5-21-11

Today was the final push to the coast. The excitement was in the air. We drove the last few hours of beautiful highway and after a little over 5200 miles logged for this trip so far, we caught our first glimpse of the Atlantic.




This is technically called the Alligator River, on a bridge to Roanoke Island. We celebrated anyway, because we were really there. The Outer Banks are a group of islands that are basically the coast of NC. It was here that Blackbeard did most of his pillaging and was later killed. It was also here that Richard Gere and Diane Lane made a movie that most people haven't seen (Nights in Rodanthe...which we rented and plan to watch after blogging tonight).
We drove the 20 or so miles of sand dunes and houses up on stilts to our site which is great. After we setup camp and had lunch, we went to play on the beach. The kids were so happy, I haven't seen Lucca so giddy in a while.




























After a while at the beach, we played a little put put golf (at our campground) and then headed out to buy a kite and for a great seafood dinner. We are glad that we will be staying here for a few days.
Kids are in bed now. Let's check in on how Richard Gere is doing.

Location:Rodanthe, Outer banks, NC

5-20-11

Today started out to be an amazing day. We woke up to our beautiful campsite, and just a little trickle of rain. Just enough to keep the bugs at bay. We had breakfast and hung around camp for the morning. At about 12 we were torn on whether to stay at our amazing site and just relax, or to push on a see some other attractions on the Parkway. We flipped a coin..move on. Ok 2 out of 3..move on. Consult the 4 year old..move on. So we packed up and moved on. Both attractions that we had planned on visiting on the parkway were duds and we hadn't really planned anything else so we decided to just drive. This was really the last thing anyone wanted to do today and we headed off with a truckload of grumps, completely unprepared for a long drive. By the time we got settled in we all started to feel a little better. We stopped at trader joes in Chapel Hill. This was the first in weeks and we were excited to stock up on our favorite food. After TJ's and a chat with a local TCBY owner ( who gave us a card for free yogurt) we had an Italian dinner at a nearby restaurant. The folks here in Chapel Hill were starkly different than the other NC folks that we have met. For lack of a better term...snobby. Maybe it was just pre rapture nerves? Maybe we were still grumpy for leaving our beautiful campsite? Who knows? Anyhow, when we went back to the trailer after dinner, Lola was acting like she was in a bunch of pain. Further investigation revealed a sprained or broken tail. Roxy had one once and the is really nothing that can be done. So we will just watch her and make sure she isn't in too much pain.
On the road again... After a couple more hours of driving we pulled into our site at around 10:30 and were lucky that someone was still up to help us out. The kids already had their pj's on so it was a simple transition to bed. I didn't even disconnect Mimi.

Location:Linnville Falls, NC

5-19-11

Hi, we have neglected to post for the past couple of nights. Let's just call it taking a break. Plus we didn't have any wifi or cell signal where we were so...

On the 19th we drove from Asheville along the Blue Ridge Parkway again. This time it was a beautiful day and the drive was just as amazing. We stopped along the way at a place called Linnville Falls. We were headed to do a hike just as a bus full of school kids unloaded to do the hike too. So we decided to go along the river and have a picnic first. Hopefully to give the kids enough time to finish, before we started. We found an amazing spot and everyone enjoyed a picnic lunch.




















After we were all cleaned up... We headed back to the hike. Just in time too, as all the kids were just piling back onto the bus.
The hike was a short 3/4 mile stroll with 3 different areas to view the same waterfall. Jack had a great time picking up muddy rocks and having us touch them. He also got to walk Lola most of the way. They are becoming real close and she listens to jack like no one else.
















































After the hike we had plans to go further up the parkway, but one trip through the campground here convinced us otherwise. We set up camp quickly fired up the grill and relaxed while the kids played. As the night closed in, we headed off to sleep.

Location:Blue ridge parkway

5-18-11

We found another waffle house close to our site. So naturally we had to eat there this morning. After, we headed out to see the Biltmore. This is Ashevilles main attraction. Apparently, back in the day Asheville was a kind of mountain retreat for the wealthy southerners. George Vanderbilt built this place on something like 80,000 acres. It is the largest private home in the US. The place was pretty amazing. We weren't allowed to photograph the inside, but the grounds were spectacular. We toured the house and then the gardens. I just about filled my camera with photos. Here are just a few.







































After touring the house and gardens, we had lunch in the stable cafe. This was the old stables converted into a cafe. The booths were actually the stables themselves. This was jack's favorite part of the day so far.



After lunch we drove through the estate property to the winery and old farm. On the way we passed a bunch of geese with their baby's on the side of the road.



The old farm was great. We got some great ideas for our future farm and the kids had a blast playing with the animals, including a bunch of one month old goats.
















We begrudgingly left this amazing place for the mundane tasks ahead. Grocery shopping, cleaning Mimi, and laundry. Tomorrow we continue on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We should have clear skies...The coast is only days away!

Location:S Bear Creek Rd,Asheville,United States

5-17-11

After a bit of a late start with the normal hitching and dumping of Mimi, we headed back over to the restaurant that we ate at before and had Indian tacos again. Jack wasn't so brave this time and just had chicken. Today was the day that we started the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a road that follows the mountains from North Carolina to Virgina. The total length is over 400 miles but today we were only going to drive 80 of it. Our destination was Ashville, NC. It was raining most of the drive and since it was cloudy at the elevation we were driving, most of the overlooks were nothing but clouds. The few peeks we did get of the views were fantastic. The road was amazingly beautiful nonetheless .



















We got to Asheville in time to check into our site and head downtown for dinner. We went to a place called Havana, which was a funky Cuban joint with multicolored tables and such. From what we can see, Asheville is a neat little town with lots of funky art shops and whatnot. Looking forward to seeing more tomorrow.

Location:S Bear Creek Rd,Asheville,United States