CINDY MCFADDEN ast December my

L family and I (husband

and two young boys) began a new adventure when we relocated to Gaffney.

“Here we go again!” was becoming our theme lately. This was our third move in four years, so we were accustomed to starting over. We’ve learned that each new place brings unique and interesting experiences, but sometimes they’re difficult to find.

For example, for about a year we lived in Olomouc, Czech Republic — a town full of unmarked doors and buildings (very common in that part of the world). And the doors and buildings that did have signs were in Czech, of course! It was the kind of place where you just had to ... well ... you just had to know what was going on in order to know what was going on!

Sometimes we picked the wrong door for sure but we had a great time exploring the unknown. We were also lucky to meet a lot of locals who were interested in showing off their city and culture. Having “tour guides” helped make our experience all that more memorable and meaningful.

We want to have that same kind of fun and excitement here in Cherokee County. We’ve been opening a few doors here but admittedly got a slow start due to the colder, wetter-than-normal winter. As the temperatures have risen, however, so have our outings.

We’ve enjoyed several pleasant visits to Cowpens National Battlefield, soaked up the sun at Lake Bowen, stuffed ourselves silly with humongous scoops of homemade ice cream at Strawberry Hill Farms, put on our dancing shoes at the Shindig, bought some pottery at the Art in the Park/CHAPS May Day event, have become Thursday night patio “regulars” at Daddy Joe’s and have eaten our weight in fresh peaches (sadly, due to a death in the family we missed the Peach Festival).

Certainly there is more to Cherokee County than peaches, ice cream and beautiful views. This also seems like a place where newcomers — not just my family but all new Cherokeeans — could use a little help to know what’s going on. We need some local “tour guides” to give us suggestions.

Where would you take outof town visitors? What are you proud to show off in Cherokee County? Big or small, what activities are unique to this area? Where are your town’s unmarked doors and hidden treasures?

Send your ideas to this new South Carolinian at

lego.mama@yahoo.com.

I look forward to hearing your ideas for our next adventure!