Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza Boone

... Miller's blueberries in Watkinsville).

After our hike, we asked the kids if they wanted to go to Linville Falls for a picnic or Banner Elk playground. Guess which one won? So we drove into Banner Elk and ate our lunch on a picnic table by the playground. After eating the kids had great time playing, swinging and sliding. They both got on their crocs and waded in the stream too.

Then we took David Andrew so he could get a nap. We stopped by ...

This morning I was sitting at the computer and, since it was mid-morning, was surprised to smell a skunk. The scent was fairly strong too. About a half hour later I saw our neighbor washing down her dog in tomato juice. Oh, oh. I guess it was second-hand skunk smell. Poor dog. It doesn't understand why it's been banished to the outdoors.

It's a cool day and looks like it may rain later. The creek is high from all the recent rains we've had.

It was another rainy day today, so we stayed in. The kids played downstairs a lot. There are bunches of toys that are all new to them, so they really enjoyed it. After lunch, we put Star Wars 2 in to watch with Caroline. We popped some popcorn too. A great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Some work had to be done on the well pump ...

... the Thursday night concert at the Banner Elk park. We went to one last summer too and it was really nice. They have vendors with food for sale and the playground and stream and there too. We let the kids play first and then we had dinner and sat and listened to the music.

... Grandmama & Grandaddy bought while we were in NC last summer) for the kids to float in the water and have boat races. They had a great time and got pretty wet too!

The afternoon was spent relaxing at the cabin, we even got a couple of rain showers. We had leftover night for dinner and then roasted marshmallows for smores on a little grill we bought.

... kids their own fishing poles - Princess for Caroline and Lightning McQueen for David Andrew. The kids could hardly wait to start fishing. We had to remind them they needed bait first. We decided to fish in the pond with the smallest fish to make it easier for the kids. The ponds are really well stocked - once you get the hang of it, you WILL catch a fish. Caroline was scared of the worms at first but by the end she was ...

... laid the molds on their sides and pushed them all together. They started a press that pushed out all the rest of the whey and would form the curds into a solid wheel of cheese. It was amazing how much liquid came out when they turned on the press. We went back to the shop to buy our cheese. We selected some varieties of cheddar homemade at Ashe County Cheese and I got a tub ...

... hit him (or he would hit us) and we'd be dead. David made all the right decisions and was able to stop our car and miraculously, the other guys car spun in front of us and off the road without any incident. I still don't know how we escaped it after playing it over and over again in my mind. We were safe but that's when I started screaming and freaking out - but as soon as I heard Caroline ...

... on the Rock Chef Challenge Heat 3~ $5 ($10 for pass to all Saturday heats) 8pm ~Fire on the Rock Chef Challenge Heat 4~ $5 ($10 for pass to all Saturday heats) Sunday, April 19 Be sure to turn in your Scavenger Hunt Cards for the 2pm Grand Prize drawing at the Fire on the Rock Finale!! 11am ~Festival Champagne Brunches~ Locations to be announced. 2pm ~Fire on the Rock Grand Finale~ $7

Leaving Asheville and onto Boone. We knew that a section of the parkway was closed and this coupled with the fact that we wanted an internet connection, we chose to find a campsite off the parkway as all those within it are only for dry camping (no water/ electricity or sewer for those of you who are relative newcomers to our blog - we can be self sufficient for about 5 days, but not the right time at the moment). So now we find ...