Peachoid

For those of you who have yet to make its acquaintance, meet the Peachoid.  Actually, until today I never knew this landmark/eyesore was referred to by any name other than "Peach Butt," but thanks to Wikipedia I am now more enlightened.  

When I think of childhood road trips, the Peachoid, (sitting adjacent to I-85 in Gaffney, SC), along with South of the Border (just south of the NC/SC border on I-95), always come to mind.  Each trip from Wilmington to my visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins living in Lexington, SC, always involved watching the overly-dramatic billboards that counted down the miles to SOTB.  However, the few times we stopped for an emergency bathroom, food, and/or beverage run were always met with bitter disappointment.  (I remember once being charged $0.25 to use a frighteningly unsanitary ladies room, and Pedro's Coffee Shop shouldn't call what they serve "coffee").  

The Peachoid, in all its fruity glory, has never been a disappointment, but instead a constant source of amusement and amazement.  This one million gallon water tower sits a few miles from my granddaddy's house, in an area of South Carolina that is--would you ever guess?!--known for its excellent peach crop every summer.  Now I understand produce pride as well as the next gal, but why erect a water tower in the shape of a peach (a peach that looks suspiciously like a giant baby's butt from most aspects of the highway!)?  The Peachoid was built the year I was born, and according to Wikipedia the peach design was campaigned for by the good people of Gaffney to remind folks that South Carolina, and not that adjacent state known as the "Peach State," actually leads the US in peach production.  

Well Gaffney, you, your peaches, and your Peachoid have done South Carolina proud, and have spiced up the otherwise-boring stretch of I-85 for truckers and travelers alike.  Bravo!