July 11 was a particularly interesting day in my journey because it brought together personal history, wellness, music, and a return to a place that had once been home.
🌿 Returning to Greenvillehttps://www.visitgreenvillesc.com/things-to-do/trip-ideas/reasons-to-visit/
Downtown Greenville, SC
Greenville was not just another stop on my route. It was my old home, so returning there during this expedition had an emotional dimension that a normal tourist visit would not have.
Greenville has evolved into one of South Carolina’s most vibrant small-to-mid-sized cities, with a revitalized downtown centered around Main Street, Falls Park, the Reedy River, restaurants, galleries, breweries, and a remarkably active live-music scene. Its combination of Southern character, outdoor amenities and sophisticated downtown life is a big part of what makes Greenville distinctive.
My choice of activities was very much in keeping with the city I’ve come to know: health and wellness in the afternoon, music and community in the evening.
🔥 My Restore Wellness session
I visited Restore Hyper Wellness in Greenville for three complementary modalities:.
Whole-Body Cryotherapy
A very short exposure to extremely cold air. It is commonly used in wellness settings with the goal of temporarily reducing perceived muscle soreness and promoting a feeling of recovery and alertness.
Red Light Therapy
Uses low-intensity red and near-infrared light. It is known for effects on cellular signaling and tissue recovery, and is commonly used for skin health and general wellness.
Infrared Sauna
Uses infrared light to warm the body directly rather than primarily heating the surrounding air. The experience can promote relaxation, sweating and a temporary increase in circulation. Many people use it as a recovery and stress-relief practice.
Taken together, my session essentially created a cold → light recovery → heat sequence —a very different experience from simply taking a day off.
🎸 Then it was time for Smiley’s https://smileysroxx.com/
After spending the afternoon taking care of myself, I went to one of my favorite Greenville institutions, Smileys on the Roxx at 734 S. Main Street in the historic West End
Smiley’s describes itself as a live-music venue with music seven days a week, and it has become a genuine part of Greenville’s local music culture. It’s also a venue filled with friendly people and I’m always finding new friends there. Like my friend Abby in the photo.
🏙️ The bigger meaning of July 11
What I particularly like about this day in the context of my 160-day journey is the contrast:
Morning: returning to a familiar city.
Afternoon: investing in my physical recovery.
Evening: reconnecting with one of my favorite music venues.
Underlying theme: revisiting a piece of my past while preparing myself for the enormous journey ahead.
After my peaceful week on Lake Hartwell with friends, Greenville gave me something different: a connection to who I had been after learning about my bone marrow blood cancer and exploring paths to wellness.
That makes July 11 a nice bridge between two phases of my expedition—the relaxed beginning with friends in Georgia and the increasingly ambitious exploration of America about to unfold. And there is something fitting about ending the day with live music at a place I already loved. I wasn’t discovering Greenville—I was coming home to it, briefly, before getting back on the road.