The Mountains

We took off for the mountains on Tuesday & enjoyed a relaxing few days away from home. I'm a planner, so when we woke up that morning with our bags packed & the dog taken care of, yet still not knowing where we were going, I was sure we were off for a rough week ; ) However, we found a cozy little cabin at the last minute before heading out the door & it turned into a great little trip. (And John loves to point out the fact that it was a waste of time for me to worry, as he of course knew it would all work out!)
Wednesday morning we started out at Grandfather Mountain. The views were beautiful from the mile high bridge.

John & Ian made the trek out to the peak. Filson had glanced in the gift shop on our way up & was more excited to get back & find a souvenir : )

Before the top, we went through the museum & visited the animals that live on the mountain in their natural habitats. The cougars & bald eagles weren't out, but we saw bears, deer & a very playful sea otter.

Most of the bears in the area are black & this is one of the few that has a brown coat, she's named Cinnamon.

We found this to be a perfect time of year to be visiting the mountains. There weren't crowds at any of the touristy places we visited & it was so nice to be able to take our time everywhere & not have to spend much time waiting in lines. Here the boys are watching the sea otter swim by.

Pretty views from Grandfather Mountain. Whatever "coolness" factor we may have ever had has definitely disappeared. Not only do we travel in a grocery-getter, but we sometimes even ride with the cargo carrier on top. Does that scream Family Vacation?!?

We ended up with a great cabin. It was cozy with 2 bedrooms & 2 baths, a nice front porch with a swing, a back porch with hot tub, & room for the boys to play outside.

I love his raised eyebrow look!

The boys checking out the view from the back porch.

They ended up with a survival tool & a flashlight from the souvenir shop, so had to go on an "adventure" as soon as we got back to the cabin.

After lunch, we toured the Linville Caverns which were just a few miles down the road from our cabin. We went from being 1 mile up in the morning, to going down under in the afternoon. It was a neat tour & the boys loved climbing the rocks & looking in the streams outside of the caves.

Ian getting a lesson on fish larvae from John.

Ian & Filson are both really into climbing right now, so they were beside themselves with all the big rocks to explore.

John asked us to smile for the camera & Ian leaned over and gave Filson a hug instead. Big Brother was obviously not feeling the love at that moment!

Luckily the boys don't appear to be claustrophobic!

The bat population has dwindled considerably in these caverns, but here's a little guy they refer to as "nugget"...he's about the size of a little chicken nugget.

Back at the cabin, swinging on the front porch.

Thursday morning we hiked to Linville Falls. The boys did great on the hike & the views were gorgeous.

Another nature lesson from John, & I think it's funny how Grant appears to be trying so hard to get in on the conversation.

After we had finished our hike & had lunch, we returned to the cabin & hung out in the hot tub. That night we drove into Black Mountain & met up with the Ippolito's for dinner. It had been a couple of years since we had been together & it was so nice to catch up with them! I hate that I didn't get a single picture while we were there, but Daniel & Anna are now 13 & 10 & were great with the boys! Our little guys had a lot of fun.

Before heading home Friday, we decided to make a stop at Gem Mountain. This ended up being one of the highlights for Filson & Ian. They now have a nice rock, or shall I say "Gem", collection to build on!