OOIDA’s tour trailer stops in Columbia, S.C.

June 10, 2021

Chuck Robinson

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This weekend OOIDA’s tour trailer stops in Columbia, S.C., where if he is of mind to skipper Marty Ellis can take a break and bowl a few frames.

The Spirit of the American Trucker is scheduled June 11-13 to be at the Petro Stopping Center in Columbia.

The Columbia Petro is at Exit 5 from I-77. It has parking for 134 tractor-trailers. The Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant dining room is open for guests 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. In addition to the Columbia Petro being a full service truck stop, there is also a bowling alley there, Beltline Lanes.

I-77 is just over 90 miles long, connecting Columbia to Charlotte, N.C. I-77 ends just southwest of the Columbia at the junction of I-77 with I-26.

Historic Columbia

The capital of South Carolina, Columbia has the distinction of being one of the first planned communities in the United States, according to city leaders. The site was chosen for the state capital in 1786 and the state legislature met for the first time there in 1790.

Columbia was governed by the state at first and was charted as a city in 1854.

Columbia also had one of the first canals in the country built there. The Santee Canal, which connected the Santee and Cooper rivers, was completed in 1800 and gave Columbia a direct water route to Charleston, S.C.

South Carolina also has the distinction of being the first state to leave the Union in the events leading up to the Civil War.

Stop by when you see The Spirit

If you see OOIDA’s tour trailer, stop by and say hello. Ellis is looking forward to visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. There are copies of Land Line Magazine to pick up there. You can join or renew your membership for $10 off the regular price there. Face masks are available for anyone with a commercial driver’s license at The Spirit.

After the Columbia, The Spirit has stops scheduled in Dodge City, Ala., and then Bucksville, Ala.

Here is the schedule for The Spirit. LL