Musgrove Mill and Horseshoe Falls

I know I've said it a million times, but I love where we live. South Carolina is such a beautiful state and it has such a rich history. We will never be able to explore it all.

We have often passed a road exit for Historic Musgrove Mill and I have always wondered what it was. After seeing a friend post some pictures, today we decided to go visit. It's about an hour away and it is the sight of a key battle during the Revolutionary War.

There aren't many ruins left (in fact the mill ruins at our local zoo are much better), but it was a beautiful spot to visit and the waterfall was great.

The Visitors Center had clothes the kids could dress up in. Here are my little Patriot Warriors.

Jalen (who didn't wear a shirt, which I didn't notice until we got there) wanted to wear the red costume, but these outfits weren't for trying on.

The only ruins - foundations from the original mill house.

Split rail fence.

Just down the road was Horseshoe Falls. According to the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism: During the summer of 1780, Enoree River landowner, attorney and mill owner Edward Musgrove allow British Loyalists to use his property as a hospital. According to legend, his daughter Mary Musgrove helped a Patriot blacksmith Gailbreth Robinson (sometimes recorded as James Robertson) hide from these Loyalist troops in the cavern to the left of these falls. Robinson, nicknamed Horseshoe for his occupation, was brought food and information daily about the Loyalists' activities by Mary. This information led to a plan of attack for the Patriots. Later, the falls were named in Robinson's honor.

The falls were small, but perfect for swimming in and around.

The kids got quite a way up river from me, but then another woman saw a copperhead snake in the water so I had them come back. (There was only one other group at the falls besides us - made up of three women and their kids.)

Baylie posed for what she called her "photo shoot." 

Where's Baylie?

There she is!

Ducking behind this portion of the waterfall was pretty cool (and cold!).

We would have stayed longer, but then I saw a copperhead and it was HUGE and it was swimming not far from me and Jalen. It had a big fish in it's mouth. I didn't get a picture, but it looked pretty much like this, only floating on the edge of the water.

At that point, all of us mamas decided to pack up and call it a day!

I think Jalen was pretty pooped by then anyway.

Welcome to Summer!

I love summer vacation! I love having my kids home and I love not having a schedule. We stay up late, sleep in and have as few regularly scheduled activities as possible. We also spend as much time as possible with our family out West since it's the only time we get to see them.

For the past few years, I have decorated our car so that when the kids get in the car after their last day of school, it's a mini-celebration. This year I wasn't sure how I'd do that because I was substituting in the library and the kids were riding to school with me. I managed to slip out during the school day and mark up the windows. They were so excited and surprised to see that the car was decorated.

Friday we went with our friends the Baltzegars to the zoo. I know I've said this a million times, but we really love our zoo.

We stopped for a quick picnic before we headed in.

We decided to start on the garden side so we could finish back at the splash pad.

We headed to the zoo side and the kids rode the carousel.

We splurged on icees.

We petted a snake.

We made new friends.

When we were hot, we headed back to the splash pad.

 That night, David and Jalen were on a Father and Sons camp out so Baylie and I went out to dinner at Smashburger.

Today we went to Storyfest, which is one of our favorite summer activities. It is how the local libraries kick off their reading programs. They give out free books from authors/illustrators that are available for signing. They do face painting, crafts, snacks, giveaways, etc. We went with the Baltzegars.

Baylie told me that she wanted me to see her "cute pink house." It was actually "Baylie's House of Terror." Crazy girl!

We do have a family plan for the summer where the kids do daily school work and reading and earn their electronic time. This has worked pretty well for us.