Mountain High

Swingin' with Aunt B!

The last weekend in July, Tom, Whitley and I took a nice family trip to the mountains.  I've lived here in North Carolina twelve years now, and had never been to Grandfather Mountain, one of the state's largest tourist attractions.  Tom hadn't either, and we also thought that Whitley would enjoy Tweetsie Railroad.  Thus, we figured the mountains would be a great locale for a little "just-us" trip this summer.  Before heading west, though, we drove up to VA to stay a night with Aunt Betty and Uncle Mike.  We've only visited their mountain home in the winter, and wanted to get in on some of their summer fun.  They were the sweetest hosts, and we three had such a wonderful time exploring their shady acres, feeding their four chickens, playing in the log cabin, riding in the Mule, and making a bonfire, complete with s'mores- the epitome of dream mountain livin'!  (By the end of the stay, I was calling their home a "resort" because they have so much to do!) In addition to the outside fun, Aunt Betty had some surprises for Whitley.  She got a whole bag of coloring crafts, as well as a puzzle, and the biggest treat of all... we made homemade pasta!  Whitley got a huge kick out of making the dough and then feeding it into the pasta maker.  She kept squealing, "We made p-schetti!!"  It cooked almost instantly, and was so light and tasty.  Whitley ate a lot of it, making Mmmmm noises and complimenting herself over and over on how good her spaghetti was.  (Reminded me of Mae Mae- "That's good even if I did make it!")  

Tom feeds Molly some peanuts.  

Whitley didn't want to get too close, but she sure liked watching the chickens and tossing them some food.  

Making the pasta dough. 

Whitley got to turn the crank on the pasta maker. 

Voila!  Spaghetti!!

Night-time s'mores.  Perfect.  :)

After a big breakfast with Betty and Mike Sunday morning, we drove down to Tweetsie Railroad.  They have a policy that if you enter the park after 3:00, your ticket is validated for the next day.  We figured that was perfect for making the most of the visit.  And, we were able to do most everything that first afternoon!  

My favorite ride was this little chair lift.  However, I made the mistake of telling Whitley that we had to be careful because CC fell out of one of these one time, and my poor little girl could not get past that.  "What?!  CC fell DOWN?  Like right down THERE?  CC fell from the CHAIR?"  She was so distraught and talked about it every time we rode the thing.  Whoops.  (I'd been meaning to tell you that story, Mommy!)  

Whitley rode this Scrambler at least 4 or 5 times.  There was never a line for it, so they could just stay on it.  Ugh, I couldn't take it but once.  Too many spins for me!  

Tweetsie has a very nice petting zoo.  

Not sure about the llama.  (I thought it was adorable. ) 

Whitley's driving!

Monday morning, we were up and at 'em, and I do mean UP!  We went to Grandfather Mt. first thing.  Whitley was overjoyed to see the bears.  (She hadn't seen a live one since she watched Brave- her new obsession.)  And she didn't seem to mind the height of the bridge or mountain top at all.  I, on the other hand, was in full CC mode.  I was a nervous wreck watching all the families with loose children running wild all over the rocks, and just knew someone was going to plummet to their death any second.  So, I clutched Whitley's hand in a vice grip, despite her attempts to break free, and even made her sit down with me because I just couldn't take it anymore.  I told Tom he was free to explore, but Whitley and I would wait, sitting safely away from the edge.  (And frankly, some of the other moms should have followed my example.  I couldn't even count how many women shrieked frantically while we waited there.  "Colton!!!  Ohmygod, Colton, get back here!!!"  Well, yeah, you need to grab Colton, lady.  He looks like he started walking yesterday!  Sheesh.)  

Stopping for a picture on the ride up.  

There is a bear behind her.  

Butterfly garden and kids' activity packet.  

Look how excited Whitley is.  These statues were perfect.  It's like Whitley is posing with Merida's mom and her three little brothers!  

I'm smiling, but I'm really nervous.  

Was pretty high up!  

Whitley took this picture!  And I'm so excited about it!  Maybe Tom and I will get more photos together now. :)

Back at Tweetsie, on the Tilt-a-Hurl.  

And Whitley picked out a bow and arrow!!  She was soooo excited.  She said,  "FINALLY, I get my real bow and arrow." 

The city we stayed in was called Banner Elk.  It was cute!  So here's one  of their  "elks".