Crazy High School Road Trips- South Carolina

I’ve taken a few trips in my life that changed the way I look at the world around me. Two of these trips happened while I was in high school. My best friend Amy and I were free birds. We always had a boy or two on the side but it was me and her against the world. And, for a couple of cute chicks not more than 17 years old, we saw quite a lot!

Shaw Air Force Base- Sumter, South Carolina

Interstate 77, which runs from Cleveland, Ohio to Columbia, South Carolina, ran right through Canton and we’d traveled that road many times. We’d joke about not taking our exit off of 77 and following it to the end. One night, we decided to do it!

In the middle of February in the middle of the night, Amy and I decided it would be a great idea to pack up my little Chevy Cavalier and drive to South Carolina to visit a friend who was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in SC. It was supposed to be a 10-hour drive but we did it in 8. We left around midnight and arrived in the early morning.

We got on Interstate 77 from US Route 30 in Canton, Ohio. We drove through Marietta, Ohio, before passing over the Ohio River and into West Virginia. Driving through the mountains was scary but exciting- we could peer over the edge into a deep valley in some areas. The first big city we encountered was Charlestown, WV. I remember that it seemed to glow with a gold hue. We passed through the western part of Virginia and into North Carolina. Once we were near Winston-Salem, we started to notice the differences between the eastern Midwest and the South, namely lots of cigarette ads! We drove through Charlotte, NC and into Columbia, South Carolina. We headed east for Sumter from there.

We had some trouble finding the Air Force Base and stopped to ask for directions. The small group that had gathered around the counter of the convenience store looked amused and told us the Base wasn’t called that there- it was called Shaw Field. We finally pulled up to security as the sun was starting to rise. We had to do some fast talking to get on the base but I don’t think that two teen-aged girls that looked a little out of place seemed too suspicious to the MP guards and they let us through security.

We had a great time. We went to a basketball game between the Air Force pilots and the airplane mechanics. Apparently, there was a big rivalry between the two groups. I really don’t remember who won but I do remember a particularly hot pilot named Peach- “Whew Peach!” We also went to a Super Bowl game- Dallas won! The drive back through the mountains during a blizzard was scary. We experienced our first blown out tire. But, we sang and laughed the whole time.

I had to serve two Saturday-schools for skipping two days of class to take the trip but it was worth it. I now knew I could get as far as I could drive!













Postcard from Sumpter, South Carolina