Day 130 - Manning, SC

Thursday, January 6, 2011
Being inside last evening was nice and warm, but as usual I stayed up much too long. Guess I will sleep well tonight. I was up at 6, went downstairs for breakfast, and packed, ready to go by about 730. I went to a nearby store to pick up a few things, and then headed down Hwy 15 to cross the old bridge over Lake Marion. I hadn't walked over a mile and met a woman who was also out walking. She introduced herself as Linda Ray, and said she drives to town, leaves her car parked there, and walks out across the bridge and back.......about a 4-5 mile walk. I loved her attitude about her walking. She said her friends see her out walking in the cold, and tells her she shouldn't be out in that weather. She tells them, "honk at me on your way to the doctor!" Linda truly understand the importance of exercise for maintaining good health.

I headed toward the bridge and passed several others walking......it seems to be a popular spot for that, since there is no traffic. I soon came to the bridge, with the I-26 bridge right beside it. It was a great walk, right down the middle of the road. Most of the road across the lake is a bridge, part of it is old Hwy 15. Total must be near a mile. After leaving the lake, the road changed to Hwy 15/301, and almost zero traffic. The morning was cool and misting......not raining but enough moisture to get me wet without the rain suit. Along the way i passed the Santee Indian Mound near Fort Watson. The road in this area is flat as a pool table, so great walking. I see lots of long leaf pines.......I measured one needle and it was about 14" long.

I passed through a small community named St Paul. Not a lot there, but I spotted a store ahead and decided to stop and rest, and get out of the misting for a while. The owner of the store was starting a fire in a barrel, and I asked what he was doing. "Getting ready to cook bar-b-que", was his answer. I thought.....in the rain? His cooker was under the shed, but he was burning wood to get coals for the cooker, and would cook the half pig in there. He makes his own sauce, but of course, not going to share the ingredients with a stranger. Only told me there is a little mustard in the sauce, and that is pretty common for SC. The man also told me there was a truck stop near Manning if I needed to stop there. There were several other guys there, and all had a good time talking about my walk. I soon had to move on, so bid them well, and headed out.

Manning was still 10-12 miles away, but it was good walking. After several miles I passed through a small town named Summerton. Hwys 15 and 301 went their separate ways here, and I stayed on 301 which went right through town. I passed the Summerton Diner, a "town tradition" according to the sign. It's closed one day a week......Thursday. (I think maybe if I had walked east to west, I would have been by these restaurants on the right day.) Summerton is a nice little town....it has a barber shop that I would have liked to stop and get a haircut. But, decided not to. By now the misting had stopped, so the walk was much nicer. A man I know in Gastonia, Jon Childs, who has been following the walk the whole way, called. He is coming down tomorrow and going to walk a while with me for a while. I really appreciate that he wants to do that, and look forward to the company. We'll be on Hwy 501 heading toward Georgetown.

As I approached Manning, I passed a neighborhood called, "Palmetto Air Plantation". It's a housing development built around an airstrip. I have a friend in Charlotte who would love this. I eventually turned left on Raccoon Rd and headed toward the truck stop. I'll look around there, and might stay in that area, or head back toward Manning. It's about a mile or so out of the way, but I had time. I ended up stopping at a Shoney's for dinner.......catfish, what else in SC? They had a booth with an outlet, so worked on the computer while I ate. The women in the restaurant took up a little collection for my walk. Nice of them to do this for a walkingman.

Near here is a deserted RV Park, so I might stay there tonight or somewhere else nearby. It's supposed to colder tonight, but at least no rain. Will let you know tomorrow where I decided to stay. BTW: I will be doing another radio interview with Keith Larson tomorrow morning, 10am EST. WBT AM, 1110 on the dial, Charlotte, NC. If you miss it tomorrow, we'll add it to the blog soon.

About the pictures:
Linda Ray, Santee walker;
Old bridge over Lake Marion;
Sign for Air Plantation.