Road trip to the NC Mountains

Colleen's mom came into town

Two weekends ago we headed east to the coast of NC, so this time we took a two-day trip to the western part of North Carolina up in the mountains.  The weather was perfect so the timing worked out great.  The whole family went: Jim, Colleen, Colleen's mom, Avery, and our dog Kylie.

We started by apple picking at Sky Top Orchards, an apple orchard on top of a mountain.  There were neat views of the surrounding mountains.  The only thing missing was the foliage, it was still very green, which was ok too!

The apple orchard also makes cider donuts back at their shop, they are very popular back up in New England and Jim fell in love with them during trips up there.  However, Sky Top Orchards is the only place anywhere near us that makes them.  And of course they make them fresh, you can see them make them individually just for you when you order them.  We got a dozen of them to tide us over for a few days!

Avery also like the pumpkins at the apple orchard, both the small:

And large pumpkins!

Jim then tried his hand at driving a tractor, and it looks like he ran over a scarecrow!

After apple picking, we drove into Pisgah National Forest.  Transylvania County has over 250 waterfalls, including a 450' one that is the highest east of the Mississippi River.  We stopped by Looking Glass Falls, which is about 60' high.  It was a nice peaceful place to relax.

Then we headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway for some amazing views on way into Asheville for the evening as the road tops 6000'.

We ate downtown that night at Mellow Mushroom Pizza.  Yes, from the name one can tell it is a very eclectic place, just like the city of Asheville.  It was so nice out we ate out on the patio and people watched.  It was very happening and busy that night, there were lots of street performers, people dressed up for Oktoberfest, a wedding reception, we saw everything walking by on the street.

The next morning we drove some more on the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw some more neat views, including Mt Michell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River.  It was amazing how many tunnels there were along the route (there are 25 in NC and 1 in Virginia).

We also did see some areas with foliage beginning to change, but we knew in about one week it would even more scenic when the colors come out.

After that we went to Lake James,

a nice clear lake with mountains behind it.

Avery took a nice nap on the dock

And Kylie loved playing in the water chasing sticks!

We took a few more pictures and then headed on the road back home to Cary.

After we got back, Avery must have been worn out, she fell asleep sitting up in her high chair during a meal!

Outer Banks

We decided to escape the 96 degree record heat and head out the Outer Banks (OBX) for a quick weekend trip.

(The Outer Banks are a 200-mile long chain of islands off the coast of NC)

We sent Kylie to her favorite place (Camp Bow Wow, her dog "camp" where she plays with other dogs) so we could head out on a family trip with baby Avery.

We booked a hotel right on the beach, here is a picture of Mommy and Avery enjoying a nice sunrise on the beach,Avery even seemed to be trying to wave at the camera!

During our morning walk along the beach, we picked up trash we found on the walk, Colleen was proud of her stash we collected!

That morning a really neat (and spooky) cloud formation rolled in!

We also found a protected sea turtle hatching area:

Then we went to the Wright Brother's musuem/memorial and saw the exact spot where the first flight was:

At the museum Avery found her future profession, an astronaut!

Then we headed up to Corolla Beach and rented a Jeep to drive on the beach to go see the wild horses!

The wild horses have been there for 400 years.  They are Mustangs from the Spanish shipwrecks of the 1500s and 1600s .  They were neat to see on the beach and even around houses!

 The only access up there was with a 4-wheel drive vehicle.  The northern-most 12 miles of the OBX have no paved roads, the only access is to drive up the beach and then inland on sand roads.  However, there were endless huge houses up there, it was amazing to see those with 10 miles of 4-wheel drive necessary to get to them!

There were also remains from a 400-year old forest that was overtaken by the beach and shifting of the islands:

After the Jeep driving, we saw the Currituck Beach Lighthouse:

For dinner that evening we ate at the first ever wind powered brew pub!

We headed home from there.  Avery was a good sport through it all and usually just slept or smiled and "sung"!

Avery's first time eating solid foods

At Avery's four month doctor check-up, Avery was cleared by her doctor to start eating solid foods.  It was a bit messy, and most ended up on her bib, but she was able to get a few swallows of rice cereal down!  She joined us for dinner and sat in her high chair with us in our dining room.

Notice Kylie's nose?  She's coming to check out what's going on!