Blowing Rock

I   went  swiming.  I   liked  the  cave.  

During the second week in July, we spent a gorgeous three days in the mountain town of Blowing Rock.  Tom and I really like it there, and we have visited it a few times in the past.  Whitley hadn't been with us, though, and so we were excited to have her along this time.  The first day, we had some lunch downtown, and then Whitley checked out the playground before we checked into our hotel.  That afternoon we went on a hike that Tom and I had enjoyed last summer.  It follows a nice path and has beautiful views without being very challenging.  Whitley kept up well, and even ran ahead to lead the way for great stretches of the walk.  That night we hit up our favorite- Mellow Mushroom- for pizza and pretzels, and Whitley and Tom went swimming at the hotel.  The next day we went on a tubing trip up the New River.  It is the second oldest river in the world after the Nile, and just like the Nile, it is one of the only rivers that flows north.  I really enjoyed floating on the water, enjoying the sunshine, mountains, and trees.  I told Tom, "This is my kind of mountain activity!"  Dinner was at a brewery, and followed by ice cream, fudge, and chocolate covered pretzels from the local sweet shop, Kilwin's.  Our last full day we drove to Linville to tour North Carolina's only show cave, and to hike and see Linville Falls.  We couldn't believe how excited Whitley was to go into the cave!  She was really brave, and didn't show any nervousness at all until they turned out all of the lights.  She seemed a little unsure after that, but it is the last thing they do, so we were fine.  (It is so incredibly dark!  Tom and I toured the cave several years ago after we were just married, and the lights going out was the only thing I remembered.  It's pretty intense!)  That night in town we had a delicious meal at Bistro Roca- will definitely be going there again- followed by a little bit more time at the playground.  All in all, we had a great trip!  Tom is always so happy to be in the mountains, and Whitley was thrilled to have a pool and go swimming every day.

Checking out the play ground downtown was one of the first things we did.

Hiking time!

Picturesque setting.

Happy girl with her hiking stick from Aunt Betty and Uncle Mike!

Daddy is so proud.

Bright mountain flowers.

Checking out the craft store.

Tubing!  We had a cooler tube, of course!

I kept Whitley attached to my tube, but she didn't care for that.  We let her loose towards the end.

My view!

Silly girl.  :)

View from overlook.

Entering the cave!

My poor claustrophobic husband did great during the tour- even during this part when they walk us sideways into a tight crevice. 

We were standing on those grates above a bottomless pit!  They have sent weighted cables down and never hit the bottom.

That slimy looking material is actually hard stone and lightly slick with water.  It takes 150 years to grow one cubic inch!

Views of Linville Falls.

Photography by Whitley. :)

A closer look.

Under an apple tree.

We visited this lovely winery in Linville, as well.  They said we could explore the grounds, so Whitley explored the apple tree above, walked up to smell the Christmas trees, and ran down the rows of grape vines.  Fun!

Our last night out in beautiful, quaint Blowing Rock.