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!