If there's one thing I've learned across the miles, it's to be creative with whatever resources I have available to me. A wonderful restaurant in Hartwell provided me with a free place to stay Sunday night. I was simply going to remain in town for the rest of Sunday; however, Brad, who had walked into town with me, was enthusiastic about walking another 8 miles with me, to the other side of the South Carolina border. I loved the idea of both opportunities, and we found a way to make them work. Brad and family would bring me back to the Hartwell restaurant upon completing our Sunday miles across the South Carolina border, and Luther, an upstanding local youth pastor, would return me to the South Carolina border the following day, so that I could connect the steps from exactly where I'd left off. The plan worked out beautifully!!

After reaching the SC border the previous afternoon, and having immediately been brought back to Hartwell for an overnight stay, Road Angel Luther returns me to the exact spot at which I'd left off, the following day.

Thanks for your help, Luther! I'm fully connecting 100% of my steps from here!

As I had to cross the Savannah River to enter South Carolina, the first couple of miles of SC are uphill. Less than a mile into the day, I pass the official sign!

Border businesses. It's funny how next to state lines, you'll always find businesses that specialize in products that are difficult or impossible to obtain on the other side. For example, in Portland, Oregon, where there is no sales tax, large shopping complexes are set up just across the river from neighboring Washington State, whose sales tax is close to 8%. Washingtonians come across in droves to avoid paying sales taxes-- especially on large purchases. This border business in South Carolina has more relaxed liquor and fireworks laws than neighboring Georgia.