Spring Break Baby!!!
It's that time again...Spring Break! Oh how we have been looking forward to a chance to get away together! We decided a week in North Carolina was just what the doctor ordered. We left early Saturday morning to drive on down.
Nolan would not get in the car to go unless he could wear his goggles for the pool!
We made it to Beckley, West Virginia. We found a cool park that was part of a Coal Mining Museum. We lucked out because it was still closed for the season but we were able to hike, play, and explore!
The next day we made it into North Carolina. We stopped at the welcome center to grab some maps.
We were lucky to stop through Charlotte and visit our friends The Greisers. The boys played soccer, baseball, chalk, and bubbles with Elise and Natalie. I was so busy playing and talking I forgot snag a few photos of the kids...bummer.
Just another 2 hours and we made it to our resort The Wyndham Resort in the Fairfield Mountains. It was perfectly tucked back in the mountains on a golf course.
Monday we headed into Chimney Rock Village to explore and we came across the Riverwalk. This was a bunch of rocks lining the bank of the river. The boys were in their glory...shoes came off and they were jumping from rock to rock along the whole river. Landon is such a daredevil. He looked like he was competing on American Ninja Warrior.
The whole week the boys were finding and carrying sticks that they would use as swords or bows. This next picture is as close as we could get to getting them all in the same frame.
Angie was lucky or unlucky enough (depends on who you ask, ha!) to make the journey with us. She was in for quite an adventure when she jumped in the car with us! Downtown Chimney Rock Village there was a bridge that has been made into a walking bridge which is covered with flowers. They have the coolest little spots set up with fairy gardens, scavenger hunts, and outdoor decor. It wasn't in full bloom quite yet but it was still fun to check out.
They even had a door that you could walk through. The boys had a blast taking turns opening the door and being surprised who was waiting to enter.
Just down the road from the resort we spotted this structure and knew it was a perfect photo op. We know you've watched Dances with Wolves. 😏 If not there is a part where the Native Americans are teaching Kevin Costner how to say "buffalo" and they say and use these hand motions.
A big bummer was that the hot tub and the pool were broken the day we arrived so we were unable to use them the whole stay. The venation system wasn't working so the workers said our eyes would burn and we would be coughing the chorine out of our lungs. To our surprise the boys didn't have a huge meltdown about it! We took advantage of playing putt putt and all the other outdoor activities we could. The weather was beautiful on Monday-Wednesday...70 degrees and sunny!
We loved playing checkers!
Since we couldn't swim in the pool the boys were eager to wade in the creek.
Poor Landon got pooped on by a bird...he laughed his butt off!
Bring on the adventure...we decided to rent canoes and go out on the lake. Nolan insisted wanting to paddle the boat and cried as Bob pushed Nolan and I out into the water. It was very shaky from time to time but Nolan didn't do too bad when he got the chance to paddle.
The big boys cruised with Bob in the other canoe. We raced against them a few times which they all got a kick out of.
Here is proof of Nolan paddling while I have white knuckles trying to steady the boat.
Tuesday was a beautiful day so we decided to head out for a hike to as many waterfalls as we could handle.
This was called Hooker Falls.
After Hooker Falls we proceeded on the trail to Triple Falls.
This was a beautiful water fall to see. We were able to walk down a huge flight of stairs to get close. This is my favorite photo of these two boys...best friends one minute and worst enemies the next.
This was so relaxing...We could have stayed there all day!
Vacation Waterfall Selfie!
The funniest part of this waterfall hike was that there were two parking lots...we parked at the bottom one and when we were close to the end Bob had a great idea that he would go back and bring the car up to the other parking lot. Angie, the boys, and I kept on hiking along the trail. When we reached the parking lot we noticed Bob wasn't there yet so we waited. We were unable to reach each other by cell phones. I noticed Bob walking up the trail from where we came with a confused look on my face. Yep, the key to the van was in the book bag I was wearing on my back...he had ran the trail to the van to realize when he arrived that he didn't have the key to the van. He then came back the trail and had to go back to get the van. Needless to say he got his exercise in that day!
After our waterfall hikes we drove into Asheville, NC to check out the city. It was full of very cool and interesting restaurants and shops. We walked the streets for awhile.
This was a coffee and dessert bar inside of this double decker bus.
We went into a WoolsWorth store that had a soda fountain and also artwork displayed by many local artists. It's always so fun to look at the interesting art pieces but a little nerve wracking with small children because of how many breakables there are.
There was a cool toy store downtown that the boys had a blast going into. Maw Maw had given them $5 each to spend. Both Carter and Landon chose a small Lego set but Nolan chose this hand held chopper. He played and slept with that toy from that moment forward.
My favorite parts of the night were when the boys would cuddle up in bed with me as we watched Chopped the cooking show. They had never seen a cooking show before so it was fun to watch with them. This became our daily ritual.
Bright and early Wednesday morning, we traveled to Chimney Rock National Park. This is a beautiful hike up 499 stairs to the top. I am not the best at heights but I knew the view would be spectacular. The boys, Bob and I started up and Angie came up behind us.
Here we are getting ready to start the hike up!
Nolan and Bob were the first ones to the top. Carter and Landon both struggled with fear for a bit. Carter was crawling along the stairs with a death grip on the hand rail. He needed a little pep talk and got the courage to head up the stairs to the top. Landon surprised me because he sat at the base of the level holding on tight to the post. As people passed by they tried to pump him up but he wanted nothing to do with it. Believe me I was terrified myself of going up to the top and having to be a mother hen while I am up there...but I was going to try my hardest not to let it show too much. Finally I asked Landon to take a picture with me at the top standing by the flag pole, he jumped right up and ran up the stairs. Unpredictable!
This is our family selfie from on top Chimney Rock...elevation 2280...yep that's super high!
At the base of the rock was a hike to Hickory Nut Falls. This falls was featured in the movie The Last of the Mohicans. It was a stone trail up and around the mountain. As you can see from this picture it was hard to keep all the boys together. Carter is running out in front, Landon is in the middle, and Nolan is lagging behind trying to chomp anything in sight with his chomper.
Hickory Nut Falls
Proud Peacock
On the way back the trail, both Nolan and Landon stopped to relax and get a tan on the rocks.
Just ahead of us on the trail, a Queen snake slithered out on the trail by Angie. She jumped pretty high and tip toed away quickly. We watched this snake for a while as it made its way through the hike.
Yep, there is Nolan trying to chomp the snake.
Thursday's weather forecast was rain, rain, rain so we decided to head into Rutherfordton to visit the Kid Senses Science Museum. It was perfect for a rainy day.
One room was a TV reporter set. The boys took turns being the report or the cameraman. It was funny to listen to them. Bob even got in on the fun too!
My favorite room was the bubble room. The boys loved getting inside this contraption and pulling up a bubble would surround them.
For lunch we found this cute little Greek restaurant. Luckily for us they not only served Gyros but pancakes so the boys were satisfied. Bob and I were so excited to show them "flaming cheese". Here we all are shouting "Opa"!
Each night since the resort was on a golf course, Bob and I would take the boys out for one last attempt to run them down. We would walk the cart path of the course and then along the creek bed looking for golf balls. The boys had so much fun doing this. We packed their rain boots so they sloshed through the water. The last night we were there it was drizzling the whole time. We were out there for about 2 hours.
We are wet rats but it's the simple things in life that we enjoy most.
It was make your own pizza night.
Danielle had her baby on Wednesday night so we decided to head home early so we could stay a night with them. On the road again!
On the trip home, I asked the boys what they liked the most about spring break: They all three said either putt putt golfing or hunting for golf balls. I am not sure if you can read through those lines but it sounded like this to me...We liked being together the most!
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