Freezing Run

We are adjusting well to our new place here in South Carolina. We have met quite a few of the neighbors and everyone seems really nice. We are taking advantage of the warmer winter weather by spending as much time outside as possible - running, walking the dogs, and grilling in our newly fenced backyard. We actually ran a 6K (about 4 miles) race a few weeks ago. The race was held on one of the trails by a lake not too far from our house. It was one of the coldest days of the winter so far - about 32 degrees with rain/sleet. It was sleeting for the entire day before so the ground had a nice little layer of ice that was really fun to deal with going up and down the hills of the trail. Still, we had a good time and it was nice to get back into running again after the holidays and our move.

A review of the last month and a half

I think the last time that we updated this blog we were still residents of Kentucky, so we haven’t been doing a very good job of keeping up. After you see what we have been up to though, you might understand. At the beginning of December, we finished up our life in Louisville. We tried to do as much as we could in Louisville during our last days there. We ate at some of our favorite restaurants, got together with good friends, took in a U of L Men’s Basketball Game, played at the dog park, and finished up at work and school (for a few weeks). The movers came and packed up all of our belongings and the trip to South Carolina began. We made a pit stop in Gatlinburg, TN which is a cool little town right at the base of the Smoky Mountains. We enjoyed a nice steak dinner by a mountain stream, took a Christmas trolley ride to see the city’s holiday decorations, and rode a ski lift up to a high point so that we could see the entire city (through the fog). The main interstate between TN and North Carolina was affected by a rockslide, so we had to take a detour through the Smokies. If only all detours could be that beautiful (insert pic)! Once we arrived in Greenville, we had just enough time to close on the new house and get it ready before the movers came with all our stuff. We spent three days unpacking boxes, trying to get oriented to the city, and trying to become “official residents” of South Carolina.

Christmas time in Gatlinburg, TN

Mountain stream in the beautiful Smoky Mountains

Then began the LONG trip back to South Dakota for Christmas. By long, we mean that we were in the car for about 29 hours straight (25 driving, 4 sleeping)!! We spent the first few days of our break and Christmas Eve in Philip with the Burnett & Martinez families. The plan was for us to drive up to Rapid City on Christmas morning, but the Good Lord had other plans. Some parts of the Black Hills got over 40” of snow, paired with extremely high winds and below zero temperatures. These blizzard conditions closed the entire Interstate through SD for almost 3 days. Although we were disappointed not to be able to make it to RC as we had intended, we were very thankful to be able to spend so much time with David’s parents, siblings, and grandparents. We (David, Cori, & Cara) played lots of games (Wii & real bowling, cribbage, board games), watched a few movies, and enjoyed a riveting night of polka dancing with David’s grandparents!! And, of course, we didn’t stop eating! When the weather finally let up and we were able to get to Rapid, we enjoyed “Christmas” (actually Dec. 27) at Cori’s Grandma’s house. It was really good to see family and share some time together. We continued our Christmas celebration at the Leis’ house, the cabin in the hills, and Prairie Berry Winery. We felt like kids again – getting to play in the snow and go sledding. Even Murphy & Oakley joined in on the fun!

Some beautiful snowy scenery

More beautiful snowy scenery

Cori playing in the snow drifts in Philip

Enjoying Marcus' Christmas Band & Chorus concert

Game time at Steve's house

Ethan celebrating his Wii Bowling Tournament championship with his Usain Bolt impersonation

Visibility (or lack thereof) on the SD highways during the blizzard

The snowdrifts outside Cori's Grandma's house

Sledding!!

Family hiking and sledding trip at the cabin

Enjoying the Christmas lights at Story Book Island

Sadly, the trip did have to end and (depressingly) we had to get back on the highway and head for our new home. We got to spend the first half of the trip with Cara as we gave her a ride back to Columbia, MO so that she could back to basketball practice. Needless to say, it was a pretty cramped ride (3 people, 2 dogs, luggage, food, and Christmas gifts)! A great surprise on the trip back was getting to see our good friend Miaken, who happened to be in Kansas City for New Years. We hadn’t seen her in over a year, so it was great to spend some time with her and catch up.

Cara and her traveling buddies

We finally rolled back in to Greenville on Saturday night (after spending 60+ hours in the car in less than 2 weeks). Cori started her new job with Michelin on Monday, January 4 and everything is going really good for her so far. I am busy getting back into the swing of things with school. Greenville has been hit by a “cold” spell, with temperature dropping all the way into the teens!! Don’t laugh all your Northerners – it is supposedly the coldest winter here in over 20 years so people here are really freaking out. However, for us, it is a comfortable cold, requiring a light jacket and (maybe) gloves. We hope that you have a great 2010 and let us know if you want a new place to come visit!!

P.S. We are the proud Uncle and Aunt (again) of a beautiful little niece – Tessa Marie Holland. Congratulations to Eric, Melissa, & Savannah!

Thanksgivng!

Our Thanksgiving week was great! We were able to spend the weekend before Thanksgiving in Columbia, Mo with Cori's family. We got to watch Cara play two basketball games, hard to believe she is already a Junior. Then we drove back to Louisville so we could get ready for the Leis Family's visit.

At Stephens Park (Columbia, Mo)

Kelly, Connie, Cara, Matt (Cara's boyfriend), and Grandma Emma Rene all made the trip out to Louisville. This was our last holiday in our house before the big move to South Carolina, so it was kind of bitter sweet.

We were able to share some quality time with Cori's family. We were able to take everyone to the University of Louisville football game. It was pretty chilly by Kentucky standards, but everyone seemed to enjoy the game even though the Cards lost. On Thursday, we created a Thanksgiving Feast! Everyone contributed to the meal and as always there was more than enough food. David just ate the last of the Turkey this week (2 weeks later) and said it still tasted good! We took a drive of the Kentucky countryside and stopped at Makers Mark Bourbon Distillery. We enjoyed a tour of the grounds and even got a taste at the end. We all got the chance to dip a bottle of bourbon in the red wax (their signature) for a keepsake! We enjoyed showing everyone around the place we have called home for the last 4 (almost) years. We have a lot of great memories of our time in Kentucky and will always have a special place for it in our hearts.

Showing our U of L pride before the game.

Enjoying the game

At Makers Mark Bourbon Distillery

The signature Black and Red of Makers Mark.

In the warehouse. Trying to get a bit of the "Angel's Share"

The Angel Share is what the bourbon aroma is referred to. It's the small amounts of bourbon is lost out of each barrel through their process.

October: Month in Review

We started the month with a trip to Greenville, SC to try and find our new home. We spent a few days looking and finally found our new place. It is a cute little house about 1.5 years old. It is 4 bedrooms & 2.5 bathroom. We are really excited to move-in in December.

Our New Home to be at 217 Barbours Ln. in Greenville, SC

Our backyard and screened in porch.

Our new kitchen.

On the 22nd we celebrated our Anniversary. It is crazy to think we have been married for 4 years and have been living in Louisville for over 3.5 years. How time flies!

We ended the month with a Halloween celebration. Dave went back to his South Dakota roots by being a cowboy and Cori went back to the ugliest fashion decade of all times - the 80's. We had fun with friends celebrating All Hallows Eve.

September's Gone With the Wind....

Well our whirlwind September has ended...only to be followed by the crazy months of October, November, December.... We had a great time on our trip to London and Scotland. Towards the end of our trip we were without Internet access so sorry the blog wasn't updated. David's conference went well and we were able to see a few more things in London before leaving. Well our whirlwind September has ended...only to be followed by the crazy months of October, November, December.... We had a great time on our trip to London and Scotland. Towards the end of our trip we were without Internet access so sorry the blog wasn't updated. David's conference went well and we were able to see a few more things in London before leaving for the US.

Edinburgh Castle

Trafalgar Square - London

Tower Bridge - London

We returned home to Kentucky and then 3 days later hopped in a car and drove the 16+ hours to South Dakota. Cori was representing Michelin at the Career Fair at the School of Mines, so it gave us a good excuse to all make the trip home. We were lucky enough to see David's sister Melissa, Eric (her husband), and Savannah (our niece) who we haven't seen since last July while we were home. They were nice enough to make the trip from Minnesota to Philip so we could all hang out for a few days. We can't believe how big Savannah has gotten and we are excited for Eric and Melissa's next little blessing expected in January.

Family Photo Day

We were able to spend some quality time with family. The brave family members decided to make the 6 mile trek up Harney Peak where we were greeted with 50 mph wind gusts. Hang on to your hats! We all got together at the Leis Family cabin and shared food (of course), games (horseshoes, checkers, spoons, croquet), and good company. We were also able to catch a few of David's "little" brothers' sporting events. It was great to get to watch them compete.

The brave Harney Peak Hiking Crew

While we were home we were able to catch up with some good friends. Our trip never seems long enough but thanks to everyone who made the effort to get together. It means a lot to us! We miss you all.

Of course, it wouldn't be typical South Dakota weather without the frequent temperature swings. We had great weather for a few days (60-70's) and then during our sight-seeing trip of Spearfish Canyon we came upon snow. Nothing like Fall colors along with a few inches of snow.

The Fall-Winter Colors at Spearfish Canyon

On our way back to Kentucky we were able to stop and see Cara (Cori's sister) in Columbia, Mo. We got to watch the Stephen's Stars win a volleyball game. Cara is a Junior this year at Stephen's College. She is liking school and doing well at sports. We are proud of her.

Cara serving up an Ace!

Just another day in paradise - Edinburgh, Scotland

Palace of Holyroodhouse - picture taken from the city observatory

Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park - we didn't quite make it all the way to the highest point but still got a very good hike in

one view of Edinburgh taken during our hike in Holyrood Park

Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket from our hotel room at night

We spent another day exploring Edinburgh, this time spending most of the time on the other end of the Royal Mile. We visited the Palace of Holyroodhouse which is the official Scottish home of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. We enjoyed surveying the grounds and gardens and learning a little bit more about the history of Scotland's royalty. We also took a quick walk through the Scottish Parliament.

Since it was such a beautiful day (probably at least 70 degrees), we took a few different hikes to get some amazing views of the city. David's conference begins on Thursday so tomorrow is our last day here in Scotland. We know we will miss this awesome place, but are also looking forward to being back in London and staying in a different part of the city than we did before. Hopefully the internet connection at our next hotel in London is also good so we can continue to keep updating the blog. We have enjoyed keeping this blog updated so we have a semi-diary of our adventures.

Edinburgh, Scotland

We arrived in Edinburgh (pronounced by the locals as Edinboro), Scotland and it was more beautiful than we expected. We arrived at the train station around 11:00 and walked with our luggage up a HUGE hill because David didn’t want to get a taxi. The one good thing about hauling 40 lbs of luggage and a backpack was the beautiful view – the city of Edinburgh and the Castle. Once we got to our hotel we went to our room and we were amazed at the view out of our room window. It is looking right over the Grassmarket and up at the Castle (see photo below). While we could have sat all day looking at the Edinburgh Castle through our window, we decided to get a closer look.

Our view from Room 4111

We toured the grounds at Edinburgh Castle and saw the awesome views of the city below. We also got to see the Scotland Crown Jewels which are housed there. After spending a few hours at the Castle we headed back down High Street also known as the Royal Mile.

We made a stop at the Scotland Scotch Whiskey Experience. We learned how Scotch Whiskey is made and got to sample some of the local fare. David was bold and went for a more mature whiskey with a very full, smoky flavor. The tour guide said of this specific sample: “You will either love it or hate it.” By the look on David’s face, along with the watering eyes and sporadic coughing – I would say he wasn’t a fan. We also got to see the world’s largest Scotch Whiskey collection with thousands of bottles including a few that were over a hundred years old!!

The view of the city from Edinburgh Castle

At the Scotch Whiskey Experience

We continued our walk down the Royal Mile and got to see a lot of neat shops and old building including the place where J.K. Rowling started writing the Harry Potter books, a statue of Greyfriar’s Bobby (the dog Bobby refused to leave his master’s gravesite for over 10 years and even inspired a Walt Disney Movie), and the place of the last public execution in Scotland. We went to a magnificent Cathedral – St. Giles. There was a lot of beautiful stain glass, statues, and memorials inside. We found a great little Italian restaurant for dinner and decided to turn in early. We have been going a 100 mph since we arrived in Europe, so we figured we would relax and enjoy the beautiful view from our room.

The Statue and Pub dedicated to Greyfriar's Bobby

St. Giles Cathedral

Stained Glass at St. Giles

The Grassmarket (the street our hotel is located at)

Edinburgh Cityscape

Edinburgh Castle