Sunrise in Monument Valley

Sunrise in Monument Valley

Sunday, November 18, 2018

More Fun in Asheville




The weather was not the best while we were there,but we were able to take Bentley for a nice walk around the campground. He loved being in his stroller and Emma and Trevor took turns pushing him around the very large campground.----


-----until Trevor spotted a large pile of gravel and he wanted to play King of the Mountain. Emma gladly joined him while Bentley watched.


Speaking of Bentley, he just cannot get away from Nicholas. Nicholas loves him sooooo much and is always hugging him or licking him, or snuggling with him. Bentley would just like to be left alone.


On rainy days at the campground there were a few things for the kids to do inside like indoor bean bag Tic Tac Toe.

Trevor does everything with enthusiasm, especially when he wins at Tic Tac Toe.

When the rains cleared up the kids were back outside. A 5th wheel pulled in with a Mom and Dad and a family of 4 kids. All the kids got together and had a great time running, screaming playing and throwing leaves into the air and on each other. The little red headed 2 year old little girl in the picture was so cute.



The other family was not staying as long as we were, but the kids made the most of running and playing with their new friends. The squeals of delight were heard by all.

One day when the weather was nice Najla, Ryan and the kids went on  a 3 mile hike to a waterfall. David and I stayed home with the kitties. Finnegan really enjoyed the personal time and attention.


The Meyers had a great time hiking and said the hike wasn't as long as they thought.





I had printed a Nature Scavenger Hunt Bingo Game off the internet before we left and one afternoon we sat outside and played it. It was a fun game. Everyone won at least one game. Trevor helped me call out some of the items when he got tired of playing the game. It was a good  game. with both pictures and words and perfect for building reading .skills.


We made our Hobo meals on the grill, but they weren't the best. The potatoes and carrots were a bit under cooked. We were running low on charcoal and I think the grill just didn't get hot enough. We just might have to ditch that meal as one of our traditional camping meals.
We tried the technique of cooking popcorn in a tin foil packet over the campfire and that was a bust too. We had to resort to doing it in a paper bag in the microwave. Oh well--live and learn.  With the time change we were always eating in the dark. because it got dark so early and fast. We'll have to remember to buy more lanterns.


One day when the weather was nice we went to downtown Asheville. There is a nice mall and shopping area to walk around. It was interesting to see the area and I ran across 2 yarns shops and found some sock yarn. One shop sold yarn, and also tons of knitted hats. I think they had a co-op that made them and sold them there. All, very nice, but not much need for hats like that in Florida and when you don't go out very much. But I did love the yarn shops.

Asheville is well know for it''s craft breweries and craft beer. Najla  and Ryan  found one to go to.so we went to see what it was all about. It was Highland Brewery. Good grief!!!! It was packed with people. It was huge, with hundreds of people. They were releasing a new Winter beer and so they were extra busy that night. They did not have food inside, but they had several food trucks outside where you could buy some really good food and take it inside to eat. There was a live band and the kids had a great time too. Most all the breweries in Asheville are family friendly, one even has story time for the kids. They were busing people in from another parking lots and transporting them in the EMMA bus. No wonder they were so many people there.


Another rainy day and there was time for inside rock painting.  It was all fun.


It was sad to have to leave Friday morning to go home. It was such a great time, a good location and the kids got to experience real Fall weather. Maybe we can do it again sometime. I asked the kids what they like best about camping and Trevor screamed "EVERYTHING".  I think we'll wan to do this again.




Friday, November 16, 2018

A Fun Time Camping in the Fall

We met Najla, Ryan, Emma and Trevor in Candler, NC just west of Asheville to spend a few days camping. The weather was cool and a bit rainy. We had an RV site close to the cabin Najla and Ryan rented for the time we were there. It was pretty nice with one bedroom , bunk beds and a kitchen and bathroom. The campground owners had spent some time and money refinishing the floors and updating things.They even had a swing on the porch.

We arrived a little before the Meyers since they detoured to drive near the Blue Ridge Mountains and look at all the fall leaves and trees. Being from Florida, this was a new view for Emma and Trevor. This was a perfect time to see the Fall colors. Even though we had had rain and wind, there were plenty of beautiful colored trees and leaves to see.

Everyone voted for hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner so David and I headed for the closet grocery to pick up some sides to go with the meal. OMG were we surprised at the local Ingles grocery. It was spectacular and more like a Whole Foods. It was clean, spacious with lots of food options and the had the biggest craft beer selection David had ever seen.
This is about 1/3 of the craft beer section and they had 5 rows of wines from all over the world. David was amazed.

Dinner was great except for the fact that with the time change we were eating in the dark. We did have a couple of lanterns and a campfire. Of course after dinner we had to have s'mores to finish the day. I don't know who had more fun at the campfire--the kids or Ryan. Emma and Trevor had a good time for sure. They even cooked their hot dogs over the fire.



I had made a new quilt for my guest room bed, but ended up putting it on the MH bed instead.  I loved the yellow and gray fabric. It was a little small for that bed, but at least we weren't tripping over it.
I made the kids Glow in the Dark quilts. Emma's had Unicorns and Trevor had Dinosaurs.


.All 3 kitties were along for the trip and they were all cuddled in their beds for the night.
It was a great first day.

The campground had a mile long trail around the campground so we went on a hike. Quite a bit of it was uphill and we were all trying to catch our breath--even David and Najla and they are in much
better shape than me.