SC Governor missing?

It's been all the talk on the local news, our governor is missing. Most of my readers are out of state, and therefore unconcerned. But I promise you, this story gets better.

Seems at least one person has a unique idea of what he might be doing. You see, Governor Sanford is known for being conservative. In fact, he takes conservative to a new level, refusing to ask for some of the stimulus money because it would cause more debt for US citizens.

In the Governor's first term of office, he decided to make a point out of his desire for fiscal conservativeness. He wanted to come out against pork spending in the state budget, so he walked into the legislative office with a pig under each arm.

His latest disappearance occurred over the weekend, with his last known location somewhere outside Atlanta. His own wife said she didn't know where he was. Finally, last night, his spokesman said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

The interesting turn of events is pointed out by this Christian Science Monitor story that realizes that the hiking takes place on Naked Hiking Day.

Now the thought of this conservative governor hiking naked may amuse some people, but it's a picture I personally don't need. Even the write of the article admits it's unlikely.

Alas, I just heard news that Governor Sanford will emerge tomorrow (hopefully fully clothed). The mystery will soon be over. But it's had a lot of play on the local news.

Misc topics and random thoughts

Camping trip was great. I took about three short hikes. The first one was on a trail I hadn't seen before, part of the Palmetto Trails to Jocassee Gorges. It's a 12.5 mile hike, I did a small part of it, but was expecting visitors, so headed back. From what I can see, it's a good hike but not real scenic. The second hike was along the Carrick Creek. On this hike I was accompanied by my three year old grandson. We hiked for about 20 minutes, took a 10 minute break, then hiked another 10 minutes before heading back. The hike is supposed to last about an hour, but with his short stride, I'm sure we didn't go half way in 30 minutes of walking. The last hike was back along the Palmetto Trail, but he was tired so we didn't go far.

All in all the trip was great. Two nights in a tent, far from everything. I'll post more about it later.

While I was gone, GM announced bankruptcy. I haven't blogged about it, but last August I bought some shares of GM on a lark. This was back in early August, before the bottom fell out. My theory was that the government would bail them out and the stock would go up. They did get a bail-out that month and the stock ticked upward for a day or two, then the credit market fell and, well, it was a lark.

I don't mean to imply that I backed the bail-out. I think it was a bad idea. But I really didn't think the government would let them go bankrupt. Who knows what will happen now. Maybe I'll blog more about that later too.

This past weekend, an abortion doctor was shot and killed. Make no mistake, this was murder. The conservative blogs that I read agree. The doctor has been called a killer (and I agree with that), but it doesn't make his murder any less of a murder. His (alleged) killer has been arrested. He deserves a fair trial, but assuming he is found guilty (and I see no reason why not), he should probably face the death penalty. It was simple pre-meditated murder.

Camping trip - take two

Last August I tried to go camping but was rained out (read about it here). Today, I leave for another attempt at the trip. If the weatherman is accurate, and if I believe in signs today like I did last August (see the post), this trip is meant to be.

Some family members are supposed to visit tonight and I'll grill some burgers. My 3 year old grandson is supposed to stay with me and tomorrow, we'll do some hiking, then come back the following day.

Wish me luck.

P.S. Sorry, that's not my tent in the picture. But one can hope....

The camping trip that wasn't

I was supposed to go camping this week. Unfortunately (for me), Fay had other plans. On Monday, I drove in the mist and sprinkles to Table Rock. This is about an hour from home and a wonderful State Park. Of course I packed the tent, some groceries, cooking supplies, hiking supplies and a couple of good books. My purpose was to get away and refocus some of my thoughts.

All the way there, I kept wondering if this was really stupid. I don't mind a little rain, and we certainly need it in this area, but tents are not a good place to stay in a monsoon. And if it was raining the entire time, I wouldn't get to do much hiking.

At this point, a little aside is required. I'm a believer in signs. I believe that when God wants to tell you something, He uses signs to speak to you. Not billboards or burning bushes - but of course, He could do that if He wanted - but little things. So I was wondering if all of this much needed rain was a sign that He didn't want me to go camping.

I missed my turn into the park and travelled west on Highway 11 about 2 miles too far. All of a sudden, I hit a downpour. I turned around and headed back and looked carefully for the entrance. When I entered, I headed to the campsites. I couldn't check in because the ranger station wasn't open, so I went to inspect the sights. I made a few mental notes and then tried to decide what to do while waiting on the station to open. I decided I could take a small hike, hoping the weather would clear - I hate the idea of putting up a tent in the rain.

Once at the trail head, the rain returned. OK, it was a good chance to eat an early lunch. As I got out of the truck, God decided to speak to me, clearly and loudly. In the form of lightning and thunder. And then more lightning and thunder. I got back into my truck and decided to think more about whether this was a good trip or not. After a few minutes, I went ahead and fixed my lunch, using the cab of my truck as my kitchen and lunch room (sandwiches aren't that hard to make).

Then I remembered part of my purpose was to read not just a book, but The Book, so I pulled out my Bible to read some. First Psalm 42 & 43 to refocus, then I wondered what was God's message. Well, using the concordance, I decided to look up references to thunder and lightning. What I found was that almost every reference referred to God's wrath or to punishment.

I have been accused before of being slow, but I'm here to say that's not the case. When God speaks to me, it only takes about 5 to 10 times before I get the message. So camping was not to be.

Instead I've stayed home this week and read my books. I've done a couple of honey-do's and relaxed and refocused from the comfort of my bed as opposed to a sleeping bag. I'm hoping to get a camping trip in soon, hopefully with no thunder or lightning.

Oh, I should also mention that on Tuesday, a tornado was spotted about 25 miles away from Table Rock. The same storm brought thunderstorms to Table Rock and some flooding. A hiker in nearby North Carolina lost his gear in a flash flood and had to be rescued. There were also mudslides in that area. I'm convinced, I was not meant to camp this time around. You only have to tell me about 5 times for me to learn that

Batteries

On Saturday, after becoming an empty nester (see Sunday's post), I took my wife's car to the local auto parts store to have the battery tested. It had failed to start earlier that morning, and the battery seemed like the best bet. Once it was checked out, the store-worker confirmed that the power in it was low (something like 100 amps, vs expected 400). He also checked the alternator and saw that it was putting out 14 volts, which meant it was in good shape. A new battery was purchased and the car is fine now.

This morning, the optical mouse on my desktop computer stopped working. This happens pretty frequently, and rather than wasting energy by turning on the low battery light, it just dies. I stopped at WalMart this morning for a pack of AAA's and it should be working again soon.

So where is all this leading? Well, it's time to recharge my personal batteries. This year has been a particularly frustrating year at work and it doesn't look like it's going to get better. So it's time for me to take a vacation.

Next week I plan to go camping at Table Rock State Park. One of the beautiful things about this State Park is that there are no computer hookups. No cell phones. Just peace and quiet. I plan on doing a little hiking, but since I'm not in 100% shape (maybe not even 75%), I won't attempt a climb to the top. There are a few nice shorter trails that I'll use. I'll take my camera, a few good books and the Good Book and just get away for a while.

I'm planning on 3 days (2 nights), but depending on the weather (hopefully Fay will have visited and gone) and how I feel, I may shorten or extend the trip.

I'll miss the Democratic Convention (darn), but it will go on without me. I'll catch up on the news when I get back. Consider this a fast (or really a "slow"), away from computers, the internet, tv and work. I'll probably post once or twice more this week, then no computers for a week