During our latest trip, we went out to the scenic Julian Price park to go canoeing and fishing. The lake was absolutely breathtaking! There was a quaint shop on the edge, where we bought “top of the line” bait. (Who knew fish liked corn?!) So, we geared up and set out on the pristine lake. We didn’t catch anything, but we still had a fantastic time trying, and we got to see some of the nicest sights we’d ever laid eyes on! If you’re ever in the area, you HAVE to check it out! We can’t wait to go back, and we plan on it in the near future!
February 21, 2008 – 4:29 pm
During our latest excursion to the cabin, the kids found what seemed to be as lost house dog down by the river. As hard as they tried to leave the unfamiliar dog alone, she seemes to grow attached to my stepson, whom she followed determinedly. We brought her inside, having no real say in the matter, and immediately began calling our neighbors to determine exactly who the dog belonged to, while the kids decided they simply HAD to name her. In another of their famous strokes of oddity, they finally decided on Glenda, of all things. By this point, we knew Glenda must have belonged to SOMEONE, because she was, frankly, trained even better than our own dog (who is, incidentally, the same breed!)
After countless phone calls, we finally found the person who owned Glenda, or as she was ACTUALLY called, Midnight, a sweet woman from a few houses down! She came by to pick up the pooch the next day, as night had fallen by now, and after “tearful” goodbyes, we waved farewell to our new friend.
January 29, 2008 – 5:48 pm
Alas, it was bound to happen. The rental agent has been doing things that have been raising our eyebrows for awhile now. He has been charging us for services he has not performed and also charging us (and his other home owners) quadruple for services he does deliver. For example, he is now promoting trash removal, which in itself is a great thing. But.. he is charging each renter $40 to take away their trash, and he is charging us $40 a month for the trash removal service. We can (and have been) contracted with the local trash removal company ourselves, for $23 per month! This is a windfall for the rental agent! He is collecting at the very least $160 per month from unsuspecting renters, for a service that we already provide! HMMMM
January 20, 2008 – 2:57 pm
We finally managed to get all 5 kids to be available at the same time! We coordinated flights for Evan’s sons to come from NY, and for Goo to fly down from Tallahassee to fly UP to Charlotte with us. Luckily, we found itineraries that had both flights arriving in Charlotte within 40 minutes of each other.
We rented TWO 4 wheel drive vehicles (there was snow predicted) and caravanned up 321 to Boone. I drove one and Evan drove the other. The ride up the mountain was very enjoyable. (I got the Jackson Browne CDs)
We had a nice time, but the weather was AWFUL! It was cold and snowy. We had a few inches of snow and temperatures as low as 10 degrees! Our board games got a workout!
We drove to Sugar Mountain to go snow tubing. This was a bit of a hairy expedition. There was about 6 inches of snow on the ground, I drove one vehicle and Evan the other. The roads up the mountain were very slick and snow covered. The crowds due to Martin Luther King weekend were heavy. I was quite nervous driving a rented car in these winter conditions.
When we got to Sugar Mountain, there was nary a parking spot in the whole mountain, so we headed for Beech Mtn. We managed to park the cars and went ice skating instead of snow tubing. Oh well.
The next day, we all went to Blowing Rock for lunch and a shopping tour. Evan and his sons wanted to get back to watch a football game, and Mikey went with them. On the ride back to the cabin, after 4 refills on his Sprite, Mikey barfed up his lunch in Evan’s rental car. Oh well. 😉
The next 2 days were pretty miserable because it was so cold and wet. The kids were happy they all had their Macs and electronics with them. We baked alot of cookies and drank quite a bit of hot cocoa. The fire kept us cozy and warm. I would have preferred more outdoor activities, but it was nice being together.
August 10, 2007 – 10:36 pm
Once in awhile, you happen upon a place that is such a perfect representation of an icon that you think eveyone knows about it. We found the PERFECT summer swimming hole/waterfall!
Elk River Falls is not well known to area visitors! Which makes it a very special quiet place! A short hike from the parking area, you pass over the falls and see breathtaking views down the river, and over the falls. The scenery in Autumn is especially beautiful. As if this scenery is not enough, just stroll a bit further down the trail.
A few hundred feet down the trail, you emerge at the base of the waterfall. A gently sloping rock beach brings you down to one of the most lovely swimming holes I have ever seen.
Swimming in the cool water with the roar of the waterfall in the background is both peaceful and exhilarating at the same time.
We spent the entire day swimming in the many holes and exploring all the crooks and crannies in the rock pools.
From the intersection of NC194 and US19E near Elk Park, drive 0.7 miles west on 19E and turn right down a hill, then immediately turn left on SR1303 – Old Mill Rd. This turn is easy to miss. Proceed another 0.3 mile and turn right on Elk River Rd. Continue on Elk River Rd for 4 miles into the Pisgah Forest where the road ends at the parking area.
My daughters enjoying the trip!
This summer has been brutally hot, so the family decided we would cool off by going tubing down the river by the cabin. The river was ice-cold, but once we got going, we couldn’t feel it anymore. The river was a bit slow and low, having been dry this season, but we had a great time, albeit at a slower pace.
My brother’s family brought kayaks with them, so they ended up being way ahead of us, and we were half an hour behind them at one point!
After hours of sliding over rocks and unidentifiable plant life, we had finally decided that the trip had gone on long enough.
The trip ran long, about four hours, so everyone was exhausted and clamoring for the showers by the end of the day, but we couldn’t have asked for a better way to cool off as a family!
August 6, 2007 – 12:12 pm
This summer, we invited my brother and his family to the cabin with us, so we packed nine people into our ten person cabin! It was so wonderdul having our whole family together in our little getaway! Our kids are all within 10 years of each other, so they all had a great time together.
The Mile High Swinging Bridge
We went on an excursion to the lovely Grandfather Mountain, home to the famous Mile High Swinging Bridge, a 228-foot suspension bridge over one mile above sea level!
We were all a bit scared to go on, but we all made it eventually, and the view was incredible! It was so thrilling to be up so high, looking down on the mountain below!
By the time we got home, we were all tired, dirty, and stinky, but we had a fantastic time, and we can’t wait to do it again!
We decided to spend the first 2 weeks of August in our cabin. It will be the first time we spend more than a few days at a time. This time we will be DRIVING!
As I contemplate packing the car (a small SUV) with luggage for 2 weeks, a cooler of food for the ride, assorted tchotchkes we bought for the cabin, my husband’s golf clubs, dog paraphernalia (yes we are taking our dog – a black lab), my paints and painting supplies.. my throat starts to close up!
A 12 hour drive with a dog and a 13 year old boy!?! Do I need my head examined? Not only will the drive be interminable, but with the price of gas, it will cost a small fortune.
We have a ton of games and books to keep my son busy. He will also have his assorted electronic ’sedation’… iPod, GameBoy and a portable DVD player.
But what do we do about the dog? She is pretty good in the car, but the longest ride she has ever taken is about an hour. And then, we had to stop every 20 minutes for a peepee break! We will bring snacks, toys and a bone or 2. The vet suggested sedating her with ‘doggie downers’, but I am not sure I like that idea.
Do they make doggie Depends?
March 12, 2007 – 11:01 pm
I have to laugh heartily when my friends and coworkers are envious of all my ‘vacation time’. I think they picture our visits to the cabin filled with nothing but skiing, mountain biking, hiking and sight seeing. They dont picture us working from dawn to dusk moving furniture, hanging pictures, blinds, curtains and more.
We found an old sled in an antique shop and I thought it would be a great wall hanging in the rec room. We also arranged all the furniture we bought and set up the pool table. It is not as cozy as I would like yet, but it is coming along.
March 11, 2007 – 10:32 am
Arriving in Charlotte, we rented an SUV because we knew we would be shopping for furnishings for our new space at the cabin. We picked up a double futon and bedding for it on our way to Boone. It barely fit in the SUV. We had to tie some of the pieces to the top of the car. The uphill ride on 321 was a bit nerve wracking, but we made it without incident.
We quickly realized we would not be able to fit the kind of furniture we needed in a small SUV. We decided to rent a U Haul! This was no small feat in Boone, NC. Despite our reserving a 10 foot van, the only size they had available when we arrived was an 18 footer.
Ever the adventurer, Evan took the wheel. Our drive DOWN the mountain to Hickory was hairy to say the least. When we got to our first stop, we realized that we had driven the whole way with the back door open. Thank Goodness there wasnt anything in the van.
We must have made 15 stops in furniture factories throughout Hickory. Finally, we decided on a nice sofa and recliner. We also picked out a sofa table and some furniture for the new bedroom. The pool table barely fit in the van by the time we were finished.
Exhausted, we arrived back at the cabin and had absolutely no strength left to carry all the furniture into the cabin. Luckily, Jeff and his workers were available to help.
During our latest trip, we went out to the scenic Julian Price park to go canoeing and fishing. The lake was absolutely breathtaking! There was a quaint shop on the edge, where we bought “top of the line” bait. (Who knew fish liked corn?!) So, we geared up and set out on the pristine lake. We didn’t catch anything, but we still had a fantastic time trying, and we got to see some of the nicest sights we’d ever laid eyes on! If you’re ever in the area, you HAVE to check it out! We can’t wait to go back, and we plan on it in the near future!
