Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Dupont State Forest


On Tuesday we drove to Dupont State Forest, a place new to us, to do a bit of easy hiking.  (Easy, because the trails were mainly old, well cleared truck roads with simple grades.)  The forest has many beautiful waterfalls and was the backdrop for several scenes for The Hunger Games.


Our first stop was Hooker Falls.






We traveled down to the base for a better view.  It was fairly slippery so Meg and I stayed behind while Randy took a much closer look.  (You can see him off to the right.)  It was just beautiful.






If you look closely at the first photo you can see the covered bridge at the top of the falls.  We hiked there for another view.





We then took off in the opposite direction to view Triple Falls, one of the sites of The Hunger Games.





Randy and I had time to kill because darling Meg was being a typical teenager.



"I'm cold."
"I'm hot."
"Do we have to?"
"I'm tired"
"I'm going as fast as I can."
and yes.....
"I'm gonna die."


Not even threats of Bigfoot snatching her could get her to walk any faster.  I swear, this girl has 4' legs with a 2" stride.  *sigh*



We eventually made it and it was totally worth it.  So very, very pretty.  (For Hunger Game fans, this is the spot where Katniss nearly stepped on poor Peeta.)






Even whiney girl perked up once we were there.  Of course it was a long trek back to the car but I'm very happy to report that "she didn't die."  LOL!




Monday, March 30, 2015

Downtown Asheville


Continuing on with our vacation....

On Monday we headed to downtown Asheville for some exploring and shopping. This was our first time doing so and wow. what a beautiful area it is! The architecture is lovely, totally revitalized, and filled with wonderful shops, cafes, restaurants, breweries, art galleries, etc.  Of particular interest was the Grove Arcade.  It was built in the 1920s with the purpose of becoming the country's largest shopping mall.  Originally set to be 14 stories, only the first level was completed but it is spectacular.  Located inside was what turned out to be Meg's favorite shop.  Fudge. We hit it twice during our stay.  :-)   As you can see, being their "off-season" we pretty much had the place to ourself.


  



Adjacent to the arcade is the Champagne and Book Exchange.  Yes folks, you can trade in your books and sip champagne while browsing for other titles.  Of other interest is the old Woolworth's building which still retains the old fashioned soda fountain with the remainder of the building used as gallery for artists to display and sell their creations.  The old Kress five and dime building still remains as well.




Of course we had to explain to Meg just what a 5-10-25 cent store was "back in the day."  :-)

I would be amiss if I did not mention my AWESOME lunch at Carmel's Kitchen and Bar, also adjacent to the Grove Arcade.  It was the pizza on the menu that attracted Meg and it did not disappoint.  She had the cheese pizza while I had the mushroom pizza with non-gluten crust.  Wow to both!




Randy had salmon salad which he really enjoyed too.  But I haven't gotten to the best part of my meal.  




Those folks are chili spiked bread and butter pickles, made in house by the chef. They.Were.Awesome.  So awesome that I had to text a photo to Catherine, the best bread and butter pickle maker in the country.  :-)  

And just as awesome was my choice of beer.  While in Asheville I sampled many of the local microbrews but this was turned out to be my favorite.  (Umm...I may or may not have stopped by the brewery to pick up some to bring home. Just sayin'.)  It's called Gateway Kolsch made by The French Broad Brewery. (French Broad refers to the river that runs through Asheville.)  




I absolutely could have made a meal just of pickles and beer.  Seriously.  But that pizza was delicious and just as good the next day.  

Meg loved her pizza so much that we went back for lunch again later in the week.  No pickles or beer that time but I did try the Carolina BBQ pizza and incredibly, it was even better than the mushroom.  If ever in town, definitely go to Carmel's.   

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Asheville Arrival and Our Cottage


Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

After leaving Chimney Rock we headed for our final destination, Asheville, NC. When staying for weeklong visits we've always chose to rent a condo/cabin rather than camping out in a cramped motel room.  Usually these cabins are located up a mountainside but being March I didn't want to take any chances with snow and/or freezing rain so I opted for something in town.  Asheville Cottages had great reviews so after doing a lot of investigating (if you don't already know, I'm something of a hotel snob) I reserved one of their places for this trip.  Often times the online photos can be deceiving and while we've never stayed in a horrible place, several have been a bit disappointing.  That was definitely not the case this year.  This was by far the most immaculate and nicely decorated place we've ever chosen.  It's almost as if she knew Julie was coming.  :-)

Here's a view of the exterior...





and the view upon entering.  Upstairs there is a really nice kitchen,



living room,


and full bath (not shown).  The furniture was beautiful, the kitchen well equipped with new dishes and appliances and the bathrooms were immaculate. Absolutely everything was organized and well stocked. She even included complimentary beverages in the fridge and a basket of assorted breakfast items and snacks on the kitchen counter.   And while we didn't use them, there was also a brand new hot tub and grill on the back porch.

The two bedrooms, another full bath and laundry facilities were located downstairs.





I usually don't sleep well away from home but that's a king sized Sleep Number bed!  Randy had his side cranked to 70 while I kept my side at 25-30.  LOL!! While it wasn't as comfortable as my Tempurpedic mattress, it far exceeded anything I've slept on when away from home.

The remainder of our first day in town included a trip to Boston Market for lunch (Meg had already scoped out the fact that Asheville had one...ours closed a couple years back), some grocery shopping, a general scouting out of our surroundings, dinner at a local restaurant/tavern and finally a great night's sleep on that fabulous mattress.



Saturday, March 28, 2015

Vacation Recaptus Interuptus


Sorry if that title put something else entirely in your head.  Actually, no I'm not sorry.  ROFL!  Meg and I are leaving later today for what I'm calling "Finley Patrol."

Jay and Colleen have an overlap in their work schedules tomorrow so we are heading up to babysit the Fin-meister.  They work twelve hour shifts (technically 13 hours on the clock) so we need to be there at o'dark early on Sunday morning.  For me that means a drive up on Saturday afternoon for an overnight visit.  When you add in their commute time and we'll be "on shift" for fourteen hours.  Please wish us luck that we see much more of this baby....





and this baby....




and this baby....




with some of this baby sprinkled in...





than we do of either this baby....





or this baby....





He obviously wasn't too thrilled with his 3 month photo shoot.  LOL!!!  And let me tell you, he has that whole pouty boo boo lip thing mastered.  It totally melted our hearts during our last babysitting visit.  I just hope we don't see too much of it tomorrow or it could be a very looooong day for everyone involved.    

Oh....and I have it on good authority that the yoga ball has been deflated. bwhahahaha!




Friday, March 27, 2015

Chimney Rock, NC - Day One


After leaving Columbia, SC early on Sunday morning, we had a very uneventful :-) drive into Western North Carolina.  Two friends of ours recently bought a place in Chimney Rock and as luck would have it, Tony was there for the weekend so we stopped by on our way into Asheville.

If you've ever been to Chimney Rock, NC you know that it's very small.  It's the kind of town where if you blink, you'll miss it.  The main attraction to this particular area is Chimney Rock itself.  It towers 2280 feet above the Hickory Nut Gorge and can be accessed either by stairs/trail or by an elevator that travels 26 stories inside mountain.  For me the latter is the only way to go, but the adventure is still far from over.  Upon exiting the elevator into the gift shop you will need to cross a bridge in order to climb the stairs to take you to the summit,shown here in a stock photo.




We've visited Chimney Rock several times over the past 20 years and it's definitely not for the light-hearted.  If memory serves me correctly there is more than one viewing point and I don't think I've ever ventured up to this particular area.  (Umm...many times I just hang out in the gift shop.  LOL!)

One memorable visit was in the summer of 1992 when Jay was only was only nine years old.  He and Randy hiked the trail.  Not being nearly that adventurous, Jay's little friend Adam and I chose to meet them up top via the elevator.  After the initial oohs and ahhs of the views, I distinctly remember waiting forever in the gift shop while Jay browsed for the perfect rocks to add to his growing collection.  His precious box of rocks is still in one of my closets and you have no idea how much I cannot wait to give it (and scads of other treasures) to little Fin.  LOL!





In February of 2006 we took Meg up to the same spot.  Notice that she's placing her hands in the exact same holes that were under our feet almost 15 years earlier.





Sadly, Meg doesn't remember being there or forcing me spend yet many more hours in the gift shop so she could have a rock collection like her older brother. *sigh*  I was hoping some of the memories would come back to her but as luck would have it, the elevator was closed last week.  Even if I could have overcome my fear of climbing open stairs, there is no way my hip would have allowed it so unfortunately we didn't get to visit this year.

All of this brings me back to Tony's place.  Like I've said, we've been here several times over the years so it was rather ironic that our good friends purchased a cabin with this view of the rock.






Their cabin sits directly behind the main street within walking distance to all of the shops and restaurants that are located on the single road that runs through town.   Umm...how very convenient for visiting friends who like to party.  *wink*




We just love the area and if you're ever in the area it definitely bears a stop.  If time allows we may try to sneak up again this summer (or fall) for a visit, perhaps as a gathering of our mutual friends.



Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Trip North



Springtime in Florida means two things...northern snowbirds and collegiate spring breakers.  It's a great boost for the local economy but for us locals it can sometimes be exasperating.  So what to do when your little piece of paradise becomes too crowded?  Why head north, of course!  (Hey, I wanna be a pain in someone's butt too.  LOL!)

Unfortunately our trek north found us caught in very heavy interstate traffic. We left home at 10:30 AM on a Saturday morning and it was soon evident that a good 50% of the vehicles on I-95 were from out of state.  Yep, we were caught in the "great northern migration homeward."  While traffic was heavy, it didn't get really bad until Jacksonville and continued on through Georgia.  We had no idea however that it was about to get worse.  Eleven miles into South Carolina began what was to become a slow and tedious 29 mile crawl north through the state.  (And when I say "crawl", I'm being extremely generous. Most of that 29 miles was bumper to bumper at less than five mph interspersed with no fewer than a dozen stand stills.)

So what to do when you're stuck on the highway with hours and hours ahead of you? Well, for starters, you can take photos of course...





(Is that not outrageous????)

We'd began the license plate game soon after leaving home and had an impressive list going but when you're stuck behind the same cars for 29 miles, the game becomes a total bust.  I did text my dear friend Catherine several photos of the the northern license plates (which no doubt totally bored her as well) but for privacy's sake, I won't share those photos online.  *wink*

So now what?  Well Meg, always the optimist, began looking for BigFoot in the woods alongside the highway.  (Yes, she totally believes and her obsession is best left for it's own post.)  Needless to say, BigFoot was too smart to get caught anywhere near this traffic jam.   In fact, there wasn't a critter to be seen anywhere.






After about an hour of this we got a bit more creative.  There's always a laugh to be had in being a Pringle Duck.






Meg got the biggest kick out of the fact that it took me no less than a dozen attempts before I could master the geometry of creating a duck bill out of two pressed potato chips.  I did prevail in the end.






In the end it took us two hours to cover twenty-nine miles of South Carolina interstate.  I'm just so grateful that I didn't have to pee 'cause folks, "there was nuttin' nowhere."  Interestingly, we saw no lane closures, no accidents, no police vehicles and no road work of any kind.  The traffic did start to move around MM 40 (6:30ish PM) and we eventually made it to I-26 to start the turn westward. It turns out that this highway was no less crowded but fortunately the traffic was moving at a decent rate.  Of course we encountered an additional hiccup when we decided to stop for the night.  It took us five attempts to locate a room.  (Everybody's a tourist!!!)

As an aside, the following Saturday on the return trip home, the northern traffic on that same 29 mile stretch of I-95 was again bumper to bumper.  I carefully watched to see if I could identify the source of the problem. Guess what? THERE WASN'T ANYTHING!  WTH?????

I have no doubt that I have just succeeded in boring you as much as we were there that day sitting in traffic. I do hope however that it didn't take up two hours of your day.  *wink*  Thanks for sticking with me.



Monday, March 23, 2015

A LIttle R & R


For the first time ever, we decided to take a vacation during spring break.  I was longing for cooler weather so we opted for our "go-to" area of western North Carolina.  We rented a beautiful cottage (more on that later) in Asheville and spent every day exploring a different area of the city/mountainside.  We had a really great week which I will share in more detail once I get the photos downloaded and my house back to order.

In the meantime I'll leave you with a really cute photo of Jay and Fin celebrating the little guy's very first St. Patty's Day.  Between my mother Colleen and his mother Colleen the little tyke has loads of Irish blood running through his veins.






Have I mentioned that little dude is now rolling over?  Yep, watch out!  He's hot stuff now!




Sunday, March 22, 2015

Card Share - Butterflies


Another quick card sharing post this one featuring butterflies, all from Clearly Besotted stamps.

For these first two I die cut the large butterfly image from the front of the white faux woodgrained card, layered a piece of aqua/teal cardstock underneath, and floated a second die cut vellum image over the top. Unfortunately my poor photography skills are not doing them justice.










This last one features a coordinating stamp and die set.  I love the simplicity of the card which has a Happy Birthday sentiment on the inside. 





As always, thanks so much for taking time out to look!  




Friday, March 20, 2015

Latest Food Fav


Meg is and always has been a very picky eater.  The list of things that she will consume is quite short but she has been much, much better about trying new things lately. One of those new foods is shrimp, sauteed in garlic butter with a little bit of salt.  She loves it so much that I've been keeping a bag of frozen shrimp on hand at all times.  In fact, she came home from school last Tuesday ravenous, begging for garlic shrimp at 4:30 in the afternoon.  My mother thought I was crazy for fixing it for her but hey, I'd rather she ate those than cookies or Cheetos, kwim?  Later when the rest of sat down for dinner (salmon cakes and butternut squash) she joined us in eating the broccoli so I call it "all good."

We usually go out to eat one night a week and lately her immediate request (in the form of begging and pleading) is for Olive Garden.  I love Olive Garden as much as the next guy but it's not easy finding things to eat there when you're dieting.  *sigh*  This past outing she won and got all of her favorites....strawberry smoothie, breadsticks, fried calamari (I know, go figure!) and of course, fettuccini alfredo with garlic sauteed shrimp.




  

*Drool*

Of course there's no way she can eat it all.  Thankfully it is the one (and only) leftover that she looks forward to the next evening which means two nights off for me.  Definitely a Win/Win!






Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Finley Goodness


Colleen has returned to work which means she and Jay are swapping work days with Finley days. (They each work three 12 hour shifts a week.)  I love that they are both so good about sending daily photos/videos.  I refer to them as my Daily Finley Fix and if one of them forgets, I'm not shy about reminding them. Today I'm going to pass along some of my more recent fixes.

I'll start with the one I refer to as the Uncomfortable Humpty Dumpty pose.


Yeah, he's a wee bit too young for the seat yet.





I have a feeling that Fin and Dad spend many hours like this when Mommy's at work.











It was great to get a family photo but it's very apparent that poor Fin had been crying.  Jay was of course "just being Jay."  LOL!







This final photo is my favorite of all the recent ones.  She was able to capture the light so nicely which is not easy to do with an Iphone.  Of course I love how angelic he looks.




I really need to get back up there and visit again, hopefully on a day that they both have off.  I'm sure they would both love (and no doubt, need) a little time to themselves.  Not to mention that this grandma is in need of a Finley Fix.





Monday, March 16, 2015

Thoughts on Volunteering


As many of you know, I volunteer one morning a week in my girlfriend's first grade classroom. Given that this is my fourth year, my first year students are now fourth graders.  It's so nice to see how they've grown and I love all of the hi's and hugs I get still receive from them in the hallways.

I've helped out in many capacities but this year Michelle asked me to work specifically on reading. She has a set of nine flip books, each with eighteen pages, which increase in difficulty as they progress.  The order goes from the pink at the bottom left up to the red and then down again to the yellow with the light green one being the most difficult.  (As an aside, not sure why the 2-11-15 was up on the board.  My photo was taken on 3-11-15)





I keep a journal with daily entries so I can keep track of each student's progress.  A few of my kids were able to whip through most of them in just a few sessions however most have slowly worked their way through the progression.  It's always a big accomplishment for them when they are able to leave the left column behind to work on the right one.

Obviously I can't get to every student every week but there are three in particular that need extra help so I try my best to fit them in as often as I can. This past Wednesday one of those kids mastered the highest level (we don't move on until they can read each color level proficiently) while two more achieved the light blue level.  The look of pride on their faces is indescribable.  I know how hard they've worked (I generally send them home with words they need to practice) so I am equally proud of them myself.  I will admit that there are days when I really just want to have a pajama day at home but knowing how the kids clamour to be called upon and the rewarding feeling I have when I leave makes it entirely worth it.





Saturday, March 14, 2015

Card Share - Animals


Just popping in real quick to share a few of my recent cards.   Today I'm going with an animal theme.


This cute little octopus was colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.  The inside greeting says "A Million Thanks".  (So eight arms aren't actually a million but I thought it worked.)






I love this adorable teddy bear and thought it would make a nice card for a younger child.   I colored him with Copics with a touch of Signo white gel pen and Glossy Accents.  There is a Happy Birthday greeting on the inside.






I can't seem to get enough of these flamingos.  For this one I did a little muted background stamping onto patterned paper and adhered the die cute flamingo over the top.







And finally for one I chose to do a little scene with die cuts.  It has a birthday sentiment on the inside. I used the linen cover plate from PaperTrey Inc to create all of the texture on the cardstock.  It's one of my favorite finishing touches lately.



That's it for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!




Thursday, March 12, 2015

66 Bottles of Beer on the Wall....


My aunt and uncle, along with two other couples, arrived last weekend from cold, snowy, miserable (need I go on?) Illinois.  This makes the third year that they've made the trip down for Cardinal's Spring Training and the weather so far has been cooperating beautifully.  Since this is my father's brother, both he and my mother always make it a point to visit while they're here.

Randy and I are always in search of someplace new and different to take friends/family/visitors and as luck would have it, we recently came across a new place in town.  It's touted as a "gastro pub" but they totally had me at sixty-six craft beers on tap.  :-)  Beer aside, the menu and food did not disappoint.  It definitely qualified as "company-worthy" so we all met for dinner there on Monday evening.







Everyone seemed to have a great meal but for my dad and I, it was all about the beer.  :-)

They have what they call a Flight of Beers.  You choose any four beers from their extensive draft menu by writing in the number (1-66) onto their menu slip. What you receive in return are four 4 oz glasses of beer served in a wooden board shaped like the state of Florida.  (Hello!  I also love a good gimmick.) We were totally in.

These were my choices.  As you can see, I prefer lighter beers.








My father on the other hand, prefers the darker variety.




After sampling our beer, we each had one that we didn't care for.  Easy enough. Trade!  LOL!


Great company, great food and great beer made for a very enjoyable evening. My new mission? Sample all sixty-six draft beers on their menu.  Between my first and second visits that only leaves sixty to go.  :-)  Any takers?