Grandfather Mountain, Part II

Trevor and I first visited Grandfather Mountain in the fall of last year. Despite the fact that the weather was freezing cold (with the windchill, I think it was 8 degrees) and windier than anything I have ever experienced (gusts at the peak reached 80 miles per hour), we had a great time and vowed to return. This time around, we went while it was still summer! It was a beautiful day... the temperature was in the low 60s which was perfect for hiking, and the wind was enough to keep you cool and remind you that you are high!

We walked up the Blue Trail, which is a lovely path (as you can see below) with occasional rocks to climb and ladders to traverse. Along the way, the scenery is breath taking. I am so glad we got to see it while everything is still green.

The lovely Blue Trail:

Trevor manned the video camera while I took the still shots:
We were just nearing the peak when my phone rang. So, I stood at the top of a mountain and talked to my mom!
This picture was taken near the peak. We stopped here and ate lunch, and then we just took in the view.
At the top of McCrae peak we met a young couple visiting from Charleston, South Carolina. We took a picture of the two of them, and they returned the favor. It was a little windy, but the view was spectacular!
On the way down, we opted to take the Yellow Trail. This trail, while beautiful, was... well... it was brutal! There was no nice path. It was a mile and a half of rocks, boulders, and enormous networks of tree roots. And everything was wet and slippery. I can truly say that we climbed our way down that mountain! This is what the Yellow Trail looks like... notice the little yellow mark on the rock just right of the the center of the picture, that's what we had to look for to find our way out.Along the way, I kind of felt like Dorothy walking through the spooky forest on the way to Oz. There were dark, damp caverns:
And weird little trees growing out of huge faces of rock.

In the end we had throbbing knees and wobbly legs... and we can't wait to go back again!

An East Coast Meeting with West Coast Family

A few weekends ago, I, Trev, my mom, and my dad drove to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit with some family. My closest cousin, Cassandra, and her partner, Dayna, flew out from San Diego to visit Dayna's parents. It was a great visit! It had been over a year since I had seen them. Cassandra and I grew up very close; we had a love-hate relationship when we were younger, but I love her to pieces and consider her the closest thing I have to a sister. I have to admit, it was a little strange to be on the east coast visiting with my family from out west!

Here's the three of us:

Thank you to Dayna's family for their kind hospitality. I can't wait to see you guys again soon!

What am I doing?!?

I think we all know that strange things happen while we are sleeping. We toss and turn, and dreams can make us wake up laughing, crying, or scared out of our minds. But get this... two mornings in a row I have awaken to discover that in the course of the night I have take the pillow case off of my pillow! I sleep with three pillows, all of which are very different. Yet, the case has been removed from the same pillow the last two nights. Plus, I sleep on my back most of the night which means I have to sit up, turn around, grab the specific pillow, remove its case, and then place it back under my head. What am I doing? It's very strange. Trevor insists he is not involved... but I can't help but imagine him pulling it off and out from under my head really quick - kind of like the trick where you yank the table cloth off without disturbing any of the dishes. We'll see what happens tonight!

Barefoot Mountain

On our way home from visiting the towns of Sylva and Highlands, we noticed a sign directing people to Whiteside Mountain. Since we had never heard of it, we figured we should check it out. When we got to the parking area, we could see that you had to hike to the top, but given the age of other people in the parking lot (they were older folks) we figured we could manage... even though we were in flip flops.

We hiked our way to the top via a great little trial. At the top, there were spectacular views!

The trail continued along the face of the mountain, and occasionally it offered an opportunity to walk out onto the rock outcroppings.

While out on one such rock, Trevor noticed a crevice he could climb down into that led to a small landing overlooking a 500 foot cliff. He went down, took some video, and then reassured me that it was safe enough for me to come down and take some still photos. Here's Trev at the edge and a picture of the view out from under the rocks:

Then Trevor had me sit in the same spot and place my foot on the edge for dramatic effect.

We got some good photos, and everything was great until I went to stand up. As I brought my left foot up, the back of my flip flop clipped the edge of the cliff. It was knocked right off my foot and fell to its death. The first thing I thought was, "Oh my gosh, I am at the top of a mountain with one shoe." Then I thought, "Oh my gosh, something actually went over the side of the cliff, we really need to get out of here!" So, Trev and I scrambled back out of the crevice back to the safe, guard-railed trail.

Now, this is why I am so in love with Trevor. Knowing how tender footed I am, he took off his shoes, gave them to me, and walked down the mountain barefoot! We made it safely to the bottom and his feet are fine, but I think I owe him a lot of foot rubs!

Sylva, Highlands, & The Asheville Scenic Highway

This weekend Trevor and I set out to see a new part of western North Carolina. We just love living here and want to see as much of the area as possible. After leaving the main highway, the first town we came to was Sylva. I love these small, old towns. The streets and the buildings have such amazing character... it makes me imagine what they must have been like in their prime. I can just imagine little old men sitting in front of the general store watching the world go by. This is a picture of Sylva's Court House. It sits high above the town at the end of Main Street. Look at it! They just don't make buildings like this anymore.

After Sylva, we drove on The Asheville Scenic Highway toward the town of Highlands. Along the way, the scenery is just gorgeous. Tons of trees, steep cliffs, and lovely waterfalls.

As you enter the town of Highlands, this is what you see. The lake is beautiful, and all along the water there are stunning homes and huge decks.

The town itself is picture perfect. We took a lot of video, but not any photos (I have no idea why). The main street is lined with shops and historic buildings that have been turned into Bed and Breakfasts. It also has the merriest Christmas shop I have ever seen! We spent a while looking around, and by the time we left we expected to see snow and drink hot chocolate. Given that it was 90 degrees, we settled for a big, fat ice cream cone! We had a great time, and we just can't wait to go back. We are thinking it will make for a lovely fall weekend excursion when all the leaves start changing.