Under the Sun: From Indiantown to the Backwoods to Sunset Acres
A childhood friend of mine got married a little more than a week ago.It was a beautiful wedding and I got the chance to get a closer look at some places in the Pee Dee.
My travels started off on Friday, when I went to Indiantown Presbyterian Church for the rehearsal. It was a really nice day for a drive from Florence — I couldn’t have asked for better weather.
Anyway, I’d been by the church many times on my way from Hemingway to Kingstree, but I’d never been inside it. It’s a beautiful church. It was much bigger than I thought it would be, with a bunch of stairs leading up to the main doors. Once inside, there’s a staircase next to the alter, which leads down to a bunch of other rooms or offices.
The rehearsal dinner was held at Backwoods Quail Club.
I’d never heard of the place. Here’s what Yahoo! Travel had to say about it: “Located on an old historic plantation with more than 15,000 acres of open fields and wooded areas, this year-round preserve offers opportunities for old-fashioned, Southern style turkey, quail and deer hunting, plus features exciting and challenging skeet, trap and sporting clay courses.”
The club was just a little past the convenience store at Black Mingo, on the way to Georgetown. When we got there, they had a tent set up outside. The sun was just setting and it was cooling off a little bit. There were a few quail wandering about the yard and the sky was blue and several shades of pink.
It was very relaxing, reminding me of some of the cook outs I used to go to out in the country, a few miles from Johnsonville, when I was growing up. I’d forgotten how bright the stars are away from city lights.
On Saturday, the wedding reception was held at Sunset Acres, which is near Kingstree. I’d never been there, either. The drive was lined on either side by horses grazing in pastures. There was a big front porch, a screened-in porch on the side and several rooms at the front of the building, which was much longer than it looked from outside to accommodate a large room in the back, part of which served as a dance floor.
I think I drove at least 200 miles that Friday and Saturday. They were well worth it.
Becca and Jim, I wish you a long and happy marriage!
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on 10/13 at 05:59 PM
