Furman Football

As mentioned before, the fall is quite the busy time of year. Most weekends are spent going to Clemson football games, and spending the day tailgating with family and friends. On off weekends, we are headed to Charleston for shrimpin', working on projects around the house, and attempting to make it to the mountains to hike. One thing Doug and I have wanted to do is go to a Furman football game. I had not been to a game since I was a kid and it had been about ten years since Doug last went to one. We thought Callen would love to play football and run around (he does these things at Clemson but there are sooo many people and we are always trying to talk and hang out with others). By going to Furman by ourselves, it would allow us to give our undivided attention to Cal and let him run around and have a big time without all the hustle and bustle of Clemson tailgating.

We went to the Furman vs. Mercer game last Saturday. Game time was 1:30pm, so we figured we would leave between 10-10:30. We arrived at Furman around 10:30am, and I was afraid I had gotten the dates mixed up...there was NO traffic! We drove right through campus and found a spot in the public parking lot beside the chapel. We had our choice of spots since there were only about 30 others cars parked at this point! (The lot did fill up closer to game time but it was close to 12:30-1:00 before the large majority rolled in). Before leaving that morning, we threw a few food and drink items in the cooler, loaded up the tailgate tables and chairs, and packed a diaper bag for Cal. We were ready to go in less than 30 minutes compared to the 1-2 day prep to get ready for Clemson games! After arriving, we set up our tables and chairs, got out snacks, and enjoyed ourselves. Cal ran around in the parking lot since it was so empty, grazed on the food table, and just enjoyed the freedom he had.

One thing we didn't realize going into the game is that one of Mercer's colors is orange. Oops! At least we were all wearing purple...but all our gear was orange!

Just chillin'

Pretty great set up...Cal height table!

Has to be just like mom and dad with koozies on his cups!

We were fortunate enough to be given 2 tickets by random people outside the stadium. We were glad not to have to pay for tickets because we didn't know how long we would make it in the game since Cal usually naps around the time the game was starting. We also wanted to leave by halftime in order to get home and watch the Clemson game on TV!!

The 'Champions Walk' to the stadium

Cal enjoyed watching the band and other pregame festivities. He spotted the bounce houses just outside the gates, so he was very intrigued with them...and then became very concerned when they were deflated! He liked watching Furman running through the blow up helmet onto the field. But, that was about the end of the excitement for him during the game. We kept trying to point out the players throwing and kicking the ball, but he was more concerned with climbing on the bleachers at this point! The Furman football game did not provide the amount of excitement needed to captivate Callen's attention for 30+ minutes! We lasted most of the way through the 2nd quarter before heading home. It turns out we missed the best part of the game as Furman went on to tie up the game in the 2nd half, but ultimately lose in OT.

Cheering for all the Seniors being recognized

Starting NOT to sit still!

We really enjoyed our low key tailgate and day at Furman. Spending time with just Doug and Callen at a football game is sooooo rare, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's also nice to see how other fans and teams tailgate as well as the excitement in the stadium. 3,500 people attending a game for a team that isn't doing so well is WAY DIFFERENT than 85,000+ fans cheering on a football team ranked #1 in the country. As much as Clemson home games wear me out by the end of the weekend, I wouldn't trade that excitement and activity for anything. I may feel like I am always having to do something and running around at a tailgate, but it's worth it to walk into Memorial Stadium and see the Tigers running down the hill. And I think Callen enjoys it too. There is always something going on that holds his attention, and he knows he is watching the 'paw' team whether it be in person or on the TV.

An Overnight Getaway to the Mountains

We love the fall! It seems like every weekend we have something going on. We always talk about how fall is the best time to camp, but we can never find a weekend to go. We always make time for something else or end up being lazy and stay at home to watch college football on Saturday. We decided this year was going to be different. Callen loves looking at the stars and moon each night he can see them in the sky. He enjoys hiking, and gets excited if you mention camping with him. We knew we needed to take him on a camping trip again soon, but didn't know when the best weekend would be because of everything else going on. After looking at the calendar, we decided on Halloween weekend. Cal doesn't eat candy, so we figured he didn't need to go door to door collecting candy for us. Plus, he won't wear any costume from the store, so he was going to be a tool man...which is what he does everyday at home!

Our plan was to leave after Doug got off of work on Friday, and head to Pisgah Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We would camp two nights and head home on Sunday. We stayed there on our trip in May, and really liked the area. We knew we would be able to see the leaves changing colors at one of the many overlooks, the weather would be nice and cool for sleeping, and it's less than a two hour drive from our house. As the weekend got closer, the chance for rain on Sunday became close to 100%...plus the rain was going to start in the middle of the night, making packing up on Sunday not fun with wet gear. We decided to only spend the night Friday and spend the rest of Saturday hiking and stopping at the overlooks for the wonderful fall views. (What ended up happening is that we had a great time Friday night and got up Saturday morning to bone chilling cold weather. The air was damp and humid, no sun was shining, and there was a slight breeze. Cal was freezing by the end of breakfast and ended up spending most of the rest of the morning playing in the car while Doug took down our camp site! We decided it would be best to head on home as Cal's hands were little ice boxes and they were only to get colder being outside and stationary in the hiking pack.)

 

The time we spent in the mountains was great. Cal absolutely loves being outdoors and is really excited about camping and hiking. All day long he was so happy to tell you he was going to sleep in a tent. If you asked him if he was going to sleep under the stars and moon, he would answer with 'No, a tent!' When we arrived at the campsite, Doug unloaded the car and I went to pay for our spot. When I returned, Cal was carrying ThermaRests from the parking spot over to where our tent was. He helped Doug with the poles for the tent as well. Anything he could do to help, he was going to do it. He took his own 'pat' (aka hammer) to help Doug hammer in the tent stakes. He helped break sticks to use for firewood. Cal was having the best time at the campsite! 

The night sky was crystal clear and you could see stars forever. Cal bundled up in Doug's lap in front of the campfire, and looked at the stars. He was amazed at how many stars he could see. Anytime you talk about the camping trip now, he has to talk about the stars in the sky! After a while of sitting there, Cal drifted off to sleep while Doug and I sipped on some champagne and enjoyed the evening ourselves. 

 All the work and effort put into going camping for a little over 12 hours was so worth it to see Cal's excitement!