Our Swamp Rabbits meet the team

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits hosted their first TruMoo Kids Club event of the season Monday, with members invited to join Stomper and the players for an evening of pizza and autographs at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena!

From left: Bergin (29), Miceli (26), Mikus, Oksanen (3), Skapski (30) and Gerling (8)

For a second the boys were torn between the pizza and meeting the players… In the end, the players did win out!

Thanks to our favorite hockey team for taking the time to meet some of their biggest (smallest) fans before hitting the road for their upcoming away games against the Florida Everblades, the Orlando Solar Bears and the Norfolk Admirals! We’ll see you back in Greenville against Orlando!!!

The collection wasn't complete without Stomper's autograph!

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are currently second in eastern-south standings behind the Everblades. They’ll be back in Greenville next Friday, with upcoming home games on February 10^th and Saturday, February 11^th against the Orlando Solar Bears. Friday is “Stick it to Cancer Night” with specialty jerseys which will be auctioned off live following the game, proceeds benefiting the Cancer Survivor’s Park Alliance. Saturday is the annual Outdoors/Scout Night, with a lawn chair giveaway for the first 1,000 fans.

Apparently Ahti Oksanen (#3) is an artist in his spare time!

Find schedule, pricing and stats on the official website, and you can join the Kids Club here. We’re proud to have the Swamp Rabbits be the face of hockey in Greenville, as they aren’t just great hockey – they’re great fan engagement, true fun for the entire family. #FearTheEars!

Meet Stomper, the new mascot for the Swamp Rabbits!

This past Saturday the new Greenville Swamp Rabbits mascot was revealed at Haywood Mall, where the children’s area has a brand new look thanks to our hometown hockey team!

The play area sponsorship was announced simultaneously to the exciting news that ‘Stomper’ will be joining the Swamp Rabbits family as the team mascot; after narrowing down the submissions for possible names from 300 to 5, fans were given the chance to vote on their favorite. One name ‘stomped’ out the competition (that included the suggestions Hopper, Buster, Rascal and Bogs), emerging as the official Swamp Rabbits Mascot. We cheered on the announcement over the din of cowbells, and after meeting the mascot we had a chance to play in the Play Zone and even shoot a little hockey.

Hockey season starts mid-October, with the first home game Friday, October 28^th at 7pm. For ticket info, a schedule of games and promotional info, check out the Swamp Rabbits website. You can find the Swamp Rabbits on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and Stomper on Instagram and Twitter…

Get your ears on for an exciting season of Swamp Rabbits hockey! Go Greenville!!!

The Swamp Rabbits Play Zone - can you spot Stomper?

Greenville Swamp Rabbits!

So there’s this thing in Greenville, it’s called the Swamp Rabbit Trail. It’s more than a thing, actually, as the 20 mile greenway following the Reedy river here in the Upstate has triggered the rebirth of an entire town (Travelers Rest), and spawned multiple businesses and even a sports team that want to share in the glory of a marsh rabbit. The SRT is a model we’ve seen work countless times across the US, of transforming a former rail line into a community resource; the phenomenon is common enough that top ten lists of the best rail trails are appearing, such as this one in Travel + Leisure. (When thinking of a similar success story, the High Line in NYC comes to mind despite the differences in use, as it is primary for foot traffic while the SRT is for bicycles and pedestrians.) I’ve previously written a little about the history and a small portion of the trail in my post The Swamp Rabbit: from the Falls to Cleveland Park, and about some of the businesses that have popped up around the greenway such as Swamp Rabbit Grocery and the Swamp Rabbit Brewery and Taproom. However, the most recent Swamp Rabbits in Greenville are a hockey team!

The Swamp Rabbits are the second East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) franchise to play in Greenville, the Greenville Grrrowl being our hometown team from 1998 to 2006. After four years without a hockey team the Johnstown Chiefs were relocated to Greenville in 2010, becoming the Greenville Road Warriors until they were rebranded last year.

Being a relocated Yankee, I get more excited about hockey than I do about NASCAR. Although the closest I’ve ever gotten to playing were my years as the Baltic Club’s broomball goalie at UIUC (which isn’t very close!), I had thought to take the boys to a game last season, especially as the boys were owners of Road Warrior Jerseys through the franchise’s participation in the LiveWell Greenville Park Hop. Mikus can be sensitive to the noise of large crowds and so we didn’t make it – however I wasn’t ready to let another entire season pass without catching a game!

The 2015-2016 promotional schedule is pretty impressive. We opted to attend on the night they gave away jerseys to all the kids, and although Star Wars night and the cap giveaway are in the past, there are still over a dozen games to attend including scout night and $5 ticket Thursdays.

Among the 28 teams in the ECHL our Swamp Rabbits are in the South division along with the Florida Everblades, the Atlanta Gladiators, The South Carolina Stingrays (North Charleston) and the Orlando Solar Bears, the opponent on the night we attended. It was a close game, decided in overtime after a nail-biting third period.

GOOOOAAAAAL!!!!!

I was blown away when I looked at the roster; the Swamp Rabbits have an international team with Canadians, Russians, Finns and Czechs playing alongside Americans. Currently 27 year old Jack Combs from St. Louis, MO is leading the stats with 15 goals, and although we’re #4 in the standings, we still have a couple of months left in the first season!

Local blogger (and sons) on the jumbotron!

 

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are affiliated with the NY Rangers of the NHL and the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. You can catch their home games at "The Well" (Bon Secours Wellness Arena, schedule here) and see the team stats here.

Your Upstate Fall Bucket List

Now that we’ve got that harvest moon eclipse fever behind us we can concentrate on autumn here in the Upstate – my favorite time of year in Greenville. The dogwoods and red maples have started turning here in town, although there is significantly more color up in the foothills. We’ve got a busy couple of months ahead of us and so I thought I would share some of our favorite things to do this time of year!

Fall color viewing

Greenville has made several top 10 lists for best autumn foliage viewing including Tripadvisor’s Top 10 Fall Foliage Destinations in the U.S. and USA Today Travel’s Autumn colors: Beautiful fall foliage around the USA. So where should you go to see the season in all her glory? Spots along the Blue Ridge Escarpment will offer the best views over the hardwoods of the Foothills. Within about an hour’s drive you’ll find Caesars Head State Park, Fred W. Symmes Chapel a.k.a. “Pretty Place,” Bald Rock and Jumping Off Rock. If you are up for a longer drive, try Dupont State Forest just across the NC state line. A shorter drive (only about 20-30 minutes) away is Paris Mountain State Park with dozens of trails to choose from. Campbell’s Covered Bridge, Stumphouse Tunnel, Lake Toxaway… I could keep going all day! Or if you want the color right here in town, Falls Park and the Swamp Rabbit Trail are two local options.

An autumn view from Jumping Off Rock

Fall for Greenville

A three day outdoor festival modeled after the likes of Taste of Chicago, Greenville’s “a taste of our town” is the largest food and music festival in the Upstate featuring over 40 restaurants and six stages of live entertainment – definitely something for everybody. Check out live music from local favorites such as Mountain Homes while sampling signature dishes from some of Greenville’s most popular restaurants this October 8^th through 11^th.  

Apple picking

A local favorite is Sky Top Orchard up in Flat Rock, North Carolina, and although it can get crowded on weekends this time of year, the panoramic views from the rows of apple trees can’t be beat – and neither can their apple cider donuts! If you’re looking for something a little closer to town try Niven’s, although this will be the last season for the Spartanburg county orchard after four decades in the business.

A weekend getaway to the Blue Ridge Parkway

Enjoy the chill in the mountain air while touring some of the most colorful fall foliage in the southeast along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Believe me, it’s hard not to stop at every single scenic vista!

RMSC Fall Harvest Festival

On November 14^th the Roper Mountain Science Center is hosting their annual Second Saturday fall harvest festival from 9am-2:30pm. Or pick from one of these other 25 fall festivals from Kidding Around Greenville’s list such as the Spartanburg International Festival, Balloons Over Anderson, Art on the Trail or Oktoberfest in Greenville!

Swamp Rabbit Grocery & Cafe

Make a stop at this local treasure just off the Swamp Rabbit Trail for pastries fresh from the oven and hot coffee, perfect on a crisp fall morning. Fresh, seasonal produce and local goods round out the experience, and if you’ve got kids joining you I suggest a stop at the Swamp Garden – all the better for you to enjoy a special fall treat if the littles are busy at play.

Enjoy a concert at your local State Park

Catch a Music on the Mountain bluegrass jam session at Table Rock State Park Lodge or Music in the Woods at Paris Mountain State Park. The Table Rock SP dates are October 10^th and November 14^th from 2-6pm, and the concerts in the outdoor amphitheater at Paris Mountain SP are Saturdays from 2-4pm during October (a schedule of performers is available here).

The Falls Park beech tree dressed in gold

Your National Parks

Take advantage of the cooler weather to visit one of our nearby National Parks, Historic Sites or Battlefields such as the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, Congaree National Park, Kings Mountain National Military Park, Cowpens National Battlefield or Ninety Six National Historic Site. With smaller crowds and lower temperatures you’ll be able to really immerse yourself in the history of our region while enjoy the natural beauty of the Upstate. 

The Greenville Zoo

Popular Halloween event Boo in the Zoo notwithstanding, there is tons going on at your local zoo this fall! With a brand new baby red panda Willie (named after one of our fave musician’s ‘Red Headed Stranger’ album), baby siamang George and twin female ocelot kittens just a month old making their first outdoor appearances, there is plenty of motivation for a fall trip to the zoo. Exciting changes are on the horizon with a new mixed species South American exhibit, but the favorite programs such as Wild for Reading Wednesdays are still on weekly...

For the sports fan

Catch a football game at Clemson or University of South Carolina. (The Tigers face off against the Gamecocks this year on November 28^th if you want to cross both teams off your list at once, and if you make it to Clemson, don't forget to stop at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens to see this local favorite decked out in its colorful fall garb…) If football isn’t your thing head to the Bon Secours Wellness Area (or ‘the well’ as it has been nicknamed) to see the recently rebranded Swamp Rabbits play hockey! Formerly known as the Road Warriors (who replaced the Greenville Grrrowl) and affiliated with the New York Rangers, the Swamp Rabbits start their season October 17^th.

A new logo, source here

For the beer fan

Take a microbrewery tour here in the Upstate just in time to sample fall-inspired beer such as Swamp Rabbit Brewery’s Marzen, a German style Oktoberfest, or Quest Brewing’s Pecan Porter. A big event is Octoberfest @ Brewery 85 on Saturday, October 24th. And there’s always Dark Corner Distillery’s Moonshine to ward off that late fall chill!

Farmers markets

New farmers markets have popped up across the Upstate to give you plenty of opportunities to shop local seasonal goods. In addition to the State Farmers Market on Rutherford and the downtown Greenville market you have the Traveler’s Rest Thursday Market in Trailblazer Park and the brand new one in Greer. Grab some hot apple cider, buy a couple loaves of pumpkin bread and pick out the mums and gourds to decorate your home.

Wishing everyone a beautiful autumn in the Upstate!

x votre Femme au Foyer

Who's going to join me, please? #friendsneeded #listersgottalist #listersgottalistseptember #fall #bucketlist #cider #pumpkins #letsbecozy #letshavefun

A photo posted by dmt (@dainamara) on Sep 23, 2015 at 8:02am PDT

 Thank you for the inspiration Daina!!!

Toms Skujiņš and a big win for Latvian cycling

Even as the Latvians were defeated by France in a hockey shootout in yesterday’s IIHF Championship game, they avoided relegation to Division 1, sending Austria instead. However the Latvian sports spotlight centers on California today, where Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California ended yesterday with a solid 1^st place finish by Latvian cyclist Toms Skujiņš. Watch his winner's interview here.

Source here

Along with teammate Andžs Flaksis, Toms is riding for the world-class Hincapie Racing Team. The cycling team based right here in Greenville has a focus on road bicycle racing; they joined the UCI Continental Tour in partnership with UCI ProTour team BMC Racing in 2012.

Source here

In Stage 3 yesterday Toms Skujiņš broke off with six other riders only to complete a 55km solo ride to the finish, 32 seconds ahead of 2^nd place. The 32-year old debuted in 2013, receiving the inaugural Cyclist of the Year award presented by the Latvian Cycling Federation.

In recent years cycling has seen a resurgence in popularity in Latvia. The most famous might be Māris Štrombergs, who in 2008 won gold in Beijing, becoming the first and only Olympic champion in BMX cycling as he won a repeat gold in 2012 in London. Many of these athletes are competing in cycling events across the world; you might remember last August when the 2014 Union Cycliste Internationale Para-Cycling World Championships were in town and we hosted Latvian Oskars Gailišs. And of course this year we’re excited to be cheering on Toms and Andžs, and we will be following their progress today in Stage 4.

You can follow Toms on twitter @Tomashuuns

Here is the play-by-play of yesterday’s win, straight from Toms’ blog: How the hell did that happen?

A spring fling with Park Hop, Storyventures and Arts Alive

With summer slowly approaching the calendar is filling up! A few of our favorites include a new program at the Greenville Library, Storyventures, and the LiveWell Park Hop, an annual summer-long event with LiveWell, all the parks and recreation departments in Greenville county, plus Paris Mountain State Park. The opening celebration was Saturday in Conestee Park, and despite the gloomy weather we headed out to play games and compete in the scavenger hunt. The new Park Hop passport was unveiled, and this year’s clues can be found spread wide over Greenville County, from Paris Mountain State Park to the Greenville Drive and Children’s Museum. Designed to help participants discover parks within the community as well as stay active through physical activity, we found it last year to give us motivation to visit areas we might not otherwise have seen, such as Cedar Falls Park. To register and download your copy of the park passport, visit the LiveWell Greenville website. 

Storyventures is a new program at the Hughes Main Library, and we signed up for the April program featuring the senses. Based on the Reggio Emilia learning philosophy, the hour-long program is geared towards children age three to five and takes place every Friday over the course of a month. During April we explored the senses, discovering the color green, texture, smell and light. Mikus tagged along, even participating in storytime and some of the activities. I had the opportunity to learn techniques for guiding and documenting the boys’ explorations and discoveries, and we are looking forward to the program restarting in October. For more information and registration, please contact the Hughes Main Library.

We will be participating in the summer reading “Explore Your World” program as well, which kicks off Friday, May 30^th at the Main Library with children’s activities, a children’s book sale and Lollipops concert. Starting that Friday you will be able to register at the library location you visit most frequently to pick up a reading log. The program runs through July 26^th and more information can be found on the Greenville Library website.

A few weeks ago we headed out to Stone Academy for the annual fundraiser, Arts Alive. Organized by the PTA, it featured dozens of games and activities for children of all ages, food, live music, auctions of artwork created by the students, and a raffle which this year included prizes such as a diamond necklace and a restaurant dining package worth over $1,000. Although we didn’t luck out in the drawing we had a great time, filling up on snowcones, popcorn, M&Ms, hot dogs and iced coffee.

Even with all the programs and festivals taking place, we have a few projects going on at home. Plus, the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship is taking place in Belarus. Coming through with a big win against the US last week in the preliminaries, the Latvian team is once again surprising the world with their excellent defense and teamwork. Back to back games Monday and Tuesday landed them just outside of the quarterfinals, but I know we’ll be seeing more of phenomenal goalkeepers Gudlevskis and Masalskis, as well as legends Daugaviņš and Girgensons.

source here

Enough to stay busy for a while, don’t you think? Greenville has an amazing list of programs for kids this summer, and if you are looking for fun activities to participate in I hope you'll join in! 

PS I wrote about last year's Park Hop and summer reading program here.

Let the Games begin!

Today the XXII Olympic Games start in Sochi, Russia, with a few preliminary events occurring before the opening ceremonies on Friday. There is plenty of controversy surrounding these Olympics, the first winter Olympics to take place in Russia. In addition to the reported environmental impact, political and ethical questions combined with corruption scandals have marred the Games before they’ve even begun. We can only hope the Games will pass without incident, and therefore we’ll be concentrating on cheering on our favorites and teaching the boys about the winter Olympic sports.

"you have to bite the medal to make sure it is real"

 

As US citizens we are proud supporters of Team USA, but after our time in France we also have a soft spot for some of the French athletes. However, it is the Latvian team that will have us on our feet cheering. This will be the third winter Games in a row that Latvia will send exactly 58 athletes who will be competing in nine events – a relatively high number when compared with the 230 athletes representing the US – but Latvia has only won three medals in the winter Olympics. Mārtiņš Rubenis won a bronze in Turin’s luge men's singles in 2006 (this will be his 5^th Olympics), Andris Šics & Juris Šics placed second in luge doubles in Vancouver 2010, and Mārtiņš Dukurs earned a silver in those same Olympics in men’s skeleton.

our train "ski jump"

 

All four will be competing in Sochi next week, along with some other familiar faces; you NHL fans might recognize the names of Kaspars Daugaviņš, Zemgus Girgensons, and Sandis Ozoliņš, who will carry the flag in the opening ceremony. Ozoliņš (or Ozolinsh as it has been spelled) was a seven-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup champion and Norris Trophy finalist during his career in North America. He played for the San Jose Sharks, the Colorado Avalanche, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Florida Panthers, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the New York Rangers, and currently is on the Dinamo Riga team of the Kontinental Hockey League. Kaspars Daugaviņš was drafted in 2006 by the Ottawa Senators, and later played for the Boston Bruins. He’s currently with the Genève-Servette HC of the National League A. Zemgus Girgensons, the highest drafted Latvian in NHL history has played with the Buffalo Sabres since 2012. Other former NHL players include Oskars Bartulis and Mārtiņš Karsums. The Latvian hockey team has been placed in bracket C, along with the Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland. Their first game is on Wednesday with the Swiss, and on Friday they play the Czech Republic before facing off against Sweden on Saturday.

Source: here

 

We wish all the athletes who have qualified to participate in these Games a safe Olympic experience. You can bet the TV will be on a lot more than usual in this house (hopefully they won’t cut to commercial when Latvia walks in during the opening ceremonies) as we share in the stories, the hope and the triumph of the athletes that have traveled all the way to Sochi to compete with the best in the world. And of course - Sarauj Latvija!!!

Team Latvia (skeleton) source here

 
The Latvian Olympic team's official page can be found here.
For a detailed roster, you can find an article on the Latvian participants on diena.lv in the article here (in Latvian).
The Sochi website also has the roster, although it appears not to be complete (but is available in English).
I'm not the biggest fan of Wikipedia, but the "Latvia at Sochi" entry has a ton of info condensed and well-organized (in English).
This google document has a breakdown of days and times the Latvian athletes will be competing (in Latvian, according to their time zone).
A quick recap of Latvia's medals in the London summer Olympics here.

Kicking off the month with cake and football

Along with the beginning of February came a slew of holidays and other occasions, ruining the image of control I had at the end of January, seeming to sneak up on me as it does every year. Luckily I didn’t have to worry about the big events which caught me off guard in Clermont-Ferrand; the short film festival and wine weekend at the Vinidome (which we usually missed anyway during our years in France) or the big rugby game in which France emerged victorious against England in the RBS 6 nations. But I also missed jour des crêpes, the French tradition of a day of crêpes that we had managed to keep since moving back from France. The good news is that there were a dozen other things to observe and celebrate!

With the passing of the Chinese New Year we have entered into the year of the horse, and who cares that Punxsutawney Phil has predicted six more weeks of winter (a few days ago on Groundhog Day), we have been immersed in a birthday celebration! Our youngest marked his second birthday on January 29^th, and Sunday we had a few friends over to celebrate. The bar had been set high as on Lauris’s second birthday dessert consisted of the train cake, but we managed a completely relaxed weekend while still marking this milestone in proper jubilārs vēlās fashion. While discussing possible cakes with Mikus I received a few pointers: mašīna, policija and pikaps (car, police and pickup truck). The result was this cake, for which I used Martha’s one bowl chocolate cake recipe and a vanilla buttercream icing, mixed with some food coloring for the accents.

The weather has warmed considerably since the giant snow storm, and we spent the warmest hours of the day outside. Our guests brought a science experiment, and luckily no one got too sticky during the Mentos-Coke explosion. We soaked up the mid-60˚ temps before heading inside for a chili dinner and the Super Bowl, complete with a bacon-cheese dip and plenty of chips and guacamole, as required by this American holiday centered around food, friends and football.

Of course now we can turn our attention to Sochi for the Winter Olympics. We’ll definitely tune in to watch the opening ceremonies Friday, and despite all the controversy on Russia’s preparation for these games, we are excited to support the Latvian men’s hockey team. They will be taking the ice next Wednesday, so now it is just a matter of rounding up the local Latvians and figuring out how to watch the game….