A Day on the Trail

About a month ago, I read in one of the local magazines there was a new creperie and coffeehouse that had opened in Travelers Rest. Most importantly to us is that they have gluten free options! Doug and I knew we wanted to try it out very soon! We thought it would be great to make a day trip of it and ride our bikes up to Travelers Rest via the Swamp Rabbit Trail (SRT).  

As a joint Christmas present, we had decided we were going to buy a bike trailer. We love getting out on our bikes with Callen, but thought he needed something a little more cozy for riding long distances. The bike seat we have is great, but Cal always seems to fall asleep on longer rides, and falls asleep in the most uncomfortable positions. The trailer allows Cal room to play as well as the space to lay down if he falls asleep. I found a really great deal on Craigslist several months ago, so we jumped on it. The trailer has been in the basement just waiting for a good adventure!

On Saturday, we loaded up the trailer, and rode downtown to the Linky Stone Park entrance to the SRT. Cal slept for about 30 minutes on the way up there. After he woke up, we decided to take a pit stop at the rail car located on the trail. It was a good little break for Cal who enjoyed playing on the car and needed to stretch his little legs! We were then easily able to ride the remaining distance into Travelers Rest. Cal enjoyed sightseeing and loved watching as other cyclists passed us. It was a beautiful day on Saturday, so there were a lot of runners and a decent number of people on their road bikes. On the way home, we noticed more families out for leisurely rides with their kids.

We stopped for lunch at Tandem...so worth the ride (or drive if you aren't as keen on riding 13 miles for lunch!). Doug and I each ordered a savory crepe, and then decided to split a dessert crepe. The staff was very knowledgeable about the gluten content of their menu, so we felt very confident with our selections. The food was wonderful, reasonably priced, and a great atmosphere. We highly recommend it to anyone, and we will be going back! Cal gave it two thumbs up and devoured every bite we put in front of him!

On the way home, we took a detour through the Furman campus and rode around for a bit. Cal napped again for about 15 minutes. It was an uneventful ride home, but we were very pleased with how well Cal did for the 26 miles (with stops and all it took us 4 1/2 hours). We were worried how he would handle being strapped in for that length of time, but he did great. We allowed him to run around at just the right times!

Not a Fan of Santa!

This past Friday, The Shops at Greenridge, held their annual tree lighting and arrival of Santa festivities. We attended last year despite poor weather and having to move everything indoors. We thought they did a great job and had an awesome Santa's helper. This year the weather was still a little cold and dreary, but no chance of rain! So, all the activities were held outside. Hot chocolate and cookies were being passed out to those waiting in line for Santa to make his grand appearance. Bracelets with bells were also given to all the kids so they could make lots of noise when Santa came in on his horse and carriage! Not your typical sleigh with 8 tiny reindeer, but pretty cool and magical in its own way. Once Santa arrived, the kids helped count down for the tree lighting, and then it was time for what we were all there for...to sit on Santa's lap! 

Cal was mesmerized with the large tree and all the 'balls' on it. No matter what the object is, if it is in the shape of a circle, it is a ball to him! When the carriage arrived carrying Santa, Callen could have cared less about Santa and was all about the horse. He wanted to go closer to see the horse, and continued to point to it throughout the night whenever he saw it trotting past while giving carriage rides through the parking lot to those willing to wait! 

What Cal was not so mesmerized with was the man in the big red suit and white beard! I kept pumping up Santa to him all day and the entire time we were in line. I don't think my pep talks seemed to help. As soon as it was our turn, and I started walking towards Santa, I could feel Callen's legs start to clinch around my waist. He wanted no part of this man. And then I dropped him off in Santa's lap so we could get the yearly picture...no good!! Cal was sliding out of his lap before Doug could barely snap 2 or 3 pictures. Hopefully in the years to come, Cal will come to realize the good and magical Santa that we all know and love! As for this year...

Football Saturdays

What is our favorite part about the fall?? College Football, of course! 

We knew it would be difficult to sit through an entire game this year with a squirmy toddler, but we were excited to take Cal to tailgates and have him experience all the sights and sounds of the games. His favorite thing in the game was when the Tigers ran down the hill and all the balloons were released. He pointed nonstop at the 'balls' and watched them float away. He would do ok for about 30 minutes with us holding him in the stands. Much longer than that he began to get tired of us holding him. He would walk around our feet for a bit, play with the kids behind us, or sit on the ground and rummage through his diaper bag looking for food!

Loved the balloons ('balls')

Our season was definitely different. We only made it through one entire game, watched or listened to the end of the game at the tailgate, and even left early to go home several times. Although the games were more of a challenge to us, tailgating was still fun. Cal is a huge fan of 'tailgrazing' as we call it. He quickly learned that there were many 'nacks' (as he calls them) on the tables. You would see his little hand reaching up for the chips or crackers many times throughout the day. He would nibble on a little of this and a little of that! Unfortunately, a lot of this behavior has carried over to home and he expects a chip or cracker anytime he sees them on the counter.

Taste testing the chips before leaving for the tailgate

Helping to grill

I'll take my lunch to go...

and then wash it down with a beer

Cal also loved playing with all the big kids around us. He would run up to their football game and jump right in. He would take the ball from them and act like he was playing. The kids were so good to him, and would often stop their game to toss the ball with him. He felt like one of the big kids for sure!

We had a lot of fun this year! Cal was able to play with his buddy Wyatt at a tailgate, hang with his Uncle Scuba, and play with any tailgating game near us! He turned anything around us into a toy!

Who knew a bungee cord could be so much fun

Cal practicing his football tackle on Wyatt

Playing football with Uncle Scuba

Going for rides in the tailgate bag

Tailgating is tiring! Cal doesn't normally just pass out in the middle of all the action...but from the pics below, you can tell he just had enough of it after a while!

 

Most of all, Cal had good family time at the tailgates. Each of my siblings came to at least 2 games. He also had lots and lots of Papa time!

Silly Papa, this is your hat!

This past weekend (after the Tigers win against USC!), we took Cal onto the field for the first time. At first he was pretty overwhelmed with all the people. But as we 'ran' 100 yards from one end zone to the other, he warmed up and was eventually all over the place. He even walked up to 5 college girls and started to go through one of their bags. Next thing you know, he was getting his picture taken with one of them. This boy loves a pretty girl! We had a great time this season spending time with all our family and close friends. We aren't sure what future years will bring with going to the games and tailgating, but we do know this boy will grow up to be a Clemson fan!

Cal 'running' on the field

(I like this picture for the background!)

Howard's Rock

Enjoying a Tiger WIN!

Caesar's Head

Caesar's Head State Park has always been a favorite hiking destination for Doug and me. This is where we got engaged 6 1/2 years ago on a cold February backpacking and camping trip! Since then, we have hiked in that area a number of times, but always on the same trails. We decided about 9:00am on Sunday morning that we wanted to go for a hike to finish my week long birthday celebrations! All the places we were looking to go were over 2 hours away. Table Rock, Caesar's Head, and Paris Mountain were the obvious choices for their proximity to Greenville. We opted for Caesar's Head, but decided to head in the direction of Raven Cliff Falls. There were several really nice views into the valley of the changing colors of the leaves, but mostly we had views of bare trees and leaves on the ground. This did not bother Callen too much at all. He has come to love playing in the leaves when he and Doug blow leaves in the front yard.

We carried Cal in his pack on the way towards the falls. We had a short rest and lunch break at the area overlooking the falls. It quickly became too cold and windy for Cal to sit still. After hiking out about a mile, we stopped and took Cal out of the pack to let him run his legs and play in the leaves. He had a BLAST! He picked up every stick he could see, and even attempted to pull tree roots on the trail thinking they were sticks. He has replaced ninja sticks (cut lumber) with sticks from the ground as his new favorite toy. We constantly hear 'sti, sti' every time we walk outside and see sticks on the ground. He used his sticks to hit rocks, play in the dirt, and hit at the leaves. 

Cal felt he was going to become dehydrated on his ride in. He drank from the Camelback spout the entire time!

Raven Cliff Falls

Happy to be outside! (and playing in the leaves and with a stick)

After a little while of standing and playing, we started to hike out. We kept Cal out of the pack to see how far he would go on his own. Doug and I were impressed with him. He walked a good distance on his own and didn't fall hardly at all. He wanted to step up and over every tree root and rock on the trail. Often times he became distracted at something off to the side of the trail, so we began using his stick as a leash. He would hold the stick, and we would pull it, making him follow us. After a while, you could see Cal getting more and more tired. We strapped him back into the pack, and hiked the rest of the way out. Before too long Cal was OUT! As long as I was walking, Callen would sleep. As soon as I stopped to let someone by on the trail, he would open his eyes and look around to figure out why his sleep was being interrupted!

Guiding Cal with his stick

DONE!

It was a great day hiking with my boys! It was so awesome to see Cal finally log some miles yards in the woods. He really seems to love hiking, whether he is in his pack riding along or walking along side of us. Doug and I are thrilled about this because we enjoy a nice hike. This one was perfect...fairly flat (although I felt it was a constant uphill climb on the way out with an extra 30+ lbs on my back!) and a great view at the end. Now if we can only figure out the weather for hiking. It is either 100 deg and 95% humidity or freezing!

Happy Halloween...almost a week late!

Not sure where this week went, but I am just sitting down to post pictures from Halloween.

We have not given Callen candy yet, so we figured we didn't need to take him door to door trick-or-treating. He wasn't going to eat it, and I didn't need to eat every fun size candy bar that came into the house! We opted to walk up to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner with Cal dressed in costume. We did walk around so he could see kids dressed up, as well as see a few of our friends and their kids.

For Cal's costume, I knew he would not keep anything on his head or wear any kind of costume. We had been given a leather jacket as a hand-me-down, so I had the idea of him being an airplane pilot. We then thought to make his wagon into a B-24 bomber. Doug did some awesome work with cardboard!!

People loved his costume and all the kids were walking by saying how cool it was. Doug was so excited when one guy pointed out that it was a B-24. We hope to continue making homemade costumes for as long as possible. I know there will come a point that Cal will want one from the racks of Target, but a homemade costume is so much more fun and special.

After returning home from dinner and walking around, we had a few trick-or-treaters come to the house. Cal would go to the door with me, and then put candy in the bags of the trick-or-treaters. Thank goodness he had no idea candy was in the bags, or he would not have given them up so easily!
We hope everyone had a fun evening...and recovering from the sugar coma by this point in the week!