Fun Surprises and Interesting Places!

We had a great time visiting in Florence, SC! All of the churches we have held seminars at have been full of very kind, friendly and generous people.  We really enjoyed getting to know the staff here as well. (Thank you Southside Baptist Church for all of the meals, fellowship, and encouragement!!) While we were at SBC, there was a sportsmen banquet with dinner, prizes and a speaker.  Alan took the older two boys while I went on a date with the younger two.  At the end of the banquet, I received a text from Alan saying, "Nate won a door prize!" Then, I opened this photo sent to my phone:

My jaw dropped! Seriously?!?!? He won a golf cart?? That is so cool but where in the world are we gonna put that? I talked to Alan shortly after I received the text and it turns out the picture below is the one that went with his earlier text about the door prize:

Nate had actually won a hat, measuring tape, and grill brush (NOT the golf cart!!) Too funny! The picture is blurry because he was so excited that he was jumping up and down in his seat!! :)

We had a little time to explore that weekend, so we asked about anything interesting in the area.  We were told about a place nearby where the U.S. Air Force had accidentally dropped an atomic bomb over 50 years ago! We just had to check it out! I am so glad we asked for directions too! It is hidden back in a neighborhood. Basically, we were told to look for a clearing in the trees on an empty lot.  I am surprised we found it!

There is a small clearing where there is a trail to the site. After walking just a short distance, we saw this display of newspaper clippings and photos of the incident.

And then there was the large wooden cut out of an atomic bomb....

My silly boys just had to strike a pose of course!!!! Joshua was actually asleep in this picture:) Below is a photo of the crater from the bomb.  Fortunately, it was not armed with a warhead when it dropped!! WHEW! The site was full of rainwater when we visited the area, so it was hard to see how deep the hole was.  The crater made from the bomb was actually 35 FEET deep and 70 FEET wide!!

We walked a little farther on the trail and found the site where a house nearby was destroyed from the blast. The family living there was injured, but thankfully no one was killed!!

Apparently, there was reported damage to buildings within a 5 mile radius of the site! There were fallen limbs, trees, and overgrown vines & shrubs everywhere, along with bricks and pieces of foundation from the house.  It was interesting to think this area held such an interesting event, yet not too much has been done to care for or preserve it.  It was a fun thing to go see anyway! It's not like you come across something like this every day! Life on the road is full of little adventures:)

Blessings to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)