"Memorial Crawdads," memorialized

As Melvin has written, we saw some baseball over the Memorial Day weekend, starting with the Hickory Crawdads. We flew into CLT and drove to Hickory, North Carolina, where we started our trip with supper at the Blowing Rock Brewery. Tasty sandwiches, recipe book beer.

Noah Bremer throwing the first of 56 pitches, 10 of which would result in hits.

The 'dads, wearing uniforms depicting Washington crossing the Delaware, would lose to the Charleston RiverDogs 8-7. While we were at the ballpark, we sampled more local beer, this time from Catawba Brewing Company. More underwhelmingness.

When using the term, "craft beer," the modifier needs to signify more than the brewery has a small output; there needs to be some craft involved.

We finished the evening at the Crescent Moon Café, which restored our faith in malt beverages. I will finish recapping the holiday weekend after the jump (as folks used to say).

Saturday

drove to South Carolina
late breakfast at the Beacon Drive-In, "a famous Southern landmark since 1946!"

Ty Cobb Museum, a fuller story than the Bob Feller Museum and a more serious presentation than the memorabilia-filled Jim "Catfish" Hunter Museum

all photos by Melvin except as indicated

drove to Georgia in search of something, anything, of interest
Georgia Guidestones, where Melvin was interviewed on camera by a couple of guys who probably aren't from Japanese television

I did not take personal the admonition against "useless officials."

(The Elberton Granite Museum was closed for the holiday weekend.)
returned to South Carolina
Columbia Fireflies 9, Greenville Curve 2

Did they really play gibberish pseudo-Spanish during a mound visit by the opposing team? Disgraceful.

quick tour of three works of public art by Blue Sky (fka Warren Edward Johnson)

Tunnelvision (1975)
Busted Plug Plaza (2001)
Neverbust Chain (2000)

late supper at Twisted Spur, probably the best brewpub that we have visited on our Byways

Sunday

Ra Obelisk

breakfast at Kiki's Chicken and Waffles
walked the boardwalk at Congaree National Park
visited the memorials to the former town of Ellenton, which was seized by the government for the construction of the Savannah River Plant
wet our whistles at God's Acres Healing Waters

My foot pain lessened after the trip but I am not sure that I can attribute that to the spring water.

Augusta GreenJackets 0, Rome Braves 3
bought beer at Aficionado's
watched Parts 1&2 of 1968: The Year That Changed the America on CNN, and drink beer

the Wild Heaven White Blackbeard saison needed more peppercorn; the Unita Ready Set Gose wasn't as tart as we would have liked

Memorial Day

54 Columns, Sol Lewitt (1999)

just 12 of 'em

Atlanta Braves 4, New York Mets 3

chopped brisket sandwiches from Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q and beer from Terrapin Brewing

With the Memorial Day loss, Mets' starter Jacob deGrom has gotten only two wins in his last seven starts despite an 0.45 ERA and a .183/.261/.225 opponent slash line. There is already speculation that deGrom will not finish the year in New York; well, at least not in Flushing

Gwinett Stripers rain out, which gave us an opportunity to hang out with the Jen, a bartender at Niekro's, the bar at that ballpark, where the food would be atrocious even if it wasn't under-cooked.

Unlike my usual complaint about how teams jerk the fans around with rain delays, we have to take some of the blame this time. Our hotel was only 15-20 minutes away; we should have hung out there until it became clear that the game was going to played, or at least started.

watched Parts 3&4 of The Year That Changed the America and drink Petrus Aged Pale Ale

Tuesday

breakfast at Seo Ra Beol
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

image courtesy of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha

Crypt of Civilization, Oglethorpe College, locked up even tighter than usual
fly home from ATL