This is an afternoon moon that I happened to see when I let the dogs out one afternoon. That is the actual color of the sky.
A couple of weekends ago, CH & I went to Asheville to see OS. We took time to walk around downtown for the first time. The view from the upper parking deck:
Another moon shot before the sun went down. I don't know what this building is, but the architecture is really pretty.
Asheville happens to have a Basilica, so we walked down to it and had a sneak-peek inside. It was absolutely gorgeous! The Basilica was built without using any wood...only tiles and stone. It rivals the European Churches I've seen.
We went into this building for a quick beer (and to warm up a bit). The website says that this building was built in 1907, and has been a lumber supplier, automotive supply company, and a bluegrass/barbecue place. More historically significant, there is a door in the basement that allowed people during prohibition to travel the passageway to obtain their illegal liquor.
When we got back to the car, we were in the middle of a Santa Party. And I mean, "party"! They were having a really good time! There were Santas all over town while we were there.
This guy is visiting while OS is on the West Coast. He looked a little cold, so I covered him up.
This is a Tea Ring that was given to me. My mom used to make these for our teachers when we were in school. I've never tried to make one on my own since it involves yeast.
Our Christmas Tree this year. I think it's time to get new lights! I didn't bother putting up all of the ornaments, but there are still plenty on there.
My new ornaments for this year: the Santa is from our trip to Edisto; the other Santa (below right) is actually from our Charleston trip a couple of years ago (oops!). Top right angel and rocking horse below are a little piece of Denmark for this year (from CH's uncle). Under the horse is an ornament from Steamboat Springs, Co., where we camped for a few days. Under that one is an ornament from Mt. Rushmore; to the left of that is a SD ornaments, and the one to the left of that is from Edisto.
We have a couple of bushes in front of our house that doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason as to when it blooms. It seems to bloom all through the year, and it's blooming now:
I honestly believe that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the country, but especially during this time of year. Even when we have the heat on one day and then have to switch over to air conditioning the next, you just can't beat East Tennessee.
Last weekend, CH & I went for a ride in the mountains. I thought we were going to find a couple of places I heard about on a local tv channel, but CH wanted to go somewhere else, and I was just along for the ride.
Technically, we weren't in East Tn. for most of the pictures I'm sharing. I'm not 100% sure if we were in NC or East Tn.; we probably went back and forth between the states several times. CH had us on backroads, so I didn't know where we were. (Which, could've been bad, especially when he mentioned that if someone wanted to get rid of a body, throwing it down the side of the mountain would be ideal...no one would ever find it!)
If the leaves weren't peaking last weekend, they should be this one. The colors weren't as vivid as last year; we haven't had as much rain this year. Last year, it seemed like they stayed pretty vivid for a long time.
And...I'm rambling. We left the house just as the sun was coming up, so we were treated to a spectacular view as we left the house.
(Click on the pictures for bigger views.)
I love how you can see the clouds in between the mountains just to the right of the sun:
This is the kind of road we were on:
But, hey, if you don't go on the back roads, you can't stop and take pictures like this:
Or this:
And, if you don't take a wrong turn, you miss out on seeing this:
We finally got to our destination: Cataloochee. We ended arriving a little later than we wanted, but we did get to see these girls:
Along with this guy watching over the 4 females we saw:
Truly spectacular!
Families settled in Cataloochee in the early 1800's and lived there until the area became part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are still structures around the area, like this barn:
There was a wedding about to take place at Palmer's Chapel:
There are plenty of hiking trails:
And, again, beautiful sites:
As we were heading back to the Interstate, we stopped at an overlook:
(I was able to get a couple of leaves that were falling in the above picture. You may have to click on it to make it larger.)
On the way back, we stopped at this restaurant where we met OS a couple of months ago. We hit it just right: it was their last day of the season, so they'll be closed until late February. The tourist kayak/raft season is over, and that's where they get most of their business. It sits right on the river with indoor or outdoor seating. If you're in the area, I'd highly suggest eating at Bean Trees Cafe. You can find information on their Facebook Page.
Take a ride this fall and leave the main road...just see where it takes you!
I can sum up our vacation in 1 word, but I think I'll let Robin do it for me:
Some nights we got some relief...as long as the wind was blowing. We also had some mosquitoes to deal with, but they actually weren't too bad. Thank goodness for air conditioning in our little trailer!
We were very pleased with our campground. When we got to the site we reserved, we realized how small it was. Our trailer would have fit, but we wouldn't have been able to put up our canopy. The office staff was so accommodating; they gave us a list of sites to look at so we could switch. We ended up with a large site. It didn't have the view that our original site had, but it had some shade. Plus, we had a large RV blocking the late afternoon sun.
(Reminder: You can click on the pictures to see them better!)
The view behind our site:
We didn't have anybody in the next 2 to the other side of us, so we had plenty of room.
The OBX is so different than Florida. Once you get south of Nags Head, the only chain businesses you'll see is Dairy Queen & a Food Lion. It definitely adds to the charm. Then, of course, there was this:
We went on a bird watching walk given by the Park Service. We saw several animals during the walk:
Of course we saw these beautiful structures:
Hatteras
Ocracoke
Bodie Island
We didn't climb to the top of Hatteras or Bodie Island. It was just too hot. Ocracoke's stairs aren't open, and the base is only open during certain times. We just happened to hit it when it was open. The history of the lighthouses was fascinating. What a job the lighthouse keepers had!
We saw cool things on the beach:
Horseshoe crab
An honest-to-goodness shipwreck
Turtle nesting areas
Horses
The man with the vehicle was a biologist with the Park Service. He had just moved about 150 turtle eggs back off the beach so they wouldn't be in the way.
CH got to drive his truck on the beach (I'm pretty sure this is the #1 reason we went to the OBX in July):
We spent a day out on the beach:
(I bought the little tent at Dicks & it worked great!)
We went to Kitty Hawk but didn't walk up the hill to the memorial. (Waaay too hot for that!)
On the way back from Kitty Hawk, we stopped in Manteo to see Fort Raleigh (the site of "The Lost Colony")
Following the volunteer's recommendation, we went to Elizabethan Gardens. It looked very nice, but we didn't go in since it cost $9/person, and we're not that much into flowers and plants.
In the campground and just outside of it, we saw some very interesting things:
According to a friend, the "spaceship" is called a Futuro House. It was designed by a Finnish architect to use as a ski chalet.
We even managed to see a few pretty sunsets:
Some of you may recognize this house from Nights in Rodanthe:
If you remember the movie, the house was right at the edge of the ocean. Well, it had to be moved or else it was going to be the ocean. It was in disrepair and just about to be condemned when the current owners saved it. They moved it to its present location (snugged in between some houses), put the blue shutters back on, built the balconies, and even redecorated the inside to look like the movie. You can stay here for right around $2500/week. (See the details here) I had a hard time finding it, especially when we were coming from the north; it's easier to find coming from the south.
CH originally wanted to stay at one of the National Park Campgrounds, except there's no electricity or water. I mentioned it was hot, right? The Frisco Campground looked the best out of the ones we saw. We rode around the campground & took a look around. The views from the top were spectacular:
I definitely would stay there in cooler weather. They're only open from May-October; July is not the time to stay!
Overall, a decent vacation. The OBX is very family friendly. In fact, almost everything closes at 9:00, but since there are a lot of fisherman in the area who get up at the crack of dawn to fish, it's probably late to them! While there are some little markets spattered around the islands, there are only a couple (Conner's and Food Lion) that will have everything you need. I asked a waitress where she does her grocery shopping, and she told me the 2 that I just mentioned. Which means she has a drive to get there.
This was a relatively inexpensive vacation for us. Our biggest expense was the campsite & gas. The only attraction that we went to where we had to pay was Kitty Hawk, and it was only $4/person. The Fort Raleigh Visitor Center has a film you can watch that summarizes the Lost Colony. There is also a show there, but we didn't stay for it. We thought the restaurant food was very reasonable, especially for being at the beach. Gas wasn't even too high; it was around $2.90/gallon.
I would definitely recommend a trip to the Outer Banks...just not in the dead of summer!
