We're tired. Our muscles are sore. We ate too much. We stayed up late. We drove for hours and hours. Would we do it all again? Absolutely - in a heartbeat!
My brother and I just returned from our first ever road trip together. Our journey took us through the green flat-lands of Florida into the beautiful cloud-covered mountains of North Carolina. Here's the rundown of our adventures together along with a few pictures and the tiny traveler who joined us.
DAY ONE
7.22.12
Christopher's brand new big red truck
Drive to Jacksonville
Breakfast with Amber and Austin
A tour of their wonderful little apartment
Downtown Jacksonville
Chamblin's Book Store
So many books, so little time!
Drive, drive, drive, talk, talk, talk
Potty stop, drink, eat, drive, potty stop, drive, drink, potty stop
(You get the idea)
Arrive at Mom and Dad's adorable rental cabin
Quaint town of Waynesville, North Carolina
Deep green woods, lovely back deck, tiny babbling stream
A small slice of heaven
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| ME AND CHRISTOPHER |
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| SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME |
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| A BOOK LOVER'S DELIGHT |
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| MOM & DAD'S CABIN IN THE WOODS |
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| OUR TINY GUEST |
7.23.12
Egg's Jim for breakfast
Daddy's original concoction
Drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Green leafy canopy with gorgeous skies above
I can feel my heart singing aloud
Mile marker #419
Graveyard Fields trail hike
Boulders, clear cold river, waterfalls, happy hikers
Green woodlands full of flitting butterflies
Strolling through open sunny mountain fields
Narrow hiking trails studded with tree roots and smooth stones
Mud sticks to my flip flops; muscles strain uphill
A beautiful morning spent in God's great outdoors
Lunch at the Pisgah Inn
Unbelievable views
Walmart pit stop for camping supplies for Daddy and Chris
A new pair of sunglasses, pink t-shirt and water shoes for me
Dinner on the deck at the cabin
Fireflies appear like tiny points of light against the darkening woods
Ibuprofen all around at bedtime
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| HIKING HEFFRONS |
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| WATERFALL |
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| GORGEOUS SUNNY FLOWER |
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| BUSY BEES |
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| CHRIS CLIMBS THE FALLS |
7.24.12
Daddy and Christopher meet up with Randy and Alex Blackwood
Lake Watauga, Tennessee, boating, fishing, camping
A guy's outdoor extravaganza of fun, or in other words
Island, tenting, grilling, campfire, burping, beer, farting, steak, fish stories
In the meantime.....
Mom and I have our own girlie adventure
A tour of beautiful Lake Junaluska
The Shelton House Museum
Downtown Waynesville
Lunch, shopping, driving winding back country roads
Farmlands, red barns, cows, corn fields, overgrown junk cars
Peeling whitewashed houses that remember better days
Grocery store run
Movie night
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| LAKE JUNALUSKA UNDER BLUE SKIES |
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| A GAGGLE OF GEESE |
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| QUAINT DOWNTOWN WAYNESVILLE |
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| ANTIQUE COUNTRY QUILT |
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| SHELTON HOUSE MUSEUM |
DAY FOUR
7.25.12
Breakfast on the deck at the cabin under beautiful skies
Hot cream-laced vanilla coffee and good conversation
The Balsam Antique Mall
Hunting for treasures among the aisles of forgotten and faded memories
Vintage linens with delicate handmade lace trim
Scrolling designs on creamy white china
My love for gorgeous pieces of our past
Lunch and more mother-daughter conversation
Appointment to look at a house for sale
In the neighborhood where Mom and Dad own property
Quiet time reading a good book on the front porch
A walk through Brannon Forest to feed Doc and Daisy carrots
The boys return from their epic camping trip
Dinner and stories of their adventures
Camping in a terrible thunder-lightening-wind storm on a mountain lake
Chris figures there's nothing he can do so he rolls over and goes back to sleep
Dad lays awake in the early morning hours listening to the thunder booming
And watching the lightening strikes through the thin veneer of the tent
All is soaked and the camp is a bit scattered but they survive the perilous night
Though they didn't catch one fish, they'd do it again
Mom and I were glad to enjoy the comforts of home
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| DAISIES NEAR THE CABIN |
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| DOC AND DAISY - NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS |
DAY FIVE
7.26.12
White water rafting on the Nantahala River, much to Daddy's chagrin
Category three rapids (really no big deal but Mom and Dad don't know that)
Chris and I paddle in the front and the water is freezing
Mom and Dad share the middle of the raft with another traveler
Two more boaters in the back with the guide
Mom is designated as the trip's official screamer
We ride the rapids, laugh, talk, and enjoy the amazing scenery
Mom does her job well at every rapid; Dad goes along for the ride
And survives his first ever white water rafting trip
I have a feeling it's not his last, especially if Mom has her say
Lunch at the Nantahala Outdoor Center overlooking the river
Lots of families, kids in the water, ducks bobbing for a meal
More rafters and kayaks take to the cold clear river
Under blue skies and blazing temperatures
Shopping and ice cream in Cherokee
Dinner at Nick and Nate's in downtown Waynesville
A three hour stretch at the movie theater for the new Batman flick
Mom promises not to ask questions during the movie
But decides instead to file her nails during the shoot-em-up action scenes
She goes along for the ride because Daddy has his say so
Ah, family - love, love, love them!
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| NANTAHALA OUTDOOR CENTER |
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| COLORFUL KAYAKS |
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| CHRIS DREAMS OF FISH AND HIKING |
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| GOOFING OFF AT LUNCH |
7.27.12
Sleeping in this morning, snuggling into the quilt
Breakfast together
A beautiful drive into the lush recesses of the Catalochee valley
On gravel strewn switchback roads with steep drops
Historic homesteads, fishing in the streams, watching the treeline for elk
Turkeys in the mountain fields, bobbing, then disappearing into the long grasses
Sightings of two baby black bears, much to our delight and surprise
Deer, deep in the green woods, wary of strangers, ears tuned to the slightest noise
A huge male elk with velvet covered antlers; a small female with a radio collar
Resting in the heat of the day under the gentle green leaves of a huge tree
Masses of brilliant blue and lemon yellow butterflies
Looking for salt along the muddy creek banks
Floating through the air to land on the swaying stalks of tall purple flowers
The Caldwell and Palmer homes
One sheltering a family with eleven children
Work-worn faces, simple homespun clothes, barefoot smiling children
Peer from the old black and white photos that chronicle the valley's history
Rustic wooden barns with rusty handcrafted hardware
Life lived in the most remarkable place, fraught with the most terrible hardships
A trek straight uphill to the quiet Palmer cemetery
Where generations of valley pioneers
Leave their legacy to the moldering headstones
Dinner at a restaurant filled with conversation about our life together
Creeping gratefully back into bed for a good night's sleep
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| LEMON COLORED BUTTERFLY |
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| THE CALDWELL HOUSE |
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| RUSTIC BARN DOOR |
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| THE PALMER HOMESTEAD |
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| BRILLIANT BLUE BUTTERFLY |
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| THE PALMER CEMETERY |
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| A MALE ELK WITH VELVET COVERED ANTLERS |
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| FISH, FISH, FISH |
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| PICNIC LUNCH BY THE STREAM |
DAY SEVEN
7.28.12
Packing up the truck
Drive to Clarkesville, Georgia
Breakfast with Aunt Sandy and Uncle Pat at Natalie Jane's on the square
Ham and vegetable omelet with southern grits
Catching up on family news
Goodbye hugs and promises to visit soon
Climb back into Christopher's big red truck for the trip home to Florida
Summer road trip with my brother - priceless
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| HOMEWARD BOUND |
4 comments:
Oh that makes me miss NC so bad, Waynesville area is one of my all time favorite places to be.......
We love that area and are blessed that my parents are enjoying this new season of their lives there. That's the one bright light in having them live out of state after all these years - we'll be the grateful visitors to their little paradise.
Much love to you, my sweet friend!
Thanks for following my musings.
I love your trip log. Such fun. I especially like your mom being the designated screamer. So cute.
This is great! Loved it.
Mom
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