Mountains

We were supposed to spend the last week of September in the Outer Banks (for the third year in a row) with Ryan and Leanne and other friends and family, but Hurricane Irene made it impossible for us to get on to Hatteras Island. Jason still had the week off, so we decided to head up the mountains instead. I love the beach, but I prefer the mountains. In keeping with our normal overly aggressive travel style, we spent the first 2 nights in Boone. We went to Grandfather Mountain. It was windy and too foggy to see to the other side of the bridge, but that didn't stop us from crossing it. We were the only people up there...a very cool and slightly eerie experience. Ethan found a snake on one of the rocks, which made his day.

We stopped on the way down to visit the bears, deer, and otters, to grab and snack and tour the museum and gift shop.

After Grandfather Mountain we had lunch at a very cool general store, then hiked to Linville Falls.

That night we attempted to fish in the river behind the cabin we rented and attempted to build a raging fire for smores, both of which were made difficult by all the rain.

The next day we stopped to fish for trout on our way out of town, then drove the Blue Ridge Parkway (my all-time favorite road) and picnicked along the way as we made our way down to Chimney Rock.