Blogs from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States, North America

We took the kids hiking to Julian Price Park. After stopping at an Overlook and hiking a little path (which went to a small stream and was quite pretty), we went to the main parking area (follow signs to ampitheater). We had a picnic lunch packed in our backpack and I had our picnic quilt in a bag. We also brought the dog along on this hike. We decided to do the 2.3 mile moderately easy hike around Price Lake, a man-made lake in the park. From the parking area, we went to the right past the canoe rental. The trail began as a level and wide path. As we walked, the trail was less maintained. We had several areas where we had to walk single file, some places with an incline where we were climbing ... read more

Getting up this morning was a little rough. But I managed to do it, get myself showered and dressed and food in my belly. Once we got to the venue, I knew it would be a long day, so I asked the guys where I could get some caffeine. i.e. pop. “Next door.” I wasn’t functioning well and sort of gave them a blank stare. One of the guys I’ve worked with a lot over the last few days said, “I need to get one too. I’ll walk over with you.” There you go. So we had a nice chat and got some Mt. Dew and things. I was informed that Appalachian is said will all short ‘a’s like in “apple” rather than a long a like “age.” While we were walking over, he said, “They ... read more

Early morning today. Up to bake the cinnamon rolls. Kyle was there and asking all sorts of questions and I looked at him sort of like, “How long does it take for you to learn that I’m not competent before 8 a.m.?” Unfortunately, I also took them out a little soon (though I’m sure the one I looked at was done) so they didn’t cook all the way. Bummer. Still good, though. We got all packed up and loaded the car, ready to hit the road. Kyle was driving, and I was hoping to get at least a chapter done in my book, but a few pages in, it was time to nap! I woke up just before entering the town where we’ll be spending the next few days. We joined Craig and had lunch at ... read more

Arrived at "The Deep Dark Woods" as Marley Girl would say a.k.a. our West Virginia home. We had a violent thunderstorm last night with about 4 inches of rain. We started the "Top down tour" top up........We are headed to Skyline Drive... read more

Headed out from Asheville today to make the long drive back to Washington, DC. Had planned to go to the top of Grandfather Mountain but it was a very, very hazy day and the entrance gatekeepers stated that visitability was basically zilch. Sooooo, that'll have to be a trip for another day. Headed over to Blowing Rock with the hope that visitability would be bearable once I got there. Blowing Rock is located about 100 miles from Asheville. According to the brochure, "The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4000 feet above sea level, overhanging Johns River Gorge 3000 feet below...the current of air flowing upward from The Rock prompted the Ripley's 'Believe-It-Or-Not' cartoon about the only place in the world where snow falls upside down." Basically, you can stand at the rock, look down and ... read more