Five Days in the Mountains

Gordon's first mountain hike, Water Rock Knob, 2.28 miles (round trip). It starts out paved with a nice railing, then a side look out, and then it just becomes a steep rocky path. The view, unbelievable. My picture taking can not do it justice. And weather perfection - upper 60's and breezy. That road is part of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Lean forward & stretch those calves...

There's our car, and some beautiful mountains beyond.

The lush vegetation is gorgeous, a rainy cool spring has made for a beautiful forest.

I loved these little "pom poms" on this vine.

The last of the railings...and the start of the rocks, although these were made into steps for us.

On top of the world. That is our tiny car down there...

I believe that is Canton, NC in the valley there.

Some of the rocks were a little slippery, some moved, but it wasn't too bad picking our way through them.

The moss and vegetation - I love green =)

EWWWW...bug. Centipede.

Droplets on a cobweb.

The landscape changes between tree canopy to open areas with ferns and wildflowers.

What a beautiful day. Gordon's mouth ran non stop, I don't know how he breathes sometimes. We thought as the climb became more strenuous he would talk less...it seemed the opposite was true.

A large rock in the way near the very top...we decided not to go higher, but we were very close.

After our hike we drove up the parkway to the Pisgah Inn for lunch. Wow. Crab cake sandwiches with a view that is just breathtaking. Here is the website, I'd highly recommend the restaurant - and would enjoy staying at the inn too, the rooms are not fancy or luxurious, but it is all about the view, there is nothing else like it.

I think he was worn out at the end of the day, I found him asleep like this.

The next day we went to the Arboretum in Asheville, NC. Gorgeous, but hot, this place is not at the elevations on the parkway so the heat can be a factor in the summer. But we enjoyed it and then went back up on the parkway to the Blue Ridge Folk Art Center near Asheville, before heading back up to Mom & Dad's place to sit on the swings of the porch & cool down with the breeze up there!

They made fun of me for taking this, but I love the unusual pattern of this tree bark.

Back to Gordon's favorite place, the porch. He played for hours with wood blocks Papa gave him, he particularly likes making a "campfire" and pretending to cook things on it...like marshmallows.

Papa surprised him with the real thing, we roasted marshmallows at the grill.

Oh these mountains are pretty. You can tell why they call them the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway!

A last bit of sunshine hitting the mountains before sunset.

What a view the birds have huh?

Our favorite breakfast place is just down the mountain (Joey's Pancakes)...if I zoom in I can see the people lining up in the morning.

Ah those roasted marshmallows were yummy!

Heading out to church on Father's Day.

We all went to Granny's Chicken Palace for brunch after church. Gordon's thrill was the CSX engine that pulled onto the tracks behind the church. After services ended we ran down behind the church and waved to the engineer, he waved back and blew the horn for Gordon...if you could bottle the excitement on Gordon's face you could light up the city!

After a long drive back home, Gordon got busy building "Papa's log house". When he finished he had to get all of his "friends" from his bedroom to see it. I'm sure you can tell they are all oohing and ahhing over his accomplishment!

Ok, vacation over. VBS started today and I'm assisting while Gordon is attending. A fun week!

Catching Up

Just a few pictures from the last week of school (the week before Memorial Day). Debbie and Chip came to visit, and shop!One of the cool gifts Aunt Debbie gave Gordon was this egg, that hatched, to a "baby alligator"...it fit so well with a new book I'd just bought for Gordon "Zach's Alligator" where the boy puts an alligator key chain in water and it turns into a real alligator...thankfully this one just turned into a rubbery toy, but he sure loved watching it "hatch" over the 3 days. Gordon had a big end of school program - I have lots of video, but only a couple of pictures. I was so proud of how well he sang and did the hand motions. He especially liked the song "Going on A Bear Hunt" I can't believe he is going to be five this year...ugh.

Our First Harvest

Affectionately known as Larry Boy, we found this in the garden last night & ate it with dinner - I swear it grew overnight. Excuse the funny face, Gordon was acting normal...silly.

Day-cation #1

We (the 3 of us) went to the Natural Science Center for a morning...Gordon in a viewing tube for those mischievous meerkats: A meerkat friend.

TortoiseA couple of apes on a croc.

The Longest Post. Ever. Pictures of Summer Fun!

Our weekend (July 2nd - 6th) in the mountains was perfect - cool and beautiful. Here's the best seat on the mountain.Debbie came up on Friday and totally surprised Dad - and little Gordon got to introduce his Auntie to Thomas the Train. On the fourth of July...while we were getting ready for the party, Gordon got to watch a special show on the RFD channel - all about trains, he was glued to the tube!

Then we went for a walk to run the sillies out

and pick some wildflowersThis bee was busy working on the holidayThis gorgeous flower is all over the mountains...I don't know the name but it is so delicate and vivid - a perfect flower for Independence Day - it even looks like a star or fireworks

Aunt Debbie & Gordon Admiring Papa's ferns. What a beautiful landscape Dad has madeMore wildflowersThe cabin looks great.Mom's taking care of her flowers & her birds

Gorgeous hydrangeas along the driveway

The other side of the cabin

My little guy likes here in the mountainsIt is finally time for the party...looks like the people are coming from all over the mountain

Gordon was not shy, he wanted to be in the middle of everything and talk with everyoneAnd he huffed...And he puffed...And he still couldn't blow that pinwheel around!But I got a good pirate eye smile when he gave up!Singing happy birthday to PaPa just as loud and clear as he could...he also helped the pastor lead us in the common table prayer before dinner - he's NOT shy! The moon over Maggie...a gorgeous night as we waited for the fireworks to begin.Neat to watch the fireworks below us in the valley, and no parking hassles when it was over...just stepped in from the porch...
It's been a long time since we spent a weekend like this together, I'm grateful we all could be together to celebrate Dad's birthday, I wish Shannon could have joined us, but he had to be on his way to his new job in VA. Now backtracking to earlier in the week - June 30th - we went to the 39th Annual Southeastern Thresher's Reunion in Denton, NC. So much fun for our train loving kid! The sun was intense - so Gordon wore my Safari Hat to keep from getting sunburned...unfortunately he couldn't see very well :)He liked the tractors, and there were hundreds of them to look at.He asked me "what is this mommy??" I had to take a 2nd look myself!The the big moment - we got to ride, Gordon's first real train ride - on the Handy Dandy RailroadHe couldn't wait to get going - we sat in the first car right behind the engine He was so excited, you can't even imagine.Then the whistle blew - he was thrilled!Choooo Chooooooooo!All too soon we pulled back in the station. He was sad to see it end. He held the souvenir book the rest of the day (the train was pictured on the cover)Waving at the people we passed on the way into the stationNext it was a little lunch while we watched "pickin' & grinnin' music" (that's what Gordon calls it!)It was a long trek back to our car...and our little boy was worn out as you can see! Summer fun from a couple of weekends ago - Gordon's little buddies came over to play in the water & sand Love the butt's hanging out! My boy's Thomas the Tank engine trunks were falling off

The poor little one still in diapers - his mom forgot his swim diaper so his regular one poofed up and out all over!

He even sleeps in Thomas...

And finally...going back even further by a couple more weeks - Amy came to visit! Look at the goregous flowers she brought me! (not to mention the Dunkin Donuts coffee she brought Shannon and the whole slew of goodies she brought for Gordon to play with this summer!)

And of course she brought this big adorable guy! Buster was very tolerant with Gordon's excitement over him - he caught his beauty sleep wherever he could:Gordon was happy just to be near him.

And of course he was happy to be near Amy too - she's the best kind of Auntie - one who'll get right down on the floor and play with you!

Gordon stole Clifford from Buster...Clifford is Buster's chewy toy!

We had a blast catching fireflies - they were just thick in the yard - so thick you could just swipe your net around and catch two or three at a time it seemed! We watched them twinkle but set them free the next day.

Just had to throw this beautiful guy in here too:And this was before Amy came...

His new little friend!Thankfully he is NOT real...but he sure looks real to me. We keep him out in the sandbox now :)

THE END!