The fall of 2015 was full of highs (temperature, water, the Tigers) and lows (losing Pop-Pop). As we settled into the school year, we got the sudden news that Pop-Pop died. Kristie spent a week in Delaware and Jay and the kids drove up at the end of the week for the funeral. Although it was a sad time, we enjoyed seeing family members. It was clear that Pop-Pop had a pretty big fan club based on the number of people who showed up for the viewing and service.
We all returned to Columbia just in time for Hurricane Joaquin and the resulting 1,000 year flood. While we were safe, the water rose drastically down by the river in our neighborhood. Out of precaution, we went to stay with some friends, but we were never really in danger.
As things began to dry out, Jay, Parker, and Ansel drove to Conway to spend the weekend with G-Daddy. It was a nice getaway and the kids enjoyed taking a swim in the ocean at Huntington Beach State Park. We returned to Columbia to catch the SC Philharmonic perform the music of Harry Potter.
The following weekend, Parker and Jay took in Parker’s first Carolina football game. Parker cheered hard for the Commodores but to no avail. They still had fun and it was nice catching up with our friend Mike who was in town for the game.
The next weekend was Jay’s birthday. We decided to spend it at Roan Mountain with G-Daddy and Martha. For a birthday dinner, we stopped at the Stoney Knob Cafe. We enjoyed taking a few hikes and watching the football games with G-Daddy.
We had a nice Halloween. Ansel dressed as Kristie (actually she was a witch). Parker a zombie.
One of the after school activities that Parker has been participating in is Run Hard. The goal was to train for and race a 5K with his teammates. Parker did amazing in the big race. Here are the results.
After race weekend, we decided to take a day trip down to Charleston. We enjoyed a beautiful day that didn’t feature a downpour for a change.
The next weekend we woke up and decided to make a last minute up to Clemson to see the Tigers play Wake Forest. We enjoyed the game and also getting to spend some time with some old friends.
We knew that the Holidays were going go feel different for us this year so we invited Mom-Mom to come spend them with us. The five of us loaded up in the minibus and headed down to Myrtle Beach. First stop was a trip to the Rivertown Bistro for dinner. We got checked into our hotel and then rested up for our annual tradition of running a Turkey Trot. This year, we had three participants and all ran an amazing race. By our count, we had the youngest female finisher (Ansel) and the oldest female finisher (Mom-Mom, who also finished second in her age group!). Parker set a personal best! Here are the full results. As has become tradition, G-Daddy took us all out to Hanser House for Thanksgiving dinner. Afterwards, we went back to G-Daddy’s house for more family fun time.
The next day Jay went out for donuts and hot chocolate. Following such a nutritious breakfast, we took a dip in the hotel pools and then off for a round of putt putt. We returned to Columbia and enjoyed the remainder of the weekend. We made the most of having Mom-Mom in town by trimming our Christmas tree before she headed back to Delaware.
After a couple of weeks, Mom-Mom returned. We had a nice Christmas complete with a traditional meal and our annual tradition of driving through the lights at Saluda Shoals Park. We all enjoyed playing with the games that Parker and Ansel received for Christmas.
We put Mom-Mom back on the plane and decided that the rain had cooped us up too long and that we needed to not only get away, but also get outside. Of course, we couldn’t seem to escape the rain. We drove up the the Chattooga River and hiked around for a little while and then went to Oconee State Park to set up our tent. As soon as the last stake went into the ground, the bottom fell out of the sky. We loaded up and drove to Highlands, NC for dinner and then drove back in the downpour before crawling into the tent for the night. Luckily we didn’t wash away.
The next day was gorgeous. We started the day off with breakfast in Walhalla before visiting the Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls. From there, we headed across the border to Tallulah Gorge State Park. All the rain left the falls both powerful and spectacular and we enjoyed our hike in the rare sunshine. We returned back to camp and rested up for the next day.
During the night, the rain returned. We packed up and headed home, but first made a stop by Devils Fork State Park to stretch our legs and hike in the rain.
To ring in the New Year, Parker and Jay went to Conway and watched the Orange Bowl (Go Tigers!) with G-Daddy while Kristie and Ansel stayed in Columbia. Jay and Parker returned Friday. The rest of the weekend was spent trying to get mentally prepared for the start of school.
2015 was full of adventure and we are hoping that 2016 will be the same.
