Unlike the wide Tennessee River as it passes through Chattanooga, the Reedy River in Greenville is, at times, not much wider than a creek. But, that’s a good thing. It means it’s easier to become more intimately acquainted with it. The best way to do that is to walk the three mile downtown portion of the 21-mile Swamp Rabbit Trail.
The five-minute walk from the Hyatt Regency on Main Street to the trail goes by the Mast General Store, M. Judson Booksellers and O. P. Taylor’s Toys—all places we made note of to visit later in the day.
After a breakfast of coffee and bagels at Spill the Beans, we sauntered along the trail to Reedy River Falls. Not many cities can boast of a waterfall flowing through downtown, so it only makes sense that Greenville has wisely decided to capitalize on it. Millions of dollars were spent creating upscale 32-acre Falls Park, replete with terraced levels and eye-pleasing natural landscaping. Soaring above all this is a pedestrian bridge unlike any other in the United States. The gently-curving Liberty Bridge appears to float above the falls, its concrete deck held in place by a single suspension cable.
Farther downstream is Cancer Survivors Park and Fear Not, a compelling bronze sculpture by Charles Pate Jr. that depicts a gentle lion permitting a child to cuddle up to it and gain courage to face what lies ahead. Laurie couldn’t resist the symbolism and sat on the lion’s back to bolster her spirits, too.
Children frolicking in the Cleveland Park Playground made me realize just how important it is for localities to make facilities such as this available to the public. Not only were the kids having fun, but they were also building muscles on the monkey bars, developing coordination by going across balance beams and learning cooperation when 10 of them decided to go down the slide together.
I’m not sure if it was coincidence or if it was coordinated by the staff, but the opening of the zoo’s gates happened at the same moment the African lion’s outrageously loud roar resounded across the playground. A mile-long pathway winds by enclosures of lions, leopards, tortoises, giraffes, anteaters, orangutan, and dozens of other animals going about their daily lives.
A detour of a few hundred feet on the return walk brought us to Sidewall Pizza for lunch where Kathleen McKenzie, assistant manager, recommended we order a half Spicy Italian/half Margherita pizza. Her ideas of what to do later that evening turned out to be just as spot on as her pizza suggestions—we watched a free outdoor movie in the Falls Park amphitheatre, took in a lively set at the Blues Boulevard Jazz club and ended the day with ice cream rolls in Crème Shack.
