A plethora of pumpkins

I used to just have a thing about Santa Claus. My collection spans 25+ yrs now and it's quite vast. Pumpkins are something new. I started with just a handful a couple years ago. The blue, green and cream colored pumpkins were starting to become a thing. And since our newly remodeled house had that same color scheme, I started out with a few.

Then it grew and it grew. Until I've got so many pumpkins, I'm not sure what to do... with all of them. So I expanded my growing pumpkin collection to all of the public rooms AND the office. With our newly emptied nest since the younger daughter is now safely ensconced at Clemson, I've added some pumpkins to her bedroom, too. I am the Pumpkin Queen, it seems!

Fall, oh how I love you!

It's not officially fall, whether you're looking at the calendar or the daily temps. However, the stores have put out their autumnal decor and I'm about ready to have the husband haul in my boxes of pumpkins stored in the workshop. Today mother and I made a little run to a few places to check out the new items on offer and added a few new items to my collection. I'm glad the whole blue, green and cream pumpkin colors I fell in love with several years ago are still on point.

Texas to Clemson

It's official - we're empty nesters. The younger daughter and I made the 16 hour road trip from Texas to South Carolina to get her settled into her dorm at Clemson. We loaded down her mid-sized SUV and hit the road with it packed to the gills. 

Like every other momma on the planet that's paying attention, we used the IKEA frakta bags to carry most things. We also used the space saver bags and vac to make her wardrobe a more manageable size. Once we got to Clemson and settled at our Airbnb with her SUV safely stored in the garage, we hit all of the local stores to buy up the rest of the things she needed. Shampoo, conditioner, school supplies, a floor lamp, blah blah blah. 

* Clemson Class of 2023 Paw Photo *

We enjoyed some good southern eats on the trip. The teen's favorite was a place called Mutts. We dined there a few times. We also hit a couple well-known bakeries for some sugary goodness.

While in Clemson, we weren't appreciating the high humidity and afternoon pop up rain showers. Might as well have been in Houston. Or New Orleans. At least I didn't suffer any mosquito bites. We enjoyed seeing a cute little double rainbow one afternoon once it started to clear up.

The teen's dorm room is a single because she's a light sleeper. And of course you hear the horror stories of bad roommates. By the time I left to fly back home to Texas, she had all of the essentials in place and has been busy ordering the decorative stuff she wants from Etsy and Minted.

We spent an afternoon checking out all of the cute shops on College Avenue. We both found some new Clemson wear on the racks.

I enjoyed our Airbnb, owned by a Clemson professor and in an older neighborhood a stone's throw from the college and directly on the lake.

The couple's friendly old dog Finn came to pay us a visit and hang out for a bit.

I stayed strong until it was about time to say goodbye. Then I boo-hooed on and off for most of the drive to the Charlotte airport. I did dry it up long enough to get a pic of the famous Gaffney, SC, peach, made famous in the Netflix series "House of Cards". 

At the airport, I did some emotional eating at Bojangles and then gave the Charlotte friendly skies emotional support mastiff, all 190 lbs of him, a pet on the way to my gate. 

Land of the waterfalls

Tomorrow the younger daughter and I kick off her 1100 mile college road trip, moving her into the dorm early so she can participate in sorority rush. I'm wrapping up my North Carolina trip blah blah now before I'm gone for the next eight days and forget everything.

The area where we stayed in southwest North Carolina is known for all of the beautiful waterfalls. Seriously, they seemed to be around every corner. We kicked off the waterfall touring with a private guide, Craig, who took us to see all of the off the beaten path waterfalls. We hiked on private lands and unmarked trails, braving yellow jackets and rainy weather to experience the roar of rushing water.

This is just one of several signs we passed while hiking to the public waterfalls... duly warned!

After two days of serious hiking - see my Pacer step tracking info for hiking day 2 above - we took a daytrip on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad out of Bryson City. It was nice to sit on our butts and enjoy the pretty views.

How cute is the Nantahala Brewing Company facade, seen above, that looks like the silhouette of a vintage travel trailer? And below... Lord have mercy, there were several spots along the train ride where the kudzu covered everything.

Our train route took us by Fort Lindsay, which was where the Trail of Tears commenced.

When we stopped for a leg stretch at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, I enjoyed watching what appeared to be a kayak rollover and save yourself from drowning lessons on the rapids.