National Championship Game

Just thought I'd send a note out there to everyone hoping they have fun watching Texas play Alabama tonight. We're due for our first snow of the year here in Atlanta, so it should be a fun evening! Be safe tonight, and hopefully I'll have travels to report of in the near future!

~PG

Happy New Year!

Hopefully everyone had a safe Friday night as they celebrated the new year. I know I enjoyed myself down in Hilton Head...although I may have had one too many thimbles of alcohol.

All the same, here's to another year of travels and sharing my exploits with whoever will read of it! See you on the road.

~PG

Pictures from North Carolina

I finally ventured into NC for the first time, and what a trip! I got to see my first snow of this winter, stood on top of a 150ft waterfall, and had the chance to drive through some beautiful mountain scenery. For anyone who has never been to the Rainbow or Turtleback Falls in NC, they really are a must. In the summertime, you can go sliding off of Turtleback (you'll have to wait your turn in line, though) and just a few hundred yards down the Horsepasture River is Rainbow Falls. You can stand at the very top of it (as you can see in my gallery below) and just take in the roar of the falls and the beauty of the mountains. It truly is the best hike I can think of (and it's only 3 miles round trip from where you park - not too shabby).

If you're ever within 2 miles or so of Lake Toxaway, NC and need a way to kill an afternoon/day - make the trip up to Gorges State Park. It'll be well worth your while!

Next up for me is Christmas in Greenville. I just met another Clemson gnome who is about to move up to Waukesha, WI so hopefully he'll be able to share some of his adventures with us on here as well!

As always, safe travels - and happy holidays!

~PG

North Carolina

Lake Toxaway

So I'm heading up on a hike tomorrow - Lake Toxaway has received snow the past two days, and should be sunny and 30 tomorrow. Hopefully this means I'll get to see snowy mountains on the drive up! I will be sure to snap a ton of pictures to share from my first venture into NC - keep your fingers crossed that I don't get into any auto accidents!

As always, safe travels!

~PG

Pictures from Newberry

Well, I had a blast at the wedding this past weekend. Spent some time walking around Newberry, and after about 4 hours I'd say I learned just about everything there is to know about that small town! Had a blast - stopped in an antique shop and picked up a Woodstock poster, then posed around some sights downtown. Take a peak at the pictures!

Hopefully I'll find time to update the blog during my Christmas break - I'm sure I'm going to have plenty of pictures to share as I venture to North Carolina for the first time for a hike! Keep your fingers crossed that I don't injure myself...

As always, safe travels!

~PG

From South Carolina

Going to Newburry!

I'm en route to a wedding in Newberry - can't wait til the reception where I'll be downing thimble after thimble of Sweetwater IPA! Saturday morning I'll be roaming around town to take in the sights, so look for some pictures from that next week.

I really can't wait for my Christmas holiday - I'm hoping to get a good bit of hiking in, spend a lot of time with the family, and maybe get to hit up some of my favorite restaurants in the upstate (Beacon, Taco Casa, etc.). Hopefully I'll have plenty of updates from that in the New Year.

The only future plans I have are for Asheville, so I'm hoping to make some travel arrangements for the next few months...anyone have any suggestions? :)

As always, safe travels - hope to see you on the road!

~PG

ACCCG

Well, I just got back from the ACC Championship Game in Florida. Had a really memorable time down there, and despite the outcome it was a very fun and entertaining game to watch (as pretty much every GT game for the past 6 years has been).

We also were selected for the Gaylor Music City Who Cares Bowl in Nashville against Kentucky. A few years ago I had the chance to go to the Who Cares Bowl in Nashville to see us play...Kentucky...and I said then what I'll say now "One of two outcomes could happen: we beat Kentucky (who cares?), or we lose to Kentucky (why'd I waste money on this?)." What'd we go out and do? Lose, because our team didn't care about playing Kentucky, which after the last two losses we've had I really feel like will happen again. If we want to have much in the way of positive momentum for next season, we don't need to just beat Kentucky - we need to slaughter them.

That being said, that doesn't mean I want to travel to see that. So I'll be watching the game from the comfort of a couch in Greer, probably working off a meal from The Beacon in Spartanburg.

Also, I've found that over Valentine's weekend I'll be going to Asheville, NC. This will be my first time going to that state, so I'm very excited (although there is a slight chance I'll go to NC over Christmas break). I'm also going to a wedding in Newberry next weekend, which should be fun - it's been a while since I've been in formal wear.

I'd go into more detail on the ACCCG (like how we should focus 99% of our recruiting in the next year on linebackers), but I really don't have the energy from all the driving I did today. So I'll leave you with a few pictures from my visit to Tampa.

As always, safe travels, and let me know about any fun trips you are going on!

~ PG

From Florida

Going to Tampa!

I'm buying my plane tickets tomorrow...I really can't wait. I don't want to overlook the SC game, but all I can really focus on is beating Georgia Tech. Hopefully the team doesn't have that mindset this coming Saturday...

I'll be going to Greer for Thanksgiving this week, then on my way down to Columbia for the game. I'm thinking that I'll fly down to Tampa on the morning of the game and then drive back up on Sunday, but that's still up in the air. All the same, hopefully I'll get to see some of you down in Florida. Thankfully, I'm finally getting a trip that doesn't take me to South Carolina!

As always, safe travels!

~PG

Tampa...?

Hadn't posted in a while, so I figured I'd get one here and share how excited I am about this coming weekend's game against Virginia. One more win and I can book a plane ticket to Tampa! I'll be in Clemson this weekend tailgating my heart out, so hopefully I'll be in good game shape by the time 3:30 rolls around.

But in case you weren't aware, Mr. Spiller is trying to win the Heisman. Make sure you vote on a daily basis for him - I know I am! He's in first as we speak, but we can't let anyone catch him.

All that being said, hopefully I'll have some news of exciting travels in the near future. Right now all I have booked (other than maybe Tampa) is some trips to South Carolina. We're about to start planning the next beer trip, and my hunches are it'll come down to North Carolina or Maine. We'll see how that all pans out. In the meantime, if you're going anywhere fun and want company, just let me know!

As always, safe travels - hope to see you on the road in Solid Orange!

~PG

Trip back from the Wake Forest game

On the way back from the Wake Forest, I had to take a detour from I-85 which took me through West Anderson and over to the Hartwell Dam on the GA/SC border. Quite a site. So I took some pictures on the lake and figured I'd share.

Also, how about that FSU game? Hard to argue with the result, but 3 missed extra points? 3!? And pitching the ball on that interception return? I'm surprised I didn't have an aneurysm from anger. All the same, I had a blast and can't wait to see us roll into Tampa for the ACC Championship Game!

Also in other news, next month Christen (my friend in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia) is returning from her service. Can't wait to welcome her home with a New Year's party down in Hilton Head. Should be a blast.

Anyway, I'm off - enjoy the pictures from Lake Hartwell, and as always - safe travels!

~PG

South Carolina