More Adventures in Asheville

Jennifer and Andy took Syd to stay with her other relatives on Sunday. Bob and I regrouped and planned our stay in Asheville. Monday we took a trip to Biltmore. We enjoyed touring the mansion....

...as well as the gardens.

 Bob nor I saw anything on the menu at the restaurants at Biltmore that interested us so we headed to Sierra Nevada Brewery.

We found quite a few items on their menu that made us happy. Not to mention the beers! Most of the items on the menu are meant to be shared so Bob and I each ordered something to share. After we ate, we took an impromptu tour of the brewery. The tropical IPA was being bottled as we walked through the brewhaus.

Then we returned to Sol to plan our next adventure.

Tuesday found us driving to Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, North Carolina to hike to some waterfalls. Our first stop was Sliding Rock. It looked like fun to slide down the natural rock slide, but the water was a brisk 53 degrees! That is a bit too cold for me!

Our next stop was Looking Glass Falls. This waterfall is located on the side of highway 276, no walk to reach it at all.

Bob and I were in need of a good hike so we stopped by the ranger station and found just the right one--Twin Falls!The trailhead is located beyond the stables down a gravel forest service road. The trail had many ups and downs--something we aren't used to in Florida.

 Of course we had to cross several log bridges to get to our goal.

 Some of the bridges had more logs than others! At least they all had handrails!

 We continued on the trail, enjoying every step of the way.

 Finally, we arrived at Twin Falls! What you can't see in this picture is the other falls about 50 yards to the right of this one! We  took our time at the falls, enjoying both, before heading back to the car. This isn't a well traveled trail as we only saw three other couples hiking the two miles to the falls.

 After our hike we stopped at Ecusta Brewing Company just outside of Brevard. They didn't serve food, but Hog City Barbecue was located just out their back door!  Both the brews and the barbecue hit the spot after our mountain hike.

Wednesday, Jennifer and Syd joined us to explore North Carolina Arboretum

 Sydney enjoyed seeing all the flowers and butterflies. One section was a quilt garden.

 We took a walk through some of the trails. There were several places where branches were stacked like tepees. Bob and Syd even found two geocaches or treasures as Syd calls them.

 From the Arboretum we got on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drove south to Mount Pisgah. We stopped to enjoy the views along the way.

 After eating at Mt. Pisgah Inn, we took the time for a photo op overlooking the valley.

So far we have enjoyed our time in Asheville, North Carolina and the surrounding area. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Asheville, North Carolina--Meeting Relatives!

We were on a tight schedule to arrive at Lake Powhatan before Bob's sister, her son and his family. They were driving down from Knoxville, Tennessee. Once we arrived and set up, Sydney and Grandpa had their celebratory drinks!

Then Syd and I relaxed and awaited the arrival of relatives!

Not too much after our arrival, the rest of the crew arrived to share an afternoon of fun! Riley, Sarah, Chase, Great Aunt Andrea, Sydney and Grandpa posed for the camera.

After lunch, it was time to relax and catch up--we last saw them a year ago near Knoxville. Riley was just learning to walk then and now she runs everywhere!

There is a year and a half difference in ages but Syd can play with any age!

We enjoyed our visit, even getting caught in the rain during our campground walk.

The next day Bob, Syd and I hiked the beach trail. Syd found several painted rocks along the way.

Of course, we had to get a picture of the campground sign.

On Saturday we visited my brother-in-law at his new apartment in Hendersonville. It was the first time Syd and Great Uncle Ernie met.

After our visit, it was time for some playgrounds! We found a park in Hendersonville that had several playgrounds.

Back at the campground it was time to take another hike to the lake.

Later that day, Jennifer and Andy made it to Asheville!

We took them on a walk to the lake and Syd put out some painted rocks.

What? Another Corps Campground!

As is our norm for a travel day, especially with Syd, we only traveled about 100 miles from Petersburg COE campground. Our last stop before North Carolina was Springfield Corps of
Engineer Park near Anderson South Carolina. The campground is located on Lake Hartwell and is one of the top 100 Family Campgrounds in America.

Bob asked the attendant to give us a campsite near a playground and she gave us a site with a view of the lake and the playground! First stop for Syd was the swings!

 She enjoyed playing on the playground, playing at the campsite and walking around the campground loop.

The next morning, since our drive was another short one--less than 100 miles, we visited the playground and walked the loop one more time. On this walk Syd found a painted rock!

 We left it in place for someone else to find and headed for North Carolina!

Time for an Army Corps of Engineer Park!

When we left Laura S. Walker State Park we didn't drive far. Our next stop was Petersburg Corps of Engineer Campground on the Georgia side of Strom Thurmond Lake. As we traveled, we made a few stops. The first was at Harmon Park in Swainsboro, Georgia. It was off our route, but thanks to Google Maps we found it and had a good time playing. Yes, those are bumps in the slide.

Syd says it was her favorite slide of the trip, so far.

Harmon Park also had a bouncy ride and swings.

From Swainsboro, we continued our leisurely drive through Georgia and found a Dairy Queen near an Ingles grocery store. The grocery store provided parking for Sol while we enjoyed a cone! Syd ate the famous swirl first.

Next stop, Petersburg Campground. We had a site on the water. Unfortunately, there was no playground in our loop and we had to drive two loops away to get to a playground.

 Then we decided to explore the day use area a little farther down the highway. We found several playgrounds and an observation tower. The playgrounds were similar, but Syd enjoyed each of them.

The observation tower, however, was her favorite---she does like to climb.

She made it to the top and we all enjoyed the view.

We stayed on the tower long enough to see the beginning of a beautiful sunset, but we had to quickly make our way back to the car as thunderstorms reared their ugly heads at the same time!

The next morning, Syd and I walked down to the beach to check out the water, throw rocks, and look for shells.

 We had one more night on the road before we reached our destination--Lake Powhatan Recreation Area, NC. After playing on the beach, we said goodbye to this waterfront site and made our way to another Army Corps of Engineer Campground.

Another Adventure!

Once we arrived home in June, it was time for doctor appointments and work on Sol. The shade we ordered at MCD in McKinney, Texas, arrived a couple of days after we did! Bob enlisted the help of our neighbor and they had the old shade out and the new one in and working like a charm in one afternoon! The next big thing for Sol was a new windshield. The original was cracked in California and then chipped in Arizona on our return trip. The glass people came to the house to fit Sol's new windshield. Sol sat in the driveway for two days to let everything set before Sol returned to her home in the garage.

Of course, we participated in our neighborhood 4th of July Parade.

 Our neighbor even brought her horse to lead the parade.

Before we knew it, it was time to pack Sol and hit the road again. This time our granddaughter was traveling with us! It was her first trip in Sol without Mom and Dad! We told Syd that we would stop at every playground we saw as long as Sol would fit in the parking lot. First playground stop---Ewing Memorial Park in Callahan, Florida.

Our second playground stop was Laura S. Walker State Park in Waycross, Georgia. We also camped there for the night. We were able to get a site on the water....

 ....which was close to the swings. If you look closely, you can see Sol in the background.

 Not long after we arrived, the rains came. Luckily, the shower didn't last long and we were able to go explore the playground in the day use area. We took paper towels to dry the equipment.

After realizing everything was too wet to dry, we decided to walk to the entrance.

Just in front of the office was an irresistible puddle. Syd made the most of a giant jump into the center of the puddle.

The following morning we returned to the playground. We found a path through the woods from the campground to the day use area.

After playing on the playground, we returned to Sol to get ready to move on to the next park.

Catching Up!

Okay, so once again I was lax in updating the blog once we were headed east! After our stop at Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma, we made it to Siloam Springs, Arkansas to visit Bob's parents. Just like the rest of our trip, the bad weather followed us. It didn't last too long and boy were we glad to see the high wind warnings and hail warnings go away!

While in Siloam, we visited the casino regularly to enter the contest for a new car. We even  were present for the awarding of the car---no, I didn't get a new mustang. Someone else won.

Since we arrived in on Thursday, we were able to go to our favorite steak place--Double R & P Gas and Grill-- for dinner Friday night. That's right, we went back to the gas station on Chemey (pronounced chewy) Road to have the steak special. This time it was sirloin and it was melt in your mouth delicious!

Siloam also had a new German restaurant--Ziggywurst--serving German food fast food style. It was also good.

Since Memorial Day Weekend was approaching, we decided to stay in Siloam until the weekend was over. We don't like to make reservations and we felt like it would be difficult to find a campsite on a holiday weekend.

When we left Siloam, we headed toward Jackson, Mississippi. We found a  Wal-Mart, but it was one that did not allow overnight parking so it was on to Sam's Club in Pearl, Mississippi. Bob nor I had ever seen a road sign like this before!

After a quiet night at Sam's, it was on to Montgomery, Alabama. It had been a number of years since we visited Maxwell AFB. The campground hadn't changed since our last visit. We took a walking tour of Montgomery. Our car was parked at the top of the steps leading to the river walk. From the river walk we went to the visitor center and got the map for the walking tour.

 This fountain was one of our first stops on the walking tour. It was once home to the slave market.

 Another stop was the Freedom Rides Museum, but it was not open when we walked past.

 From the bus station it was on to the Capitol Building.

 A few blocks beyond the capitol was the first white house of the confederacy.

 Then our walk took us to the back of the capitol....

 ...and past the Courtyard of the Justices--the first Alabama Supreme Court Justices.

 Then it was back to the car and time to get ready for a travel day.

 Our last stop on our trip was General Coffee State Park in Douglas, Georgia. We stopped to visit Bob's aunt and cousins. We enjoyed our visit, but forgot to take pictures...maybe next time.

After our visit it was time to head home. Bob and I looked at the map and pondered our route and if we should stop again before getting home. The answer was back roads with no stops! We made it home in time to get ready for our next trip!