Colors 4 Hope Walk/Run

I have been talking about doing a color run for I don't know how long and was thrilled to see that Greenville was going to start their own AND it will be in my town, Travelers Rest! Not only is it a super happy event but it also serves a wonderful purpose.

 

Mental Health America of Greenville County (MHAGC), which is a non profit organization dedicated to promoting positive mental health, recognized that 1 in 4 Americans were directly affected by mental illness this year. MHAGC is organizign Colors 4 Hope to raise awareness of mental health issues and to make mental wellness more visible as a health priority in Greenville. All proceeds will benefit programs operated by MHAGC.

 

As a mental health therapist, I am very excited to see people raising awareness about mental illnesses and the effect it has not only on those diagnosed, but also their family and friends. Working in this field is rewarding but can be discouraging and tiresome. I love seeing such a lively and happy event being associated with this particular fundraiser. It definitely gives me a sense of hope!!

 

For more information of the event check out the aritcle in The Tribune or at MHAGC website. I hope to see you there!!!

 



Coolest Small Town in 2013 ~ Update

Now that voting has closed for Travelers Rest to be nominated as "Coolest Small Town in 2013", we can see how we rank! We finished with 628 votes and 18 very supportive comments!! This is a big growth from the small numbers we had in the beginning. Looking at votes alone, we are number 15 out of 924 towns! Woo hoo!!! 

Here are towns that ranked in top 15 with votes:

(provided by Fay Choban)

Bay St. Louis, MS 9816 votes
Watkins Glen, NY 8437
Shepherdstown, WV 3207
Elkhard Lake, WI 2900
Eagle River, WI 2608
Camden, ME 2076
Le Claire, IA 1847
Mount Carroll, IL 1266
Berkley Springs, WV 977 (art community)
Mount Morris, NY 823
Quincy, CA 822
Flagler Beach, FL 802
Minocaqua, WI 777
Belfast, ME 749 (seaport town)
Travelers Rest, SC 628

According to Budget Travel they will take into consideration number of votes, comments, and their own criteria such as diversity in geography, attractions, architecture, etc. to pick their top fifteen towns. They will announce them in January of 2013 and then ask us to vote for which town should win. This is when voting will be super important, especially if our little town makes the top 15!!

I think it is awesome that Fay Choban thought to nominate Travelers Rest and that The Tribune  jumped on board to get the word out to everyone. It is so cool to see people get together to support something they love.



Pumpkin Season

I have been looking forward to carving pumpkins since August. I marked this weekend on the calendar as "pumpkin carving weekend". Knowing how impatient I am, Justin decided not to tell me that my pumpkins probably would not make it until Halloween. This was my first time to carve pumpkins and couldn't wait another minute to get started! Justin kept a close watch so that I did not chop off any fingers. 

Here are Hedwig and Harry!!!

I think they turned out pretty good for a first timer :)

Go, Go, Go...

This is the first day since September 27th that I have been able to stop and take a breath! I took a trip home to Mississippi to celebrate my friend's wedding weekend. My mother help host the bridesmaid luncheon at my parent's house and it was beautiful. The wedding was quite an event! I had a great time catching up with everyone.

Mama came back home with me and spent the week with me and Justin. The rest of my family came up Thursday for my cousin's wedding weekend. We were cramped in our little house but had a great time with them here. When we weren't taking part in the wedding fesitivities, we were either playing in downtown Greenville or exploring in the mountians.

  

A great week of celebrating love and family. Now, time to rest!!



Coolest Small Towns 2013

Even though we are new to the town of Travelers Rest, we have fallen in love with the hospitality, restaurants, Swamp Rabbit Trail and accessibility to the moutains and Greenville. Someone else who loves our little town submitted it for Budget Travel's "Coolest Small Towns in 2013"! We need people to go to This Link to Vote on our little town!! You can vote once a day! If you look at the list, A LOT of towns have been nominated and some have as many as 5,000 votes already. We have about 90 so we need to get a lot more votes in!!! Below are only a few things that make Traveler's Rest such a fun little town. (This list only includes the places that had pictures online and/or links for them)

Click the photos to get more information on each of them ~

Swamp Rabbit Trail brings in several families and college students from Greenville to the Travelers Rest by foot, bicycles, skateboards, and roller blades.

Don't own the equipment to go exploring? Check out Sunrift! They have bikes, canoes, kayaks and anything else you need become one with nature.

When you want to get a little energy boost before or after a trip on the trail stop by The Forest Coffeehouse! Students, musicians, and artists are often seen relaxing or entertaining here.

The Barker Bar is a great place to socialize without feeling guilty about leaving the pooch at home. Here man and man's best friend is welcome with open arms!

 The Cafe at Williams Hardware is a lovely place to grab lunch or dinner. You can also enjoy your meal on a back porch overlooking the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

Trailside Creamery is a cool break in a small southern town. They're flavors change continuously but they always have vanilla and chocolate!

Home Color is a new store on Mainstreet with beautiful and bright art to brighten your home.

Chef Giovanni's is a new restaurant that not only has delicious italian dishes but also tasty steak and seafood selections.

 (still waiting to find an updated photo of Duke's)
Duke's Doggs serves only hotdogs and man are they good!! They now have a screened in porch so you can enjoy your eats while watching the trail.

Upcountry Provisions is a quaint bistro and cafe just off of Mainstreet. Their breads are delicious!

As I mentioned before, Travelers Rest has a prime location. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, you have access to trails, rivers and campsites while also being 15 minutes away from downtown Greenville.

                      

 Even if you don't live in Travelers Rest, but have enjoyed one of these wonderful places, show your support and go vote!!

Ceasar Head

Justin and I have gotten so many great suggestions on places to hike. This morning we hiked a two mile trail in Ceasar Head Park. There were a lot of professional photographers and bird watchers there to see the hawk migration. I had no idea they did this, but I am told it is incredible to see.  

We had such a wonderful time together on this trail. We started the morning off by watching the fog roll over the mountains from lookout point. The photo does not come close to representing the view. The air felt so clean and fresh way up there.

We spent a lot of time taking photographs. 

We spent a lot of time in awe of not only how beautiful everything was but also how accessible it was to us. It is still hard to believe that we live here and are surrounded by all of this. We've noticed that we are a lot more willing to get out and be active with places like this close by.

We ended the adventure on a rock cliff overlook. It was so nice to be able to sit and enjoy the view.

                                    

Looking forward to many more Saturdays like this one!!

From Flatlands to Mountains

I must say that moving 10 hours away from where I grew up was definitely one of the biggest moments of my life. When Justin and I started the discussion of "spreading our wings", I always kinda thought it would just be something we talked about. I still cannot believe how quickly things fell into place. Our interviews started May 21 and we were moved and working in SC by July 1. 

We decided to make camp in a town just north of Greenville called Travelers Rest. This precious little town keeps us close to downtown but lets us play in the mountains whenever we want. Our first adventure was tubing down the Green River in with my cousin Lauren and her fiance, Tim. We had so much fun!

We ventured out on our own a few weekends later to a place called Twin Falls which was so beautiful. I got us lost on the way there but cannot wait to go back and spend more time there. 

By far our favorite spot in "TR" is The Barker Bar. It is a bar that lets you bring your dogs in with you! I must say that this is probably Toby and Charlie's favorite place too. Patti, who owns the bar is so sweet and played a big part in us feeling at home here. 

We will keep updating on the new adventures from South Carolina!