Poker Run Photos

          So when I was writing the blog for the Poker Run I didn't have my camera with me (I left it in Columbia) and I just now got it back so I can finally post some pictures from it that are not just of Dusk, although those were precious! so here we goooooo.....

My Sweetie Driving...

And attempting to smile and look at the camera. He failed. 

Jeeps :) and lots of them 

Brooks' jeep is the red one, and Cole's Jeep is the white one 

The jeeps that we rode with all day, it was a bunch! 

Riding down some curvy mountain roads

With some pretty views

 

Memorial Day Weekend

    Cole and I  both took last Friday off so we could enjoy a long very long weekend together with several of our friends. Dusk and I drove down to Columbia on Thursday night. When we got to Cole's we quickly rushed downtown to enjoy a dinner at Brioso's. There is a Brioso's in Clemson and it is probably my favorite restraunt there, so I was very excited to learn one had opened up down in Columbia so Cole and I decided to try it out. I must say I was not as impressed with the one in Columbia. Cole and I always order the same thing. The bread that came with the meal seemed stale and it was cold, and any time we had it in Clemson it was fantastic, fresh and warm. The mozzerella sticks were delicious but the pasta was just alright, Cole's pasta sauce was a bit on the oily side. I think since the one in Columbia just opened up it is still trying to get its bearings, I would like to eat there again in about a month and give it another try. After we went to dinner we had a movie night with my friend Fitz and her boyfriend for her birthday. We were originally going to go bowling but the lame bowling ally decided to close at 10:30 that night so we weren't able to go.

     Friday morning Cole and I got up bright and early to head to our friends' house to load up their jeep and trailer and get on the road. We spent the weekend camping in Mortimer, NC. Mortimer used to be an old mill town in the 1800s, and some of the ruins of the town is still standing. The town flooded from the river, and the town decided to rebuild, the town was flooded again and the towns people decided after the second flood to abandon the town.The campground we stayed at was on the river that floods really bad when it rains, Thank god we had amazing weather all weekend.  During our weekend we got to see some lovely views of mountains including Mt. Mitchell and Linville Falls. We ate at some cute little local restaurants, enjoyed the river, explored trails and the ruins of the old town of mortimer near camp and visited some adorable mountain towns. It was a very relaxing and fun trip with great friends. I am very glad that we were able to go!

The amazing view from Mt. Mitchell

and again, the beautiful blue ridge

I love the shadows the clouds cast on the mountain

Cole and I at Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. 

There is a tomb at Mount Mitchell, the gentleman died while researching the surrounding area. 

My cute boy, before we headed up to see the gorge. 

Linville Gorge, it was so peaceful and gorgeous. 

We could see for miles.... 

I love the mountains cause of this right here, amazing views

Cole and I at the Linville Gorge

Our friends, Burgundy and Larry  

Our friends, Brooks and Andrea with their sweet pup Roxie

Linville Falls

Linville Falls 

Linville Falls

Cole and Me in front of the falls. 

another view of Linville Falls
(if you look at the top right you can see the smaller falls that were in the photos above.)

Linville Falls

Linville Falls and the surrounding mountains. 

The Poker Run

        This weekend Dusk and I packed up our bags and took a long 3 hour trip to Clemson! It was a weekend full of friends, jeeps and fun. Cole came up and met us at my apartment in Clemson on Friday night. Saturday was the big Poker Run!

       Dusk and I actually had two types of runs on Saturday. Dusk and I got up at 6:30 am and ran from my apartment to campus which is roughly a 3 mile run. Dusk and I have been running for the past few months and it is amazing how far we have come. We used to only run about half a mile and I would be out of breath. My goal when I started running was to do an actual 5k run, and I wanted to test my limits and know I could do it before I signed up for one. So Saturday morning was our test, Dusk and I both made it, without walking and without dying! But in all seriousness I am glad I did it and I plan on running a legitimate 5k soon.

      When Dusk and I got done with our run Cole was nice enough to come pick us up so we could go shower and meet up with our group of friends for breakfast. We met at Chick-fil-a, enjoyed a tasty breakfast then moseyed on down to the Clemson 4 Wheel Center. Clemson 4 Wheel Center is the Offroad shop in Clemson that hosted the Poker Run. We registered and talked for a while and eventually got on the road to the first stop on the run.

      So basically the point of the poker run is there are 5 stops on the run, at each stop you get out and pull a card. The card you pull is marked on a score sheet you are given at the beginning of the day. So basically at the end of the day you have a full poker hand if you stop and pull a card at each stop. There were also two ways to get a wild card, the wild card could be any card you wanted and could replace any card in your hand. Only one person in each vehicle could get a wild card at each place. We also had to be back at the Clemson 4 Wheel Center by 5 pm.

     We had to go to all the stops including both the wild card stops so that all of us could have wild cards. One of the wild card stops was a geocache, and the other stop was a rock crawl. The geocache was of on a dirt/gravel trail so it was nice cause we got to actually do a little riding other than on a regular road, that can get old quick. The rock crawl stop was neat to watch other than the fact that one of the guys that was with us actually deflated one of his tires trying to climb it, and I got eaten up by some creepy bugs, but everyone got there wild card so it was worth it.

     We ended up getting back an hour early. We went and turned in our score sheet, I ended up with a straight after thinking I was going to have absolutely nothing. I had terrible luck, I seriously pulled the same card at 3 stops for a total count of 5 times, and it could only be counted once, so I had to redraw several times. It was insane. Cole only had a pair of aces, and neither of us won anything but one of the guys in our group had the best hand and he won a winch!

My little sweet, sleepy head

He was using our Yeti cooler to prop him up along the ride.

      This was the first time Dusk has been allowed to go on an offroading trip and I really think he enjoyed it a lot. He got a ton of attention, from both people and four legged friends. He and Roxie, another pup with our group, were pals all day. He even did well on the gravel trail we took for the wild card. He actually fell asleep a couple of times during the trip with his head propped up on top of the Yeti, which is the white thing in the photos of him. He and Roxie were both exhausted by the end of the day, so much so that they both were sprawled out on the pavement asleep at the end of the raffle. I am hoping that he will be allowed to come on some more trips with us now since he did so well!

 
   

Tupperware Thief

     This week I have been working late every night so I can leave at lunch tomorrow to head to Clemson, for the Poker Run on Saturday. Well I had to be sure to leave on time today because a lady was coming to the house around 6 to take a basic survey of Anna's things for the movers. (I promise this story has a point.) Well to make things easier I took all of my things out of the living room and kitchen so there would be not confusion on what was hers. I simply moved it all into my room for the 20 minutes that the lady was here. The lady that came was very sweet, she came in did her job and was quickly on her way...and Dusk didn't make one peep while she was in here. But boy as soon as she walked out that door and I let him out of his warm comfy crate he went straight to the door and started barking...like he was protecting me from something. My dog is a nut. After he decided that she was gone for good, clearly cause he scared her off with his barking, he pranced his happy little behind in my room. That is pretty normal for him, but next thing I see is little crazy head running out of my room with not one, not two but THREE big Tupperware containers protruding straight from his mouth. Thank goodness he is silly enough to bring them back to the room I was sitting in cause I am sure I would have had  nothing left of them if he was left alone with them for too long... He takes after his sister when it comes to chewing things up.

      Background Story: Dusk had in the past chewed up a pair of rainbows, a pair of sperrys, a pillow and a blanket....on the other hand Cali, his sister that lives with Cole, has chewed up much, much more. This on going list includes a book bag, textbooks, Ralph Lauren shorts , a fishing hook, American Eagle shirts, oh and did I mention she has done all of this from the comfort of her own crate. The crazy girl some how gets her paws out the side and pulled all of these things to her grate and shredded them into her crate. We now watch her very very closely and keep everything very far from her crate.

Our Babies :) 

Dusk

Cali 

     I know it is hard to believe, but they really are actually brother and sister! They came from a litter my parents dog had. We have had Dusk and Cali since they were born, and we have loved every second of it. I also know it is hard to believe these sweet angelic faces actually are crazy destructive chewers... We also have one more crazy girl. She isn't crazy cause she chews things. In fact as far as I know she has never really chewed anything up. She is the one who will have a full on conversation with you, she plays in the water bowl until its empty, she sits on the air vent when the AC is on and she is just pure silliness! Introducing....... 

Dakota
(Koda for short) 

She is Cole's sweet husky. She is Dusk and Cali's big sister and she is a hoot to watch. I love playing with these three wild childs!

Time Flies

         I don't know about everyone else, but to me it always seems like the summer always flies by no matter what I am doing that summer. Weather I am working my tail off, taking classes, or being a lazy bum I swear the summer travels at lightning speed! The summer always has a lot going on, my birthday (actually about 2/3 of my family's birthdays are in the summer!), trips, graduations, major friend bonding since we are scattered all over the place during the school year and in the last few years weddings have become a normal summer event too. Anyways since it moves so quickly I seem to get nostalgic about it more than I do any other season. Around the end of July I am always caught by surprise that it is almost over. I also seem to get some of the best, most entertaining and enjoyable photos from the summer time. Here are some from the last several years :)

2008: 

Kathrin and Me shopping in Germany :) 

Me and the boys watching the Euro Cup during our exchange program

All the American Exchange group, and some of our German exchange partners 

2009:

My Beautiful sister got married! 

These Lovely Ladies became a huge part of my summer, and a gigantic part of my college career thanks to the FIRST Summer Preview Program 

More of the FIRST gang 

2010: 

The girls at my 19th Birthday party 

Deidre and Me with my grams dog, Rusty, we loved and tortured him that summer 

Deidre and Me exploring Pittsburgh with Gram. 

What a gorgeous view of Pittsburgh! 

Niagara Falls, the American side, lit up at night. So gorgeous!  

Being our normal selves in Niagara. 

Probably the best, best friend trip ever! 

2011:

Cole, Addie (my niece) and Me

Cole and Dad fishing

Tillman, my temporary kitty friend that summer

Cole and Me in Atlanta

Me and my roommates on my 20th Birthday :) Love those girls! 

Nichole and Me 

Emily and me at the end of Orientation dinner :)

 I hope that this summer is no different, I am looking forward to several huge events to take place this summer!