Thank you, Karen! We found Greenville to be nicely running below the radar but with more than enough for a weekend. Hopefully you'll get there soon!

I went down the Pinterest wormhole. Wow. Wedding Sparklers and "Reveal Parties" are two activities I thankfully don't need to be considering. :lol:

That Denny's monolith sure looks out of place.

Maybe no one will care if I post it.



1 pork shoulder or butt, bone in or out--any size--the cooking time is the same for a 3#or 8# piece.
BBQ rub of your choice (I will post mine if you want) or just rub the meat with a mixture of kosher salt,coarse ground black pepper, brown sugar. You can add smoked paprika, and about anything else you want!! Put in a plastic bag to marinate for a few hours or overnight.

Method 1--IF you have a smoker that can control the temp (I have a sidebox smoker and can keep the temp at 200*-250*) smoke the meat for 4 hours, keeping the temp low. Then place the meat in a 250* oven for 4-6 hours to finish. It will be meltingly tender and have a wonderful smoky flavor.
Method 2 (and this is the one I have really used for 50 years). Place the meat in a 225* oven for 8-10 hours uncovered . I have often done them overnight. It will still have the melting tenderness. You will have to slap your hands to have any left over as you take it out of the oven. If you want to do it by temperature, a thermometer should read 190-200^
When ready to serve pull chunks of meat off and then "pull" the meat into shreds by pulling between 2 forks. Do not discard the fat--mix it in. This is not a low fat dish and to really enjoy, use it!!!
To warm before serving put themeat in a pan (black iron frying pan or Le Creuset is good) and cover tightly. Heat at 250* until heated.
To serve, offer bbq sauces, cole slaw (in the Carolinas, it goes ON the sandwich), baked beans, rolls, and banana pudding. For fall bbq's Brunswick Stew is also offered.

For BBQ sauce here is my tomato based:

1 bottle ketchup (28 or 32 oz.)
1 ketchup bottle of cider vinegar
6 oz. yellow mustard
6 oz. worcestershire sauce
Hot or sweet smoked paprika
1/2C brown sugar
3 oz. liquid smoke (if you want to use it)
2-3 TBS coarse black pepper
Texas Pete or such to your taste
Simmer for 45 minutes.

If you use commercial bbq sauce I suggest diluting them 1/2 with vinegar for this use.

Eastern NC uses vinegar sauces--sweetened vinegar with 1/4C (at least!!) cayenne pepper OR black pepper. It is too hot for me!
South Carolina uses a mustard based sauce but don't know the recipe.

Oh Gretchen! I care! Thanks for sharing.

Well, Greenville really has come in along way in the past 15 years. I was there about 5 years ago and enjoyed it then. And I love Gretchen's recipe post...as a native Memphian I love BBQ!

Two women who live in my coop in Manhattan sold their summer place in
Sag Harbor and bought a house in Greenville about 6 years ago. They wanted to be in Charleston but that proved too expensive. They use it all year round; I think the flight is only an hour-plus from NYC.

Not only that, but one of our doormen bought a house there two years ago and will relocate from the Bronx when he retired next year! Some of his family have already made the move and they love it.

It's a great little city but one of the best things about it is the location. It's in the Piedmont, so although not in the mountains Asheville is only an hour away and you're above the gnat line and out of the worst of the heat and humidity. An easy drive to the beaches and if you need/ want more big city options, Charlotte and Atlanta are just a couple of hours away. Sometimes I drive over to Greenville to see their Broadway series and concerts at the Peace Center. Easier to get in and out, less traffic and they have a different Broadway tour series than Atlanta's. If you want a little bit of "city" without the negative things about living in a big metro area, it's a great choice. And the downtown is simply charming. There aren't that many places that are as strollable as the Greenville downtown. Dectaur GA is one, but taxes are very high there. Greenville is a very good choice.

Broadway series -
https://tickets.peacecenter.org/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::perma link=20-BW-Season&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id =

A lot of people seem to be moving to Bluffton lately. I was in New Jersey this week and talking to a man whose family (originally from NJ) were planning to move from metro Atlanta to Bluffton but were rethinking that move. Greenville offers a lot - little city options with a great location.

And with Furman there it has a college to draw good things to do. And Furman is a well kept secret for a fine university.

Starrs:

Absolutely, your comments about people moving to Bluffton from the NE. We usually stop there going or coming from Florida. Last spriing when we were there (ate at a good restaurant called The Farm; on previous trips we always ate at the Bluffon Family Seafood House), the wait person told us that Bluffton was getting so expensive that she and many locals that she knew were having to move north to Ridgeland cause they could no longer afford to live in Bluffton. And that the city is getting spillover from northeners who cannot afford Hilton Head... I could not believe the amount of building going on along the highway leading to Hilton Head from I-95!! Totally changed in the 6 years we have beenn passing through!

One of the most pricey hotels on the east coast is in Bluffton--Palmetto Bluff. The entire property is gorgeous and the hotel rooms are so very posh, and plush. Where else can you borrow a Mercedes S-class convertible for no charge (!!!) to tootle around to the farmer's market or out to dinner??? (I took a lot of photos of THAT scene!!) We stayed there (PB) a couple of times but it just became just too expensive, and now that it has been taken over by Montage, they expanded the place and changed a lot. The good thing is that the town seems to have great Ωoning so there are no eyesore buildings in the tiny downtown area....I can only see property there going up and up and up.....

Question: What is the NEXT Bluffton, or the NEXT Greenville??

I think there is a cohort of people near retirement age that really do not want to retire to Florida and bake in the sun, never mind the heat of summer. These more active people can golf, enjoy the seasons, walk, and try new foods, in some of these towns that most never heard of before recently.

The NEXT Greenville? Try Greenville, NC, where I went to college at East Carolina University. It's a growing area (now the ninth-largest city in NC, I believe). It is often confused with its sister city in SC, and we've even had visiting athletic teams book accommodations in the "other" Greenville before realizing their mistake.

Western NC, eastern TN and north GA is full of retirees who want those things. Mountain lakes with crystal clear water. Beautiful seasons. Restaurants including one that is among the top 100 in the country. Golf. Hiking. Waterfalls. Towns, not cities so big hospitals are about an hour away but top physicians have retired and practice part time, including former department heads at Atlanta hospitals. A few of the doctors have gone into the wine business with beautiful vineyards and award winning wines. A/C not needed, even in the summer. Mosquitos are rare. Gnats = not at all. One needs to go to the highlands to get away from the gnats, bugs and the horrible heat and humidity. Half of my neighbors are from Florida, including a couple of Fodorites. Well, one sold and moved to the mountains of Virginia. It's pretty much heaven on earth. Bluffton doesn't appeal to me. Hilton Head definitely doesn't. A niece owned a home in Charleston while going to college (and then moved to Manhattan). A friend moved from the mountains to Bluffton to take care of an elderly mother but hates the sprawl around Bluffton. My plan was to have a place in the mountains and a place near the ocean. Insurance costs are just too high along the water. Kudos to those who can make it work. I always wanted a place in the mountains and a place near the ocean and took a job about a decade ago with the plan to buy the "near the ocean" place in NC or SC. But the micro-managing boss wanted me to relocate to Charlotte or Raleigh so I left the job in less than a year. If you are looking, I'd look at something in the Piedmont or higher. But that won't work if daily walks on a beach is important.

The Triangle area (RTP) in central NC is attracting a lot of retirees, but you get heat, humidity and mosquitoes. On the other hand, three large universities and several smaller, plenty of good medical care, good food scene, beach in one direction and mountains in the other. I've lived here so long I'll probably stay put, although Asheville is attractive.

We sold our beach house on the NC coast a couple of years ago. The grandchildren coming along had a lot to do with it, but a not insignificant factor was cleaning the house, yard and boat in the oppressive summer heat every time we had to leave. I was drenched on the way home in the summer unless I showered before leaving. Fall was really the best time down there when the humidity left, the air cooled into the 70s and 80s and the water was still warm enough to swim.

Fall on the Southeast Coast is an absolutely magical time--nothing better.

Is it ok to ask where both of you--Starrs and Thursday--live?

I think I said this before: I do NOT like spending the winter in Florida. I would much rather stay put in NYC and rent a house in, for example, Sicily, or an apartment in Madrid, for a month or two in the winter. This may be too much info, but I agreed to go to Florida with the partner whose elderly sister lives in the same complex. We got a GREAt deal on a condo for the over-55 set. We are most definitely NOT in Miami or even in West Palm Beach (urban area), both of which I would like a lot better, I think. Partner loves it for the golf, the sister, and most of all, the weather. I like to swim, period, and they have a fabulous library near us. Last winter I went to Spain by myself for two weeks, from Miami, and it was great.

We have friends who work at the medical school of Winston Salem (Bowman Grey??); he will retire soon and they will spend summers in Linville, near Boone, and winters in Boca Raton. I am sure the Boone area will be great. Boca--not so much!!

Hi eks - I sent you a PM.

That's a lovely area. I think nearby Valle Crucis is one of the prettiest valleys anywhere.

If you go, perhaps stay at the Mast Farm Inn -
https://www.themastfarminn.com/

What are the "musts" on your list? Golf. Winter swimming? Let us know. I think you may enjoy the Charlottesville area and/or Asheville NC and/or several options in between. I think Asheville is pretty much perfect. I would seriously check that out. I also thought I'd eventually live there. A friend and her husband moved up from Atlanta about 10 years ago and adore it. They bought one of the original Grove Park cottages and their backyard backed up to the golf course. He put in a putting green in the back yard.

eks, I just found this and thought you may be interested in reading it -
https://www.ourstate.com/frances-mayes-hillsborough/
Thursday will be more familiar with that side of the state than I.

Hillsborough is a charming place with an historic district. The mountains around Linville are terrific. Little Switzerland off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Banner Elk

Look up High Country NC for a lot of places.