Oh, Canada....

Sunset at Scot's Bay

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David and I both had work to do at the Michelin sites up in Nova Scotia, Canada. We had a lot to see and do at the 3 sites but we were also able to spend a few days sightseeing this beautiful place up North.

Our plane literally blew in to the airport (there was 50+ mph wind and rain) on Friday but since then the weather has been absolutely beautiful. We spent weekend driving around the province, mostly along the coast which took us to Peggy's Cove, Scot's Bay, a few wineries, and of course some great seafood spots. We stayed at the Blomidon Inn, a historic location in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Wolfville is on the Minas Basin which is a part of the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy is known for having the largest tidal range in the world. Between high tide and low tide the tide can vary 30 some feet and sometimes in excess of 50 feet. More than 100 billion tons of seawater flow in and out of the bay during one tide cycle - more than the combined flow of the world’s freshwater rivers! It is quite a sight to see, if you are going to explore the area - you better keep an eye on the tide cycle or the areas where there is no water a few minutes ago, will soon start filling up! Our friend Beth, who work for Michelin Canada, took us on a nice (LONG!) hike/walk near the dikes around the Minas Basin. It was nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery.

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Driving in Canada...
The windy, rocky coast at Peggy's Cove

Peggy's Point Lighthouse

Blomidon Inn in Wolfville, Nova Scotia

Ketchup Day...

When I was in Elementary School our teacher would have “Ketchup (Catch-Up) Day”. It was a day to not start anything new, but to just finish up all those things that hadn’t been finished. So today is – “Ketchup Day” on our blog. We can finally cross off “Update Blog” on the To-Do List. Only 25 more things to try to get done….

So what have the Burnett’s been up to?

• We received great news that David has officially completed his PhD! CONGRATS DAVID – I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! We will be celebrating at his hooding ceremony/graduation December 16th in Louisville.


• Oakley got the chance to show her doggy-paddling skills at the end of the summer. Before the local pools are completely emptied - they let you bring your dog for a small fee to the pool. Oakley and her friend Nyra (the dog of our friends Randy and Shannon) enjoyed the water!


• Now that Matt and Cara live in Charlotte, we are enjoying getting to see them every few weeks. We’ve had some fun times exploring Charlotte and Greenville together. We made a trip to IKEA (wow!), tried some new food places out, went to a Halloween bash at a local brewery, and tried out some hiking trails. Looking forward to more times together.


• We made a (quick) trip back to South Dakota over Labor Day weekend to celebrate the marriage of two sets of friends (Congrats to Garrett & Sara and Shane & Chellsie). We also had the chance to spend some time with friends and family. David’s sister Melissa and her husband Eric and their two daughters, Savannah and Tessa came to South Dakota for the weekend and we enjoyed spending the day with them. They are getting so big so quickly! We shared a picnic with both sides of our family – it was just nice to be back with all our loved ones and to eat all the great food favorites!









• I was back in South Dakota for a few days to see family and to celebrate the retirement of Coach Lori Coble. Coach Coble was such and influential part of my college basketball career and also on my life. I am sad to see her go, doesn’t seem like Lady Hardrocker basketball without her, but I wish her luck in her new adventures. I really enjoyed seeing a bunch of great friends and teammates. I miss all my girls – but we always make up for lost time when we are together. Too fun, can’t wait for the next get together ladies!









• David’s dad, Dave came to visit. He rode his motorcycle all the way from Philip, SD to Greenville. What a true biker! We had a great time showing him around our city. We took him to downtown Greenville for BBQ on the patio of a great restaurant, we went to a Clemson football game, and we also went for a drive up in the NC Mountains and picked apples at an apple orchard. What a great way (and tasty way) to celebrate the autumn season. We were sad to see him go – but knew he had a long ride home.














• We celebrated our 6^th wedding anniversary on the 22^nd of October by traveling to Ohio for another wedding (Congrats to Sarah and Rory!). The drive was around 9 hours – but what a beautiful drive through North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio. The leaf color was amazing. The hillsides were so many shades of color: orange, auburn, burgundy, and red, yellow, green… Truly an amazing sight! We enjoyed spending time with our friends and the new married couple!

So what is next for the Burnett's? Only time will tell....

Summer Daze

I feel like every time we write on our blog we say...."we don't know where time has gone". We are feeling it again - we have been so busy and the months are just flying by.

In July, we went back to South Dakota for Cara and Matt's wedding. We got to spend a little time sightseeing around the area - SD has gotten so much rain, we couldn't believe how green and beautiful everything was. During our trip, we got to see a lot of family and friends. The wedding went great, they both said yes, and we ate and danced the night away. The Leis/Malloy family made all the food for the wedding - so we ate pork, cheese (only started with a 40-lb block), and salads for many days after.

The Badlands didn't look so bad with all the rain....

At the beginning of August, Matt and Cara moved to Charlotte, NC. We went to Charlotte one night and helped them move all their stuff up to the 3rd floor. What a workout!! We are so thankful and excited to have them close by!

In August, we spent a weekend at the lake and camping with a great group of friends from Greenville. We rented a pontoon boat with 5 other couples at Lake Jocassee and we set up our tents near Lake Keowee. Lake Jocassee is a beautiful man made lake covering the Jocassee Gorges and reaching over 300 feet deep in places. During the mid 1960's the local power company built a dam in this area to utilize the hydroelectricity of the four rivers that were in this area. We saw 3 waterfalls falling from the mountains that are found within the many coves of this lake. We enjoyed tubing, cliff jumping, and just hanging out. During the day we watched so many rainstorms roll in and out. At one time a friend of ours was fishing about 150 yards away from the rest of the group - it was pouring rain on him and nothing on us.

Lake Jocassee: You can see the storm rolling in...

A Day in Dublin

I spent the week in Ballymena, Northern Ireland for work, so I had the chance to spend a Saturday in Dublin, Ireland. I had a few people say - "just pick a few places to check out, don't try to do too much." Well - I think I walked a few miles today and got to see a lot!

I got to spend some time in a few churches/cathedrals - St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Ann's Church, St. Audoen's, and Christ Church Cathedral. These churches are hundreds of years old and have such amazing architecture and history. I went to Trinity College where in the Old Library they house the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is a famous manuscript of the four Gospels that were written in Latin in the year 800. They also have a few other old manuscripts of the New Testament and the Gospels. The Old Library was built in the 1700's and is two floors of wooden bookshelves - full with shelf ladders and a circular staircase to get to the second levels of books. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any photos inside. I spent a little time at St. Stephen's Green a beautiful garden and park within the city. I enjoyed lunch at Bewley's Oriental Cafe on Grafton Street which is noted as the "essential Irish cafe". This gave me a little time to read and rest my legs from all the walking. After lunch I walked up Grafton Street which is full of cute shops and pubs. I went to Dublin Castle where the British rule occupied the place from 1204-1922. Most of the castle was closed for restoration this weekend, so I was only able to see one of the castle towers and the castle church. I walked to the Guiness Brewery and Storehouse. It is said that Arthur Guiness the founder of the brewery signed a 4,000 lease on the 4-acre plot of land in St. James Gate for an annual rent of ₤45 ($75). I am hoping to go on the tour next time I visit Dublin, the tour wouldn't be the same without my beer loving husband. I finished off the day by walking through the Temple Bar area where there are plenty of places to grab a bite and a pint of the black goodness known as Guiness or some other beer. Then it was over the River Lifey on the Liffey Bridge, also known as the Ha'penny Bridge (because until 1919 there was a toll to cross) to find my bus to take me back to my hotel.

Grafton Street

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Local Pub

One of the Streets in Temple Bar

Bewley's Oriental Cafe

Eatin' on the Emerald Isle...

A girl could get used to a meal like this....Steak, potatoes, and a Magner's (cider).

The First Half of 2011

Time flies when you're having fun...or trying to get your PhD.

How in the world is it already May? 2011 has flown by and it doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. David spent countless hours during January to April on trying to finish his dissertation. He defended his oral presentation in April at the University of Louisville and did a great job. He passed the defense and will be graduating later this year. All the hours on the computers and reading through papers took away from any time we had to do much of anything other than school.

We wanted to share the excitement of the Kentucky Derby with our South Carolina neighbors and friends. So on the 1st Saturday in May - we held the 1st Annual Burnett Derby Party. Everyone had a great time cheering for their horses, trying Mint Juleps and other fine bourbon drinks, and spending time with each other. The horse Animal Kingdom won the race and our (lucky) neighbor Lisa won over $200 from her wagers on the horse.

We took part in a mud-run with some friends. A team of 4 people has to run over 3 miles and get through 30+ obstacles in order to finish the race. Oh yeah and all along the way it is nothing but MUD! We had a great time but got super dirty - my shirt was white when we started - in the process!

We are getting ready for summer as the pool just opened up last weekend. Our kickball team - We Got the Runs - finished 2nd in the league (our 3rd second place finish in 4 seasons). We will try to do a better job of updating the blog more regularly.

Happy Memorial Day to all.