If This is Just a Dream I Don't Want to Wake Up

May 13-15 — Columbia, SC

Following our short stint in Asheville, James and I made our way to Columbia, South Carolina to visit our friend Criss. He and James have known each other since they were kids and reconnected when they both lived in Milwaukee after college. We share a love of music with him and were swapping music recommendations, which is one of my favorite things, especially when we have a long car ride ahead and want something different to listen to. Criss recommended Foxy Shazam, so here is your soundtrack to this blog post:

We always seem to have the most fun when we have a friend to show us around. It’s nice to have your own tour guide that already knows what to do and where to go. Criss and his cat, Norm, were excellent hosts, even though Norm decided to poke a hole in the air mattress. 🐈‍⬛ It was Criss’s brand new air mattress and it only got a couple of nights of use. Dang cats! 😹  Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

We were having so much fun that we did an awful job of taking photos. We went to lots of great breweries and bars, including Columbia Craft Brewery, Weco Bottle and Biergarten, and The Whig, which is dubbed “North America’s Greatest Dive Bar.” After looking up The Whig on Google and Instagram, it looks like they’re now temporarily closed, which makes me sad! A lot can change in 8 months. It sounds like they outgrew their basement bar across the street from the State House. Hopefully they’ll be in a bigger, better location soon! We also had our first Mellow Mushroom pizza experience and, sadly, watched our Milwaukee Bucks get kicked out of the playoffs by the Celtics while we were in Columbia. Here’s hoping for a better outcome for the Bucks this year! 

We did a nice float down the Saluda River on tubes. No photos of that but I can assure you that we had a good time and I only got a little sun burnt (read: my feet were peeling). We almost didn’t make it off the tubes and onto the pier. The staff had to run after us and catch us before we got too far down the river. James and I each lost a flip flop but thankfully he was able to recover them both for us. It was time that I get new sandals anyway, mine were really on their last leg (pun intended). I know we sound like a hot mess but we only had a couple of beers each, I swear!

The best part of Columbia was when we got a private tour at Criss’s workplace (at the time—now he’s in school for his PhD!) the Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina. It’s the the official U.S. partner of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, one of only 4 global partner sites, and the only partner site in North America. It was emotional to talk about the realities of the Holocaust as a result of long standing prejudice, discrimination, and antisemitism. It’s interesting to look back at this dark piece of history and draw parallels to our lives now. There were some heroic people who helped but there were also millions of people who stood by and did nothing. It’s easy to think that if you had been there you would have done something to help. But what you’re doing right now to fight racism. antisemitism, and oppression gives you a pretty good idea of what you would have done back then. It wasn’t that long ago. The museum challenges you to think about how and if you’re making a difference right now and commit to never being a bystander in the face of bigotry. It was very impactful.

Columbia is an interesting place to have the Anne Frank Center. There’s an alarming amount of confederate statues around the State House, just 8 blocks away from the museum. The juxtaposition of people who symbolize racism and bigotry in our country with the shameful reminder of the bigoted acts that took place during World War II was unsettling. It really challenges you to think about how we should be talking about our history and what kinds of people deserve to be memorialized. They are doing great work at the Anne Frank Center in South Carolina and through their traveling exhibits, and it is a great place to take a lesson from history. We were so glad to have Criss share his knowledge with us. If you find yourself in Columbia, definitely make a stop there. Although our favorite education specialist no longer works there, it’s still a must-see.

Overall, we had a great time in Columbia and made some lasting memories with a great friend! This winter he traveled all the way to Milwaukee to see James for his surprise birthday party. We’re so lucky to have friends like Criss all around the world and this year of travel has been a wonderful reminder of that. 💙

And since I have no good photos from this part of the trip, I leave you with this giant picture of Norm.