Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Willow Acres, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Willow Acres and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Willow Acres
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Willow Acres:
- 34.992643, -81.087298
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Willow Acres
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected York County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for York County
- Since Willow Acres is near Mecklenburg County and also Gaston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mecklenburg County
- eBird sighting report for Gaston County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Willow Acres ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Ebenezer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Fairlawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Hickory Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
- Hickory Hill is located in York County
- India Hook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for India Hook. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for India Hook
- India Hook is located in York County
- Island View Landing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island View Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View Landing
- Island View Landing is located in York County
- Meadow Lakes
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lakes
- Meadow Lakes is located in York County
- Pineridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Red Oaks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Shadowbrook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shadowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadowbrook
- Shadowbrook is located in York County
- Swan Meadows
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swan Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Meadows
- Swan Meadows is located in York County
- Thorns Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thorns Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorns Ferry
- Thorns Ferry is located in York County
- Wintercrest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wintercrest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintercrest
- Wintercrest is located in York County
- Wood Forest
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Forest
- Wood Forest is located in York County
- Woodwind
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
How Far From Willow Acres to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Willow Acres to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Willow Acres and extending to:
- York, which is the Seat of York County, lies just to the West.
- Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 68 miles [109.4 km]<3> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Willow Acres to Columbia, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 350 miles [563.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,241 miles [10,043.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,939 miles [11,167.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,819 miles [7,755.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Willow Acres. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for York County: www.yorkcountygov.com/
The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <2> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Willow Acres) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willow Acres. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.9926, Longitude: -81.0873 In this case, the coordinates for Willow Acres have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <5> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Willow Acres to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.362 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.68 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.668 degrees. |