On The Utility Of Thrift Stores
People who know me well know that I don’t like to shop. The exceptions to that rule are hardware stores, grocery stores and thrift shops. About once every few months, I get the itch to see what’s on consignment-sale in the area. I have a circuit of six stores that I visit around town. I usually don’t buy anything, but every now and then I see something in good shape at a price that’s unbeatable and I buy it. For instance, one time I picked up eight steel folding...
Read MoreConestee Park
The wife and I wanted to get outside this weekend, but the heat and mosquitoes make it difficult to do too much during the day. So we decided to visit the walking trails at nearby Conestee Park early on Saturday morning. At some point in the near future, the Swamp Rabbit Trail will connect with the Conestee Trails and the area will be filled with bikers, hikers and dog walkers. But for now, the area is pretty dead. The way I see it, that’s a feature and not a bug. If you...
Read More2011 USA Cycling Championship
I blogged the USA Cycling Championships the past two years because they were held in my hometown of Greenville, SC. In 2009, we cheered as George Hincapie, the hometown favorite, won by a wheel. In 2010, we watched the final downtown circuits from a sunny knoll in Cleveland Park. This year, we decided to take advantage of the fact that the race course is literally at the end of our street, and that our nearby house has very comfortable A/C for the 45 minutes between mountain stages. I took...
Read MoreFirst Annual Greenville Urban Farm Tour
The wife’s been trying to talk me into getting a few chickens for a couple of years. We already have a garden in the backyard and she insists that other homes in our neighborhood have much more developed backyard gardens complete with rainwater catchment systems, bee hives and chicken coops. As part of her sales pitch, she bought tickets to the first annual Greenville Urban Farm Tour. What we saw on the tour was pretty impressive. All but three of the homes we visited are within a...
Read MoreParis Mountain
The wife and I are lucky enough to have a well-kept State Park just five miles from our house. The weather was great on Sunday, so we decided to hike some trails at Paris Mountain. Paris mountain has a swimming lake, campgrounds, and lots of biking/hiking trails. It was our second time to the park, but our first time to really get out and hike. We decided to hike the Sulpher Springs Trail. It’s mostly a mountain biking trail, but a third of it is hiking-only. When we started...
Read MoreThe Best Farmers’ Markets In Greenville, SC
As I mentioned before, I’ve completely changed my meal planning practices. I used to buy meat in bulk at the grocery store and then plan my meals accordingly. Ever since we moved to Greenville, I’ve gone in the opposite direction. First, I hit one or both of my farmers’ markets and buy whatever looks good, then I go to my butcher, and finally I hit the grocery store to fill in the gaps. It might sound overly complicated, but everything is pretty close to home. It’s...
Read MoreSwamp Rabbit Trail, 2010
It was unusually cool on Saturday morning, so the wife and I decided to ride a dozen or so miles on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. It’s been expanded since the last time I blogged about it. I promised to post some pictures, so here they are. I actually took most of these pictures as I was riding. You should have seen the looks on people’s faces when I held the camera up and snapped pictures on the fly. Click on the first image to enlarge, then use your right arrow key to...
Read More2010 US Cycling Championships
The 25th annual US Cycling Championship was held in Greenville this weekend. It was the sixth year the race was held in town and we got word that it’ll stay remain for another two years (but take place over Memorial Day weekend). The 112 mile course (map) involves several circuits through downtown and four trips over Paris mountain. We watched the first trip down the mountain at a tight curve from Piney Mountain Road onto North Pleasantburg Drive. After that lap, we watched the...
Read MoreSoby’s Cookbook
I mentioned a while back how much I enjoyed reading Frank Stitt’s cookbook. I actually lugged the giant tome to and from the beach over a few days. For my recent birthday, the wife bought me Soby’s New South Cuisine Cookbook so I could keep learning. Who could blame her? She eats the food. Soby’s is an anchor in downtown Greenville and has been a leading force in making the city the culinary destination it is today. The book provides a glimpse into the history of the...
Read MoreMy Guest Column For The Greenville News
When the wife and I moved to Greenville, SC from Washington DC, we didn’t really know anyone. I set a meeting with mayor to talk about the city, the local economy, and get a sense of what’s in store for the metro area. We spoke for almost an hour and I enjoyed the conversation very much. I didn’t think my meeting request was weird at the time, but everybody now laughs at the mere mention of it. Anyway, I told the mayor that the main reason we chose Greenville over other...
Read MoreFalls Park In The Snow
I was in the process of deleting old pictures from my phone when I ran across some pictures of Greenville after a brief snowstorm a few months ago. I think all the snow had melted by mid-afternoon, but it was pretty while it lasted. I already posted some pictures of Greenville after a recent ice storm, but I thought I’d share these as well. Click on the first image. It may take a moment to load. Use your right arrow key to browse through the...
Read MoreMy Letter In The Greenville News
I recently wrote another guest editorial for The Greenville News. This time, instead of printing it just as I wrote it, they butchered it down and ran it as a letter to the editor. As is all too common, their selective editing removed the larger context of the piece. Here’s their version: Letter: Downtown wants you for 120 minutes The full piece is below. The City Asks Us to Spend Our Money Downtown (And Then Promptly Leave) There’s been a lively discussion over the past few...
Read MoreGreenville On Ice
We had an ice storm this past weekend. It was very mild and by Sunday morning the streets were navigable enough to do some sightseeing. Here’s the Reedy River from the South Main Street bridge: After we finished brunch, there were a lot of people walking around outside. I guess after being cooped up by the snow and freezing rain all day Saturday, everyone was ready to get out and stretch their legs. These pictures were taken with my new cell phone. Not too bad,...
Read MoreAbout The Author
Chad Chandler is a strategic marketing consultant and web developer to small businesses in the Upstate region of South Carolina. Learn more. 
As an experienced marketer and an avid social media user, I keep a hobby blog. It mostly exists as a public scrapbook for my out-of-state family. Feel free to take a look around and see what you like.
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