So without further ado, here's the weekly photos I missed posting......
And now for the vacation.
We thought that a mountain trip would be perfect for Bryson's first vacation. We decided on Asheville because we hadn't been there in several years since our first vacation together in 2006.
But first we stopped in Raleigh for a few nights to spend time with Dad and Judy. We got there July 4th and watched fireworks across the pasture behind there house and in their neighborhood while Bryson slept.
On July 5th, we went to the town of Garner's celebration, which had been postponed from the third of July. We hung out with the family until Bryson's bedtime, 8 pm, so no fireworks show for him this year.
On Saturday, Dad and Judy had a cookout and invited the family and Robert and Amanda and the kids. It was a fun afternoon of
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| Amanda and Robert's daughter, Mattie Jane |
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| Amanda, Scott, Bryson and Robert |
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| my cousin Leslie's son Finn |
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| Mattie and Evan |
On Sunday morning, we went to Pullen Park. It was my favorite place to go as a young child, and it was recently renovated. So we wanted to take Bryson. It was a perfect place for his first time in a big boy swing.
And for his first ride on a carousel. It was probably a little fast for him. But he did like the shiny brass poles on his giraffe.
On Monday we headed to Asheville to stay in our rental cabin for the week.
Of course we stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way. Bryson reeeeealllly wanted Scott's coke.
On Tuesday we went to Chimney Rock and climbed hundreds of stairs to the top. The view was almost worth it. Our calves were burning for the rest of the week, so this is something we'll probably never do again. It was a little expensive considering the waterfall trail was blocked because of a rock slide.
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| Lake Lure from Chimney Rock |
After Chimney Rock, we stopped in downtown Asheville for lunch, then went back to the cabin for Bryson's nap time. That night we attempted to go to Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway for sunset. It was one of our favorite places from our 2006 trip to the area. But sadly a foggy, cloudy rainstorm made it impossible.
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| Craggy Gardens, 2006 |
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| Craggy Gardens, 2013 - my how times have changed |
It was a fun short hike, and Bryson really liked it after we stopped along the trail to feed him.
On Wednesday night we had dinner with Scott's cousin, Amy and her lovely wife Kiana at Sunny Point Cafe. It was soooooo good. Seriously, Asheville has the best food. It was like being in California, only cheaper. Every meal was great.
Speaking of great meals........Amy and Kiana recommended a new breakfast place in West Asheville called Biscuit Head. Y'all, this was the best place! Scott said this was the best biscuit sandwich he had ever eaten. And he's not one to gush about food. Their website slogan is "Put Some South in Your Mouth." They had multiple flavors of butters - blueberry bacon butter, honey almond butter, etc. - and oh the jams. I had mulberry molasses and peach marmalade and bananas foster jam. I would eat there every day if I lived there.
Ok, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. We got our food to go because we were planning another hike, but the weather didn't look good, so we just walked around downtown Asheville for a couple of hours.
Dad was coming to visit that afternoon, too, so we just went back to the cabin to wait for him. That night we drove over to Lake Lure to check out the house that dad's business partner rented for his family vacation. This is the view......
On our last full day, Friday, we hiked the Rattlesnake Lodge trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It featured the ruins of an old lodge. We couldn't find all the structures, but here's Scott carrying Bryson by one of the old retaining walls.
On Saturday, we stopped at Grandma's for lunch in South Carolina, then headed home. Bryson did great on the trip home. He mostly slept the whole way.
