Blogs from Columbia, South Carolina, United States, North America
Second Star to the Right, and Straight on Till Texas
Published: December 21st 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » Columbia
December 21st 2011
This is Lindz. Looks like the folks'll be busting out their yellow roses soon. We left Columbia, SC this morning at about 9 A.M. Eastern Time. Had a good ride on I-20 through SC and into Georgia. I think it was in Augusta, GA that we decided to stop for breakfast at Denny's. Any Denny's we've ever been to has been a good experience - but this was the exception!! It wasn't as large a place as the Denny's we have known. Some of the wait staff didn't show up for work because they called in sick. So 3 waitresses were handling all the customers and they were in a ... read more
It's like driving across Texas!
Published: December 21st 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » Columbia
December 20th 2011
Leslie here: I'd like to say that Mom and Dad now have just about 1100 miles to travel until they reach the great city of Austin, Tx. If one were to drive from Orange, Tx to El Paso, Tx, one would travel about 900 miles. So this next portion of the trip is basically just like driving across one state. One really BIG state. Or like driving around New England for days and days and days. But it's more fun to be in Texas, so we'll welcome them heartily when they arrive. And don't let Mom's estimate fool you, they should absolutely be here by Wednesday night... hear that Mom and Dad???? We'll have dinner waiting!! Another fun day in Columbia. For a few hours, we visited Leanne's work where she is the Assistant Director of ... read more
Chaplain Candidate Course Week 2
Published: August 10th 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » Columbia
July 15th 2011
On Monday, Chaplain Mike Seaman joined our team and replaced Ch Sumrall from AFRC/HC. What a character! He was full of stories and fun expressions that only a good Southern Baptist preacher could get a way with. On Tuesday, I led the group on a spiritual reatreat over to the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary - my alma mater. It was a blazing hot day, but the group made the most of it. Together we enjoyed the labyrinth, rose garden, a peaceful campus, and especially Christ Chapel. Dr. Robert Hawkins was particularly colorful and a great help in describing the stained glass and symbolic features of the chapel. It was good to my old friend and professor. Wednesday was a very full day in the classroom. The highlight was having our Chief of Chaplains (2 Star General) ... read more
Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever
Published: July 13th 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » ColumbiaJuly 12th 2011
I am finally home...well it has been a week but I am still recovering. My last week in Spain was pretty chill. After MM left Lidia and I just kinda hung out and started packing. It was so hot and most of our friends had already left Spain so we just stayed at the apartment. We were both kinda ready just to be home. The journey home was the longest 36 hours of my life. I flew from Madrid to London on Tuesday, the 5th, at 9 pm. My flight was supposed to be at 8 pm but it was delayed. I got to London at 10:30 pm, which was 11:30 pm Madrid time since London is an hour behind. I spent the night in the Gatwick International airport because my flight was at 9 am ... read more
Chaplain Candidate Course
Published: August 10th 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » ColumbiaJuly 8th 2011
Directing this course for the first time was baptism by fire. Every day began at 0500 in order to be one step ahead of the students and every night ended at 2300 or later. As the course director it is my responsibility to line up "subject matter experts" to come in and teach the Chaplain Candidates what they need to know about serving in the USAF Chaplain Corps. I manage the course schedule, teach/brief the students on various blocks of material, lead them on a spiritual retreat, make sure they are ready for their final test and oversee every detail of the entire course. It is a great deal of responsibility, but I enoyed mentoring these seminary students and encourage their call to ministry. The learning curve was steep, but I hung in there and concentrated ... read more
Columbia, South Carolina - United States of America
Published: June 12th 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » Columbia
June 4th 2011
Jun 04, 201 *City official name :Columbia *Founded date : *Location :South Carolina State *Elavation :? ft (? m) *Area :Approximately ? square miles (? km²). *Facts :Columbia is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of the city proper as 117,508 and the metropolitan population 689,878. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a small portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city's name is derived from a poetic name for America, based on the name of Christopher Columbus, the use of the moniker being first attributed to poet Phillis Wheatley according to popular legend (see Historical Columbia). Located just 13 miles no... read more
A Bit of Air Force Ministry
Published: July 2nd 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » ColumbiaJune 3rd 2011
You may or may not know that as a reserve chaplain I am teaching at the USAF Chaplain Corps College at Fort Jackson, SC. I am the Course Director for the Chaplain Candidate course which welcomes seminary students into the Air Force as future chaplains. So, to be ready for the course in July I had to work a couple of days for the Air Force. It looks like our class retreat will be at Southern Seminary, my alma matter. One of the things I appreciate most about my Air Force ministry is the collegial friendships that I have with other priests, rabbis, and pastors. There are two Catholic priests at the college who have given me some insight and suggestions for my upcoming trip to Rome. Father Dan Sweeney is a Jesuit Priest now teaching ... read more
Some Free Time: The Riverbank Zoo
Published: May 16th 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » Columbia
May 15th 2011
Columbia, SC I have been busy this last year with a full time job and finishing my masters. This has not allowed for time to travel. I have finished my Masters in Secondary education and I hope to find I teaching position starting next semester. Until I start a teaching job in August I have time to travel (on a tight budget), take pictures ,and write. Columbia, SC I have been lived in Columbia for six years. There are really a lot of interesting things to see and do in Columbia. The first and most obvious one is Riverbank Zoo. I did not appreciate the Zoo when I was little but now that I am older I actually enjoy it. I went to the Zoo on the first warm weekend of spring with my new boyfriend ... read more
My Daughters First REAL Ride!
Published: May 9th 2011North America » United States » South Carolina » Columbia
May 7th 2011
I was driving my family home from a friend’s wedding and commented to my wife how nice the Saturday afternoon weather had turned out. It was a sunny 82 degrees with just a light breeze. The day before had been wet and dreary and it was nice to have some great riding weather. As I was hinting to my lovely wife how much I deserved a little ride this afternoon, my youngest daughter reminded me that she can now reach the foot pegs and would like to go for her first ride. I said yes and mom gave in and relented with an “oh OK “… I grabbed a map when I walked in the door and planned out a short little ride that would get at least three bonus locations for this year’s Grand Tour. ... read more
Art in a Cultural Desert
Published: January 20th 2012North America » United States » South Carolina » Columbia
April 2nd 2011
Today I am in Columbia, South Carolina. South Carolina’s capitol gets as much publicity as a tourist destination as Albany (see March 1st), for pretty much the same reason. It’s a place where people visit to do business, not see sights. The city is probably most (in)famous for the Confederate battle flag that proudly flew over the state house until a decade ago (it now flies over the Confederate monument in front). I was there on a Saturday, which meant the place was basically dead. Still, I had a few hours to kill, and needed somewhere to do it. Thankfully, the local paper, which wants to breathe life into the town, publishes a guide of things to do around here. I ultimately chose the Columbia Museum of Art/url... read more
