Tobacco Road and Strawberry Fields

Cori had to travel to Asheboro, NC to visit a rubber facility, so David went along for the ride and we made a mini-roadtrip out of it. Asheboro is located about an hour away from Chapel Hill and Durham, NC. If you are a fan of college athletics, then you know that Chapel Hill is the home of the University of North Carolina while Durham is where Duke University is located. The college basketball rivalry between UNC and Duke is probably one of the greatest in the country and the two campuses are situated about 9 miles apart from each other (known as Tobacco Road). We took some time to walk around both campuses and also saw the basketball arenas at each school. We also walked through a church on Duke's campus which was amazing! We finished the night with some steak, ribs, and a cold beer at Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery in Chapel Hill.

Church on campus at Duke University

Duke University Basketball Arena - Cameron Indoor Stadium

UNC Basketball Arena - Dean Smith Center

We are also happy to have Cori's sister Cara staying with us for a few months this summer. She is working as an Intern at Peculiar Productions which is a marketing firm here in Greenville. We have had a good time showing her around Greenville and the Upstate. We took a drive last Sunday to see a Revolutionary War Battlefield near Cowpens, SC and also found an awesome strawberry and peach farm where we were able to buy some fresh strawberries and homeade icecream! Yum! We are looking forward to Memorial Day weekend and our trip to Atlanta, GA to play tourists and celebrate Cara's 21st birthday! Check back soon for some pics and an update on our trip.

A Time for Everything: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Cori returned to South Dakota at the end of April to take part in the women's basketball game during Alumni Weekend. Many of the girls she played with were able to make it back. The Alums were victorious over the Varsity, 92-81. It was a great time to catch up with friends, reminiscing about the good times and making more memories. It was also great to spend some time with family as well!

The Lady Hardrocker Alumni

Sadly, on April 26th, David's grandfather Leonard Thorson passed away at the age of 88. We made the trip home to attend the Celebration on Life Ceremony and the Funeral. Although it was a sad time, it was also a joyous time to spend with family and remember the life of Grandpa Leonard.

Grandma Thorson and the Thorson Family Grandchildren

We spent Mother's Day (We love all our mothers and grandmothers - thank you for being so special to us!!) at Jones Gap State Park. It was a beautiful day; clear skies and 70 degree weather. We got to see 2 beautiful waterfalls (Jones Gap and Rainbow) during our hike. We thought Jones Gap Falls was big until we came across Rainbow Falls which looked to be over a 100+ ft high, spilling over many rocks and cliffs.

Jones Gap Falls

Rainbow Falls

If April Showers Bring May Flowers...

… then what do 90 degree temperatures in April bring?! It already feels like Summer here, even though we just got done celebrating Easter. We spent Easter weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC where it was actually somewhat cool compared to the 90+ degree weather in Greenville and Columbia, SC. Myrtle Beach is about a 4 hour drive from our home in Greenville, and we really enjoyed the time we got to spend there. On our first morning there, we took about a 5 mile walk up and down the beach with the dogs. We had beautiful weather and the beach wasn’t overly crowded yet. The Spring Breakers had just left and the summer tourist had not yet arrived. We also got to take a nice drive up the Atlantic Coast into North Carolina. We spent some time checking out a few of the small beach/fishing towns along the coast and ended up in Southport, NC (near Cape Fear) where they were having a spring celebration in the town park. It was a really cool and quaint little town. On Easter morning, we were lucky enough to attend a Sunrise Service on the beach in Murrells Inlet, SC which was about a 20 minute drive from our hotel. The service was really beautiful and touching – wonderful music, great message, and what a view watching the sun appear over the horizon and cast light over palm trees and the cross.

Family Picture on the Beach

Sunrise Service on Easter Morning

The rest of the trip, we basically just relaxed and spent some time on the beach. The dogs liked running in the ocean water, but couldn’t figure out why it tasted so bad! At first, they were both a little hesitant of the waves but got used to it after a few minutes. The water was still a little chilly, but sitting and watching the waves from the beach was a comfortable 75 degrees. We toured a few SC State Parks (Huntington Beach State Park, Myrtle Beach State Park) located right on the beach. It was so beautiful to see the natural beach habitat without all of the homes and hotels like there are in most of Myrtle Beach. And of course, we definitely had our fair share of seafood and even brought some shrimp home!

Beach Bums!

Huntington Beach State Park

On the drive back home, we took the “scenic route” – 2 lane highways through the heart of SC. We stopped by a Revolutionary War Battlefield in Ninety-Six, SC (weird name, we know). We saw where the patriots had dug a number of trenches and tunnels to aid in the war efforts. It is really neat to be able to experience a little bit of history that happened almost 250 years ago!

A few weeks ago Cori got to travel to Texas for a conference for work. She got to spend the weekend with her Aunt Shannon, Uncle Stratt, and Cousins Misty and Stratton in Austin. As always, there was great food and fun times had by all. On the way to San Antonio for her conference, she and Shannon made sure to stop by a few wineries to sample some Texan Wines.

Shannon and Cori

That's all for now!

Mid-Winter Update

Seems like in past years that the months of January and February just drag on. Apparently 2010 is going to be different. Here we are already in March and it seems like it was just Christmas. The weather around here (and everywhere else it seems) has been crazy. We get snow and then 60 degrees - seems like we will never figure out what coat, if any, is needed for outside.

It snowed the Friday before Valentine's Day but on Sunday (Valentine's Day) it warmed up enough for us to go for a 3.5 mile hike in Paris Mountain State Park. It was a little snowy and icy but still beautiful. We have over 7 State Parks within an hour of our house so we look forward to getting out and enjoying them.

We had to make a trip back to Louisville last week. It was nice to spend some time with our friends and get a few things done too. We stayed the weekend with our friends and (old) neighbors. It was weird to drive back to our old neighborhood and not have a house to go to. We tried to eat at our favorite restaurants while we were back in the Bluegrass State. On our way back to South Carolina we had to drive through the Smoky Mountains because of a rock slide on the main interstate. All of the trees were covered in a beautiful white coating. It looked like someone had just flocked all of the trees. What a beautiful sight.

You can see why it's called the "Smoky" Mountains

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.