My Favorite...

(Part 1)

So we went to the mountains a couple of weeks ago to visit Chris's family.  Going to the mountains is my favorite.  It's always so peaceful and relaxing and we don't have to worry about anything.  You can do everything as a family because everything is revolved around family.  I'm calling this post "my favorite" because not only are the mountains my favorite but just about every picture we took from the weekend is "my favorite"!  Seriously, I'm in love with every-single-picture!

We drove up to Asheville, N.C. on Thursday night.  Asheville is always such a treat.  If it weren't so expensive we would probably try to live there.  We always stay at the same Days Inn because it's about 5 minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway (America's Favorite Drive).  We love the BRP, it's so amazing and relaxing to drive on, not to mention you can make a stop every 10 minutes if you want and see something beautiful.

We hopped on the parkway in Asheville and our first stop was the Folk Art Center.  The Folk Art Center is one of the most amazing places I have ever been.  Hands down I would put it in my top 10 favorite places.  Maybe one day I'll actually be able to afford something in there.

     

The place really does have its own pulse.  I love everything about this place.  I love the feeling I get when I walk in it, I love the smell of it, I love the people that work there, I love the artists that are there to show you how they make their stuff.  I've seen artists there working on pottery, making brooms and chairs, I've seen them weaving blankets and I've even seen one guy that was making things out of iron.  Everything in there is hand made with love and whatever the price is...it's worth it.  We couldn't take any pictures past the entry because of all the artwork but you'll just have to trust me...if you're in Asheville, go there, you won't be disappointed.  They have hand made jewelry boxes in there and they are so beautiful that they take my breath away.  They are simple but unique.  I want one and one day I will have one.

Ivy-girl even got to have her picture taken with a real Federal Park Ranger too!

      When we made our next stop at Craggy Gardens after leaving the Folk Art Center and we were literally above the clouds.  It was so foggy.  Ivy had a blast running through the fog and I have to admit that it was pretty cool standing there and just watching clouds come towards you.  Ivy loved all the flowers too although she didn't quite understand why I wouldn't let her pick them (federal offense on the parkway, just an FYI in case you're ever up there).  She did get to climb up some hills and smell the flowers which she thought was fun too.  She was a little concerned when I showed her that there was a bee on one of them.

 

There was some steps going up to a cookout area that made for a perfect picture opportunity with Ivy.  When we asked her to sit down she quickly replied with "No, Ivy stand first.  Take picture okay Daddy?"

"Now Ivy sit okay?  Look Mommy Ivy sit now while Daddy take picture, see."  I love that little girl!

We had lots of fun and probably spent about 30 minutes there just hanging out smelling the different flowers and watching the clouds...and of course Ivy collected rocks to throw off the side of the mountain.

My two loves, what would I do without them?

Our second stop of the day was Mt. Mitchell.  Chris and I have been there several times but we actually haven't been since May of 2005 and we just assumed it would be the same.  Boy were we wrong, that place has changed a lot.  It looks great!  They have redone the walking trail to the top and built a really nice look out area (as in it doesn't look like something that a Stephen King novel would take place in).  It was very nice but only about 60 degrees so we had to put a jacket on Ivy.  She kept saying "oooohhhh Mommy da wind is cold" followed by hysterical laughter.  We had lots of fun on the way to the top...we got to see A LOT of butterflies, met lots of people who thought Ivy was adorable (of course), and when we got to the top it was nice because the look out area is much more spaced out now.  You no longer have to climb spooky stairs that are barely big enough for one person to go up and down and then crowed together when you get up top.  Ivy thought everything was great and we heard "Mommy, Daddy look at dis!"  Several times on the way up and down. 

We knew that hike to the top would be a bit much for Ivy so she got to piggy back most of the way (until she saw something that peaked her interest and would wiggle her way down) and she loved it!

About halfway up we found another couple that wasn't scared of holding Chris's camera so we go a nice family shot which is rare.

Ivy found this butterfly quite interesting.  He was just hanging out poking around and then he would fly around a bit and then land again.  Ivy followed him for a while, I love it when her interest is peaked and she just studies something.  At first she was scared and kept saying "Ewww bug" and we all know that this child is scared of NOTHING except bugs.  It cracks me up really...she can watch monsters jump out at people on TV and say "dats silly" but let a bug jump on her and all holy hell breaks loose.  I finally convinced her that the butterfly wasn't a yucky bug and Chris explained about what butterflies do.  She though she was so smart when she told me that butterflies help flowers grow.

Yep, highest peak east of the Mississippi.  And I didn't even ask for the kiss she gave me, I guess she just felt like being sweet.

We ate lunch at the restaurant there for the first time and it was delicious!  Homemade vegetable soup and cornbread...can't go wrong.  Then after lunch the sun came out and we just spent time outside letting Ivy run around crazy....well we ran around crazy too.

Oh and there was a wonderful view!

And I know I missed the focus on the third picture here but I still love it and she was having a blast!

I love this picture. Ivy just looks so grown up. Where did my little baby go?

When we were done running around outside we got back in the car to finish driving to Boone. And we decided to take a third detour to Linville Falls.  Linville Falls is a special place for Chris and I.  He took me there on my very first trip to the mountains when I met his family for the first time.  I fell in love with that place. We spent a long time there that day just hiking and admiring the views.  It was the first time that I had seen a waterfall or been to the mountains and I remember just feeling so peaceful there.  So this was Ivy's first trip to falls (other than when I was pregnant with her) and we were excited for her to see a real waterfall because she loves the waterfall so much in the movie Up.  We didn't make it all the way to the top to see the big waterfall because it's a long way to carry a 30 pound kid who would never be able to walk the whole way.  But she got to see the little falls and she loved them too. 

On the way back to the car Ivy found a tree stump that was as bigger than her to play in.  She was trying to climb up it to see out the top and she kept falling but she's a tough cookie and kept trying again.

On the way back to the car we just let Ivy run up the trail until her heart was content because most of the crowd was gone. She ran and skipped and sang the whole time. By the time we got back to the entrance she had picked up 50 rocks for Chris and I to hold so that she could throw them in the river when we got to the bridge.

It was a wonderful day! And the best part was that everything (other than lunch) was FREE! And everyone loves FREE!

(Part 2 coming soon)