We headed to the mountains...courtesy of J & W's house and, of course, Nana and PawPaw Mason...and we had a great time.
Here's J & W's house...
Just kidding! I wish we could stay here! I would love to live in this house and sneak in and out of all the secret passageways, go bowling in the basement, and eat supper in the magnificent chairs of the banquet hall!
I also would love to do nothing but select a book in the gorgeous library and lounge by the conservatory whilst smelling the aroma of the rose garden! Bebe agrees.
I mean, really...
the gargoyles...
the horse stables (where you can now shop/eat)...
the Italian water gardens (one of several gardens)...
the side view...
the view from the side view
(where they were setting up for a concert on the side lawn)...
Seriously...it's an amazing house with amazing views. After touring the house and gardens and conservatory we headed down to the winery. Judy (aka Nana) and I took a much needed seat at the bar for a wine tasting while Mason (aka PawPaw) and Jason watched the kids. Judy and I enjoyed many, many, many samples!
After the sampling, we walked around the winery "town" and farmyard. Such a great day and beautiful weather.
Anywhooo, Day 2 was also wonderful. Great weather and fun times! We headed to a Nature preserve to see the cutest black bears, some coyotes, wolves, snakes, turtles, birds of prey, and on and on and on!
After the animals we grabbed some food for a picnic and headed out to the National Forest.
First up, a 60 foot granite rock with 11,000 gallons of water gushing over it per minute! We pulled on bathing suits and hit the rock! Lots of fun, but a smidge on the cold side. The water was 52 degrees!
Sass and Jason are just to the left of the tree.
They had just come sliding down the falls.
Here you can just see Bebe hitting the bottom of the falls
and splashing into the pool of cold water!
And here is Sumner...10 feet away from the froth!
And last, but not least is Sawyer and I about to hit the pool.
You can barely see us right through the thin branches in the middle of the pic.
So backing up a bit...there is a path down one side of the falls and then you must cross over the river to get to the other side to walk up the rock. See evidence below...
This is the first taste of the cold water...so you know you're gonna get it
when you hit the bottom!
Then you bravely wave from the top as you wait your turn.
Pile on singularly or in a train of three!
Sumner, Jason, and Bebe in back.
Wheeee! It's freezing and so exciting!
Splash! You go under and are in shock from the rush and the cold water!
But then you go again because it is exhilarating and so much fun!
Then about a mile down the road...we picnic'd at this waterfall!
Gorgeous! That's the only word!
We frolicked around the base pool.
The water was not as cold here, but just a bit chilly.
Sawyer looked for gold amongst the rocks.
Ironically, Sumner and Sawyer both found pennies in the river.
The view opposite the falls wasn't too bad either.
A winding rush of water into the misty green. Fab-u-lous!
On Sunday, Day 3, we walked around the town and hit up another museum. It was an Earth Science museum with some really cool rocks, gems, and memorabilia. Then we followed that with a celebratory lunch where we toasted to a great summer full of adventures!
Thanks again to J and W and Nana and PawPaw for all they have done for us this summer. We are 6 Tarheels sufficiently vacationed...for now. Here's to future adventures! (raising my glass)
No comments:
Post a Comment