CHESTERFIELD, SC (WGNO) – I have a home in South Carolina.
It’s in the town of Chesterfield, population about 1,300. It’s just south of the North Carolina state line, about an hour and a half drive southeast of Charlotte, North Carolina.
It’s where I was born. It’s where my parents live. The Carolinas are where most of my family lives.
And it’s where I planned a calm, family vacation the first week in October.
That’s the same week Hurricane Matthew planned to arrive in South Carolina.
As you probably heard and saw, Matthew arrived. Matthew stayed. Matthew destroyed.
Here’s the tree the hurricane knocked down on Main Street that knocked out power to most of the county. The lights were out for about a day and a half for close to 50,000 people.
Power came back the moment my plane landed back in New Orleans Sunday afternoon.
Church was canceled because of the storm. But with the return of electricity, the Wood family can once again, see the light.
Hurricane Matthew pulled this tree out of the ground across from the funeral home on Main Street.
Before every store shut down, I managed to put together my hurricane survival kit: kale and toilet paper.
Here’s the hundred year old pecan tree in my grandmother’s back yard on Main Street. After Hurricane Matthew, it still stands. It looks a little wiser.
And after the storm, my favorite picture. It’s the swing in the oak tree in my front yard.
It looks like a great spot for a vacation.
