Benjamin Simon

1 week ago | postandcourier.com | Benjamin Simon

If you're talking about unusual South Carolina attractions, there may not be a better — or more visible — example than the Gaffney Peachoid. The 135-foot-tall water tower, built like a peach, rises over busy Interstate 85 for anyone traveling between Atlanta and Charlotte to see. Not ringing a bell? You may have seen it in the popular, Emmy-winning TV show, "House of Cards." You may have also noticed that it looks like a, uh, butt.

2 months ago | postandcourier.com | Benjamin Simon

ROCK HILL — Jadeveon Clowney usually likes to get to his youth football camp early — in the morning when he can get settled and help with registration. But the NFL player didn't arrive until the afternoon after flying in from Houston, where he is training this offseason. When he did arrive from the airport, he was all smiles, shaking hands, snapping pictures and dancing to the YMCA theme song with his family. “This is more like a family event to me,” Clowney said.

2 months ago | postandcourier.com | Benjamin Simon

ROCK HILL — Karis Watson didn't think that she’d be here. Not when she attended Rock Hill High School, even though she was the best volleyball player in the state. Not when she played at Clemson University, even though she earned all-conference honors. And definitely not in the middle of grueling seasons overseas where she “self-retired” almost every year. Maybe it was some self-doubt. But it was also reality. For nearly her entire life, professional volleyball didn't exist in the United States.

Mar 6, 2025 | postandcourier.com | Benjamin Simon

GREENVILLE — They started as a cover band and planned to stay that way. And it worked. Since forming in 2012, Hot As A Pepper has been a constant in the Upstate music scene. The dance variety band has performed more than 600 concerts, including Fall for Greenville, entertaining crowds with anything from "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green to "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson to "Any Way You Want It" by Journey. In 2023, they won The Post and Courier’s Readers' Choice for Best Band.

Mar 5, 2025 | postandcourier.com | Benjamin Simon

GREENVILLE — In the Blue Ridge Mountains, there's a half-finished tunnel where a railroad was supposed to run and Clemson University once aged blue cheese. It's unlike anything else in the area: A quarter-mile walkable tunnel carved into an enormous mountain that's an engineering wonder, a failure and a little bit spooky. Even if the sun's shining, you'll need a flashlight to navigate the pitch black, echoey, wet tunnel.