A Summer Day - In and Around Ridgeway

The "Old Station" Market and Restaurant

Well Gang, we're not on the road to far away places right now but we had a chance to do some visiting near beautiful, metropolitan Ridgeway and thought we would like to share our experiences with you.  This year, for the second time, the various Chambers of Commerce around the midlands of South Carolina got together to host an event called "Agriculture and Art", or "Ag-Art" for short.  It is a unique partnership between farmers or owners of rural businesses and local artists and artisans through which folks in the participating counties have a rare opportunity to visit working farms and hospitality-related businesses and to see not only the agricultural bounty of our state but the creations of local artists as well.  This year there were six counties participating and we chose to tour Fairfield County home of wonderful Ridgeway.  It is a really cool and creative way to expose folks to the remarkable family businesses in the various areas - and - you have a chance to pick up local produce and works of art at bargain rates!  It is very well organized too.  The event has a really good web site (http://www.catawbaagandarttour.com) with each county having their own page.  Anyway - after a bit of reading we found that the sites in Fairfield County followed Highway 34, for the most part, and extended from just outside Lugoff, S. C. to a spot near the Broad River.  The site told

Home Near Downtown Ridgeway

us that we could pick up a map and a "passport" at our first stop and that each venue would "stamp" our passport to confirm our visit.  Then, at the last stop, we would leave our record of visits and would be eligible for prizes!!  Hey, what more can you ask for on a beautiful day???  So - we packed a couple of coolers (one for our picnic lunch and one for any veggies we might purchase) and headed to downtown Ridgeway for the first visit.  We had seen that one of the sites was the "Old Station", home to one of our favorite outdoor markets so it was a "no-brainer" for us.  We got there pretty early and touched base with Tim, the owner.  We've been visiting his market since he first opened and are proud to say that he has steadily grown into one of the really remarkable businesses in town.  When we first met him, Tim outlined his vision for the market and, although we raised an eyebrow or two, he has succeeded mightily!!!  He not only has a first class vegetable market but he has added a great restaurant as well.  It is really cool and I hope that you will visit if you are ever in Ridgeway.  (He serves breakfast too!!)  Leaving the Old Station we headed East on Highway 34 in search of "Our Barn", an equestrian center waaaaaaay out in the country between Ridgeway and Camden, S. C.  Following the map and our faithful GPS we didn't have any trouble finding the site and pulled into a half-mile long driveway through beautiful fields and wooded areas.  When we arrived at "Our Barn" we noticed several things; first, the site was obviously a serious, working farm with clear evidence of attention to maintenance and organization.  Second - there were animals everywhere!!!  There were rabbits, pigs, mules, donkeys, goats and, of course, horses!!!  But - there was more.  Coming up the drive an enormous cross greets you as you near the barn.  More about that later but, believe me, it is significant.  Then, as we entered the barn we encountered one of the most delightful aspects of our visit.  The barn was staffed by big team of young men and women - all attractive and fit-looking.  But, more importantly, they were as engaging, courteous, open and charismatic as any kids we have met anywhere.  (And, if you've been with us for a while, you know we've met a bunch!!)  And then, we met the owner, Lori Freeman.  Here it is gang ... look up the definition of "dynamic" in the dictionary and you will find Lori in there somewhere.  I simply do not have time to cover all this young lady is doing here but let me try to give you a synopsis.  She is a very attractive woman dedicated to equestrian activities as a way of helping people improve their lives and she has the credentials to back it up.  Diagnosed with terminal cancer and only given weeks to live - with a lead physician who was a devout atheist - Lori's faith in God not only saw her through the nightmare of her illness it changed the life of her doctor as well!!  She now has remarkable programs for helping troubled youth and we can absolutely verify that what she is doing is highly effective.  Please, do yourself a favor and check out her web site.  You can click here - Our Barn - to get to the site.  We really had a great visit with Lori and her kids and as we were leaving she gave us a tip about a place we should visit that was not on the regular tour itinerary - the "Victorian Elegance" bed and breakfast.  It wasn't far away, not far off one of the roads we had planned to visit, so we decided to try it.  Let me tell you.  It was amazing!!!  Originally from Baltimore, Md. (near where Linda spent her childhood), Angelina Maribele and her husband decided to move South and wound up purchasing several hundred acres off of Longtown Road not far from Camden, S. C.  Angelina has been a collector of Victorian art, artifacts, furniture and memorabilia for her entire life so she decided to use her collection in setting up a new venture in South Carolina.  The result was a "bed and breakfast" lodge that is absolutely remarkable in concept and appearance.  The main house has four lodging rooms with names such as "Queen Victoria" and "Prince Albert" and they are simply stunning.  The entire house is decorated with items you could only find in museums or castles!!  Then there is the "Vacation Cottage By The Pond", a gorgeous, separate building with lodging for up to 12 or 13 that sits alongside a beautiful multi-acre pond.  I can't possibly do the inn justice in just a few words so I urge you to visit their web site.  You can get there from here by clicking on The "Victorian Elegance" B&B .  Or, you can go to www.victorianeleganceinn.com.   So - after we got our eyes pushed back into our heads, we headed west on Longtown Road, back toward Ridgeway to the next stop, the "Magnolia Lodge."  After a really pretty drive through ancient farms and forests we reached the lodge and realized that we have passed it many times in recent years without realizing what was there.  Owner Tom Hall is an amazingly innovative, creative and energetic young man who has used his excellent legal training and successful business experience to build an unusual and extremely innovative lodging facility.  As I have said about some of the other places we visited, there is no way I can possibly do justice to what Tom and his staff have put together so please visit The Magnolia Lodge in Ridgeway to get a better picture of all there is at this amazing place.  From Magnolia Lodge we headed further west toward the tiny village of Blair, S. C.  That would be the westernmost point on the itinerary so we decided to go there and work our way back to Ridgeway but - before we got too far we realized we hadn't had lunch!! So - we pulled into the grounds of the old Ridgeway High School - a site we worked hard, but unsuccessfully, to preserve as a site for an arts council and set up our picnic.  It was GREAT!!!  The site, the weather - and the neighbors on their porches - were all wonderful!!!  Refreshed, fed and energized we continued our journey down Highway 34.  We have been to Blair on previous occasions but this would be the first time we had a chance to roam around one of the true landmarks of the area, the "Blair General Store."  Opening in the mid-1800s, the store served the tiny community as their source of dry-goods and groceries for many years and, later, as a renowned purveyor of South Carolina antiques.  Now, however, it can only be visited by appointment so we were especially lucky to have this chance.  I will let the photos do the talking here but they can't come close to conveying the warmth, friendliness and hospitality of the Hendrix and Blair families who hosted us on this visit.  It is impossible to fully convey the impact seeing all of this 'history' right in front of you has - particularly to someone who, as a child, saw many of the items being used in daily work duties.  Some of the art work by the Blair family - stained glass, tile, oil paintings, watercolors and much more - was simply spectacular.  It was another warm, educational and fascinating venue.  Then, it was back to the East to our next stop.  Actually, it was originally to have been the "Porter Farm" on Highway 34 but the family was not able to participate this year so we headed for the "Doty Farm" a few miles east.  There we again encountered a remarkable menagerie of creatures and an equally remarkable family of South Carolina farmers.  We knew we were in for a real treat when we realized that many of the pigs, goats and other inhabitants of the farm were roaming around freely among the visitors.  Linda and I both took the opportunity to spend some quality time with the goats, pigs and donkeys - as well as some of the charming family members manning the "passport stamping site."  The buildings on the farm - although no longer used as actual residences for the family - continue to carry out their duties relative to the ongoing operation of the farm - and - some are used as gathering spots for friends and family!  It was a great visit and I wish I could go over the history of the farm but we were pressed for time and wanted to get to the "Farmers Market" in Winnsboro, S. C. before it closed.  So we said goodbye to our new-found friends (four and two footed) and headed East again.  We made it to the Winnsboro site just before it closed so we did not have the chance to do as much shopping as we had hoped.  But we did get the final spot on our passport checked and told the wonderful Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce volunteers how much we appreciated their efforts to put the event together.  Then, tired but happy, we headed for home.  It has been a really, really wonderful day, gang, and I hope you take the opportunity to look up some of the web-sites I told you about.  I think you will be surprised.  Hopefully we can re-visit some of the sites in the not-too-distant future and when we do, we'll make sure you are along for the ride.  See ya.