Newberry, South Carolina

Last week I went to Newberry, South Carolina. I had never heard of this town until I got the project information. That is one reason I love my job, I get to go crazy different places. I would never visit Newberry ordinarily.

It really makes me appreciate what I have in Chapel Hill, 19 year-old sorority girls, crazy hippies and all. We have lots of restaurants. Restaurants that are open for lunch. Newberry was a little bit depressing downtown.

It snowed the week before my trip, everyone in South Carolina went crazy. It does not snow often down here.

One of Newberry's many attractions is its Japanese garden. That is right, it has an orange garden. This is rather unexceptional, except there is a sign by the door mentioning that the garden is an example of vernacular landscape (they used the term vernacular, he he). It also had to be closed during WWII due to vandalism. Shame Newberry, shame..

Apparently, the designer of the garden was a wealthy local guy and he modeled the garden after his visit to the San Francisco Japanese gardens. Not after Japan, but San Francisco.

They have bamboo too. Bamboo grows in South Carolina and Japan.

What, you ask, was I doing in Newberry? I was digging holes in people's front yards. This is an extremely awkward task. I feel like the neighbors are all sitting by their windows with guns ready to shoot. I think, in some parts of the country, ruining a lawn is a capital offense.

Typically, when I do excavations I am in an area where new development is planned and, therefore, not in a town. I like working in urban environments (except the gun thing).

Five Reasons it is Awesome to Work in Towns:

• There is always somewhere to pee indoors
• No brambles to scratch hands and legs
• Sidewalks and mowed lawns
• Lunch out at a restaurant (if your town has restaurant open)
• Easy to mark the project area boundaries

Five Reasons it Sort of Sucks to Work in Towns:

• People constantly asking what you are doing
• Buried utilities
• Guns
• Dogs
• Crazy people...

That is what I have been up to lately.