Tigertown and other adventures

We've just returned from a 6 day trip to upstate SC to visit friends, watch the Tigers play, and breathe some mountain air! In the past 5 years or so since we graduated from Clemson, it seems like all we ever do is breeze through the area on our way to somewhere else, and we never really have time to just relax. So this trip was a refreshing change and it was our first real family vacation... just the three of us! We were so fortunate to have friends willing to serve as great hosts, and Chase really enjoyed playing with all of his baby pals! We spent most of our time in Greenville, but we drove over to Clemson a few times. On the first day we ate lunch at Tigertown Tavern, walked around downtown Clemson, bought Chase some game gear, and then drove around campus to marvel at all of the changes. Even though there were lots of new buildings and several of our favorite places had disappeared, it was still the same old Clemson and it was fun to say, "Remember when..." over and over again. Friday was spent in the company of friends, and hanging out at Falls Park in downtown Greenville. Of course, the main event of the weekend was the football game! Although we lost (and it wasn't even close!), it was lots of fun tailgating before the game and just being in Death Valley on a Saturday night was awesome. I loved watching Chase's face as he spun around to see all of the people, balloons, lights, etc. I was a little worried about how he would react to being awake until after 10pm, but he did great! There was so much going on... he seemed to barely notice how late it was. On Sunday, after going to Catalyst Church (if you're in Greenville, you should check it out!), we drove up to the mountains in North Carolina. I was really hoping for some cooler weather and bright, colorful fall leaves, but unfortunately it was HOT! Still, it was beautiful and relaxing... just spending time with my two favorite guys. Early on Monday we drove over to Whitewater Falls, then back to Clemson to wander around. We got some famous Clemson ice cream, walked through the Botanical Gardens, and then all over campus! Hopefully Chase saw enough of it to make him start thinking about where he'll be applying to school in 17 years! ;)
We took TONS of pictures, but here are just a few (if you want to see them all, send me an email and I can send you the link)...

Chase eating lunch in Clemson (complete with "I'm a little tiger" bib)! He was SO tired after being awake since 5am and flying to Greenville.

Playing at Cort's house:

Goofing off at Falls Park:

Hanging out with Logan:

We got to meet our friends' Chris and Katie's son, Zeke for the first time!

Game time!
Tailgating with friends Ragan and Jon:

Lots of baby boys! (Jake, Kristi, Logan, us, Katie, Chris and Zeke)

I always love seeing Melissa!

Chase watching the Tigers run down the hill for the first time!

At the game:
We found some pumpkins on our walk around Cashiers, NC...

Chase saw lots of waterfalls on this trip! This one was called Silver Run Falls:

If you're ever in Cashiers, you should eat at a little hole-in-the-wall BBQ place called Carolina Smokehouse:
You never see stuff like this in Florida!

At Whitewater Falls, one of my favorite places to go when I was at Clemson:

Sikes Hall in Clemson:
Last stop, Carter's house!