The taste of fresh peaches and the roar of excited baseball fans—nothing beats the treats of summer, and South Carolina has plenty to satisfy visitors.
The state is one of the top national peach producers, and several orchards dot the countryside, offering full, ripe fruit in the summer months. One standout among fruit stands is the Cooley Brothers Peach and Strawberry Farms (864.461.7225; www.jecooleypeachfarms.com), located near Spartanburg. Visitors can buy fresh peaches and strawberries in season or purchase sumptuous peach preserves. For an extra sweet pleasure, try ice cream made with local fruit.
The Windy Hill Orchard (803.684.0690; www.windyhillorchard.com) in York County started with a craving, and now the business satisfies all fruity cravings, from the apple cider you remember enjoying as a kid to the smooth, rich goodness of apple butter, strawberry butter and even pumpkin butter. The owners of Windy Hill started the business so they could make their own apple cider doughnuts, and they now produce towering piles of pies and pastries each year, along with 35,000 gallons of cider. The orchard is open from mid-August to December, when the holiday wassail is made.
Hear the crack of the bat, smell those roasted peanuts; it’s time to take a break from the regular meeting schedule and do some old-fashioned team building by cheering on the boys of summer. Groups can support local teams like the Columbia Blowfish (803.254.3474; www.blowfishbaseball.com) at Capital City Stadium, or watch the title-winning USC Gamecocks (803.777.4202; http://uscsports.cstv.com) at Sarge Frye Field on the University of South Carolina campus in Columbia. At the new West End Field (864.240.4500; www.greenvilledrive.com), the Greenville Drive, affiliates of the Boston Red Sox, show their sports finesse, so visitors can catch the baseball stars of tomorrow before they hit the big leagues.
Groups can experience the spirit of a baseball legend at the Shoeless Joe Jackson Memorial Park (864.288.6470), just two-and-a-half miles from downtown Greenville. The park is located on the same fields where Jackson began playing in the “textile leagues,” which were amateur teams made up of workers from the textile mills. Jackson soon went on to pro ball, and his natural talent inspired greats like Babe Ruth. Although the 1919 Black Sox scandal marred his career, he is still remembered as a great player and a great person whose integrity remains intact in the eyes of the faithful.
