Actually, Day 1 started yesterday; I met with a friend from the Miata Club days. She was actually one of the 12 founders of the Masters Miata Club back in the early 90s. I met her and her husband at their favorite watering hole, where we had dinner and drinks. NA beer for me, sweet tea for her, and some wine for her husband, who wasn’t driving—that’s right, PARTEE!
This morning, the actual Day 1, I drove over to Aiken and went for a walk in Hitchcock Woods, where Donna and I spent many a day exploring trails. In the time we lived in Aiken, I think we probably walked on every trail in there at least once. On the way into town I passed a billboard that featured a photo of the realtor who sold us our house back in 1989 when we first moved to Aiken. She also helped us sell that same house in 2019 when we moved to Oregon.
On a whim – no, that’s sort of a lie – I had looked at Zillow back in Oregon and picked a place I thought I’d like to possibly live, and if my favorite, and only, Aiken realtor was in her office, I’d see if she’d show some properties. She was, and she did. The first place we looked at had 2 bedrooms, two baths, and a 2-car garage, which is exactly what I’d want. The other two were non-starters, one too small and the other too big. The thing is I could afford to live here comfortably. And while there is a small chance that I’d move back here for that reason and the built-in friend group, I really like living out west. It’s a fallback position.
Later in the afternoon I met up with another Miata Club couple for coffee and a chat. They stopped going to club events back during COVID. They still have their Miata and do drive it occasionally. The club is still in existence, but it has mostly become a supper club of people who happen to drive the same model of car. Tomorrow is dinner with three Miata Club couples. I wonder if any of them are still in the club or even have a Miata in the household.
Okay, enough of that. For today’s Roadside America picture, I give you, Atomic Waste Container Art. I’ve noticed that the east side of the Mississippi really doesn’t do big things like they do out west. Not far from the waste container is a statue of the person the town is named for, William Aiken Sr. He was the president of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company. He never set foot in the town, and because there were no known pictures of him, the artist used photos of descendants and other folks from that time period to create his “likeness.” Because of that, he deserves to be listed on the Roadside America site probably more than an atomic waste container, but what do I know?
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- Nuclear Waste Container
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- Me & Mr Aiken
