hartwell called Big Water Marina.

View from our kitchen.

There were a lot of walks this week with some spectacular sunsets.

Johnny was all about the walks.

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We visited two communities this week - both on Keowee Lake - The Cliffs at Keowee Falls and Keowee Keys. The Cliffs have 7 different communities mainly in northwestern part of South Carolina. Three of those communities are on Lake Keowee, and we went to see a house and the amenities at The Falls. The fee structure for the Cliffs is pretty expensive, but you have privilege to the amenities at all 7 communities which includes 7 golf courses. All amenities were very well appointed.

Keowee Keys on the other hand has a very reasonable fee structure, but there is only one golf course and the facilities were not as nice. The wellness center was really big, but the restaurant and pool seemed more like something you would see at a convention hotel than a higher-end golf community. The house we saw there, however was on the water with a dock. We would need to do a pretty big renovation, but it has warranted many conversations. The biggest downfall for The Falls was the proximity to a grocery store.

We are keeping The Cliffs on our list and plan to visit the other two communities on the lake which include The Vineyards and The Springs.

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On Sunday we went into Greenville, which we loved. While I really enjoying hiking in the wilderness there is something special about a city park. We did a four mile walk in Falls Park which follows the Reedy River and weaves all through the town.

We then had tacos and a beer at a great little spot called Saboa that had sidewalk tabLes. This was in the West End which had a really good juxtaposition of old and new architecture.

Johnny was the hit of the day with everyone stopping to chat about his breed and ogle over how cute he is. We even had one girl roll down her window to ask about him as she drove by. By the time we got back to Camper Condo he was exhausted.

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We had a nightly Five Crowns game this week. There was a daily winner, but we added up the total scores at the end of the week.

Like my Buckeyes - I was victorious. 🤗

We always think of our good friends Nick and Jess in New Zealand when we play this game - they introduced us to it when we were in New Zealand several years ago.