South Carolina

When you mention South Carolina, people think of Southern hospitality, Southern cooking, stately homes, beautiful gardens, and beaches. These impressions and images of South Carolina aren’t wrong. The culture of South Carolina is built on generations of good manners and welcoming guests and strangers, and southern cooking and recipes have been handed down through the generations. You’ll also find historic homes with beautiful gardens are throughout the state. And, with 187 miles of coastline, South Carolina also is famed for its beaches.

However, there are even more facets to South Carolina. It has added advanced manufacturing to its growing economic development, and beyond the beaches, three varying geographic areas are represented in South Carolina.

South Carolina still has an active agricultural economy, producing poultry, swine, cattle, dairy products, rice, soybeans, cotton, tobacco, and hay, but it has added an industrial element to its economy. Among the products manufactured in South Carolina are textiles, paper products, chemicals, machinery, automobiles, automotive products, and airplanes. The aerospace industry and tourism also contribute to the South Carolina economy.

Geographically, drive west from the beaches and the coastline, and you are in the Atlantic coastal plain or low country. This area extends two-thirds of the way across the state. Low country is flat and includes ports, bays, marshes, and estuaries. It can be swampy, but better drained areas can be farmed. The soil in this region consists of clay, sediment, sand, and silt. The Middle Atlantic coastal forests include the natural areas of the coastal plain. The Sandhills, found west of the coastal plain, were coastal sand dunes formed either when the oceans were higher or the land sank.

Upstate, where the end of the navigable rivers occurs at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, you encounter the Piedmont and the Blue Ridge Mountains. This area has stony, clay soil. It’s hilly and unsuitable for most kinds of farming, so tree farms grow Loblolly pine for the timber industry. Because the fall line provides water power and a way to transport lumber to market, mills and towns were established below it. The foothills at the western edge of the Piedmont include the Cherokee Parkway and Table Rock State Park. The Blue Ridge Mountains, at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains, includes Caesars Head State Park and South Carolina’s 3,560-foot Sassafras Mountain, the highest point in the state. Whitewater rafters visit this area for a bit of fun on the Saluda River.

Charleston

Charleston, located on the coast, is the largest city in South Carolina. Founded in 1670 and incorporated in 1783, it is known for pastel-colored houses and cobblestone streets.

Charleston offers many historic sites to visit. The top site is Fort Sumter. The first shots of the Civil War occurred here when Confederate artillery fired on the Union-occupied fort on April 12, 1861.

Another historic site near Charleston is the McLeod Plantation. The McLeod Plantation is located in Folly City on James Island. It offers a variety of tours.

Charleston also offers the rare opportunity to view a Confederate submarine. The H. L. Hunley was a hand-cranked submarine and was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship. She sank the USS Housatonic on the evening of February 17th, 1864. However, the H. L. Hunley also sank with her crew of eight on board. After numerous searches and 136 years, the H. L. Hunley was found and raised in 2000. Since then, she has been studied repeatedly, and theories of what might have happened have been suggested. A number of tours are available.

Also make sure to visit the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. It is a beautiful, modern, cable bridge that spans the Cooper River. With eight lanes for vehicle traffic along with a bicycle and pedestrian lane, it was the second-longest cable-stayed bridge in North and South America when it opened on July 16, 2005,

A major event in Charleston is the Spoleto Festival USA. It occurs annually in late spring. Composer Gian Carlo Menotti created the festival in 1977 to replicate the Festival dei Due Mondi (the Festival of Two Worlds) held in Charleston’s now sister city, Spoleto, Italy. It is a 17-day performing arts festival that includes over 100 performances by performing artists from a variety of fields.

Of course, you will also want to visit all the beaches along the coastline near Charleston from Folly Beach to Edisto Beach located 48 miles south of Charleston.

If your interests are as diverse as the state of South Carolina, Dish Network offers a line-up with more than 200 national HD channels, international channels, and an On Demand library that allows you to choose from over 20,000 TV shows and movies. New customers also receive HBO®, Cinemax®, and Showtime® free for 3 months.

Columbia

Columbia, created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1786, is the capital of South Carolina. Its location on the fall line is the major reason for its growth. The University of South Carolina is located in Columbia.

Many of the popular activities in Columbia are centered around its geographic location. The Broad and Saluda Rivers join and form the Congaree River at Columbia. These three rivers provide opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, tubing, and some whitewater rafting. A rocky section in the Saluda creates a mild whitewater experience. The experience varies from the Shandon Rapids to Mill Race, an area influenced by a textile mill dam that was dynamited. Mill Race provides an 11-foot drop that becomes a Class IV or V when the river is running faster. All of this is in downtown Columbia.

West of Columbia is Lake Murray providing 650 miles of coastline. Lake Murray is open to a variety of boating including sailboats, pontoons, speedboats, and yachts. For a different kind of fun on the waters of Lake Murray, visit Drift Jam — the Flotilla Music Festival is the world’s largest floating music festival. Located by Spence Island on Lake Murray, the festival includes thousands of people and hundreds of boats. Visitors come from all over the country. The bands are on a floating stage. Below the Lake Murray dam is a great spot for fly fishing. With colder water year round, it is a good locale to catch trout.

The Three Rivers Trail along the rivers provides a biking path. Mountain biking is available at Harbison State Forest.

Hiking enthusiasts should visit Congaree National Park in Hopkins, where some of the trails include elevated boardwalks. There are also canoe trails with guided tours. The park is home to the tallest trees east of the Mississippi including over two dozen “champion trees.” Another unique find at Congaree National Park is the synchronous fireflies. These fireflies all light at the same time and are found in only six places in the world. To see them, visit the park in late May and early June.

The Columbia Marionette Theatre is the country’s only free standing theatre solely offering marionette shows

A fun mural, called Tunnel Vision Mural, can be found on Marion Street. It looks like a tunnel through the side of a mountain, but it is painted on the side of a building.

If you want to sample southern fare, visit the Lower Richland Sweet Potato Festival, the South Carolina Cornbread Festival, and the Rosewood Crawfish Festival. The Lower Richland Sweet Potato Festival is held in Hopkins. The Rosewood Crawfish Festival features 10,000-pounds of fresh Louisiana crawfish.

The Collard & BBQ Festival, held annually in October in nearby Gaston, provides another food experience that should not be missed. Other activities and southern-style food are available in addition to the BBQ and greens

For sports fans, South Carolina is home to NASCAR’s Darlington Raceway. The only missing element in South Carolina is their own major league professional sports team, but the Carolina Panthers have many supporters in South Carolina. For Carolina Panther fans and other sports enthusiasts in South Carolina, Dish Network provides 24/7 sports coverage with the Multi-Sport Pack.

North Charleston

North Charleston, incorporated in 1972, is the third largest city in the state. It is a major industrial area with manufacturing plants that include Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft assembly plant.

Just to the northwest of North Charleston is Summerville. The area was recognized as early as the 1780s as a place where Charleston residents could go to escape swamp fever and mosquitos in the summer. In 1899, due to the dry, sandy environment and the turpentine derivatives released in the air by the pine trees, the International Congress of Physicians named Summerville as one of two best places for patients with lung and throat disorders.

North Charleston offers a variety of things to do. The North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center offers concerts, shows and events.

The North Charleston Farmers Market is open every Thursday between 3 pm and 7pm from May to October. In addition to the locally grown produce, there are food trucks, art and craft vendors, kids’ activities and live music from 5 pm to 7 pm.

Riverfront Park, located by the site of the former Charleston Naval Base, is on the banks of the Cooper River. The park is the site of the Performance Pavilion that offers live concerts and events.

If you would like to go fishing or take a sightseeing cruise, contact Down South Fishing. You also can enjoy eco tours and night cruises to search for sharks and dolphins.

Nearby Walterboro has several locations to visit. they include the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary, the South Carolina Artisan Center, and the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial. It also hosts the annual Colleton County Rice Festival.

With so much to see and explore, you’re bound to miss some of your favorite shows and television specials! Fortunately, Dish Network’s Hopper is an HD DVR program that enables you to pause, rewind, and record live TV Now you enjoy the nightlife of Cedar Falls without skipping out on the newest episode of Game of Thrones or Keeping Up with the Kardashians. What’s more, with 2,000 hours of recording space, there’s no need to argue about who gets the TV during primetime hours.

Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant is east and across the Cooper River from Charleston and North Charleston. The crew of the submarine H. L. Hunley trained at Mount Pleasant.

To celebrate the naval history of the Charleston area, the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum was established in Mount Pleasant on the Charleston Harbor. Among the National Historic Landmark ships on display, the museum features the USS Yorktown, a World War II aircraft carrier. Other exhibits include the Vietnam Experience Exhibit, a Cold War Memorial, and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and museum.

The historic Boone Hall Plantation, located in Mount Pleasant, is open for tours. The tours include the house, multiple areas of the exterior, and educational programs. The Avenue of the Oaks at the entry of Boone Hall was used in Gone With the Wind to represent the entry to the Wilkes’ family plantation.

Or, just sit back and take your pick from more than 200 national HD channels and international channels, all of which are delivered with award winning HD DVR technology. If you’re brand new to the world of Dish Network, visit the main website and become a subscriber. There are always lots of incentive packages available to new customers, like HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime free for 3 months for new customers.

Weather

Unfortunately, summer in South Carolina is hot, humid, and mosquito-infested, especially in the low country. Temperatures can reach 86-degrees to 93-degrees Fahrenheit with the humidity making it feel much hotter.

Another weather-related issue for South Carolina is hurricanes. Hurricane season runs from the beginning of June through to the end of November, and the state can endure direct hits and heavy rain from the tropical storms.

Services Available in South Carolina

If you want to enjoy all that South Carolina has to offer, or you don’t want to deal with lawn care during the hot, humid summers, check out the many lawn care service businesses available in South Carolina.

To be sure that your air conditioner does not let you down during the summer, hire an HVAC service business to perform routine maintenance on it in the spring.

For your internet and cable service, contact Dish Network. With 24/7 customer support, Dish Network is ranked number one nationally in customer service by J.D. Power. Offering TV and high-speed internet bundles available for one convenient payment together with award winning HD DVR technology, Dish Network provides South Carolina residents with a great home entertainment value. The Hopper whole-home HD DVR allows viewers to pause, rewind and record live TV in any room with up to 2,000 hours of recording space, and it can be paired with any Amazon Alexa-enabled device. In addition, DishLATINO has the best of Spanish and English language programming.

With its diversity, South Carolina is a great state in which to live, and when you are at home, you can enjoy the diverse options offered by Dish Network.