Boxwood Lodge Blowing Rock

... feel like they are hiking, but short enough that they don't get tired. The view at the top is amazing. We always head to the left at the top of the trail because the rock area is larger and I feel safer with the kids running around (even though we forbid them to run up there!)

There are tons of wild blueberry bushes up there too and that's the part Caroline likes best - picking the blueberries (even though they are tiny compared to the ones we pick ...

... we went out to dinner. We must do simple things because of the kids so we went to Mellow Mushroom - a favorite for everyone. The kids enjoyed watching the guys throw the pizza dough in the air.

It was good to get out for a little while, but we headed back after dinner for ice cream cones at the cabin and a semi early bedtime.

Today was rainy as predicted (we had hoped the weatherman would be wrong). We sat inside all morning but by lunchtime it was not raining anymore, just cloudy. So we drove down the Mountain to the Old Hampton Store for a bbq lunch. It was really good and we got banana pudding ...

Today was the day to go to Price Park. This is a place we seem to visit every year we come up to North Carolina. We started at Price Lake where we rented two canoes. One canoe was for David, Jennifer and David Andrew. The other was Grandmama, Grandaddy and Caroline. We paddled around the lake for about an hour. It's was pretty quiet on the lake since it was a weekday ...

... 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 ...

... so this was all new. There are tons of Christmas tree farms up that way. We got to the cheese factory round 11 and went straight to the viewing room. I was a little surprised that all it was was a big window overlooking the cheesemaking equipment. No tour guide, nowhere to walk around to see more things. When we got there, there was one large vat mixing curds and whey. They ...

... 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 ...

... 10pm ~Late Night Pastry Party with Carla Lyons Hall~ Crippen's Restaurant $40 Saturday, April 18: All Day ~Downtown Fun Scavenger Hunt~ 11am ~Fire on the Rock Chef Challenge Heat 1~ $5 ($10 for pass to all Saturday heats) 12pm-4pm ~Grand Tasting~ Maple Street and Main $35 advance / $45 at door 2pm ~Fire on the Rock Chef Challenge Heat 2~ $5 ($10 for pass to all Saturday heats) 5pm ...

... opportunity to get my hands dirty! A very special aspect of this trip is our chance to individually stay with a variety of host families as we move about the country, giving all of the team members greater insight into the true nature and pace of Indian life. This trip will no doubt be a life-changing experience, and I look forward to sharing that experience both here and when we return.

We just returned to the Blue Ridge parkway area after a deliteful side trip to visit friends in Virginia. Lots of rain moved thru during our trip to Virginia, but the sun came out and it got cool. A lot of folkes are in the area and we had to wait a long time to get a table at the resturant. The ...