Chimney Rock

 We hit the road one day of our mountain vacation to do a full day worth of fun (even educational) adventuring. Our first stop (besides seeing the beautiful trees) was Chimney Rock. This den had different furs to feel and touch. It also had snakes.....I think Daddy stayed outside.

 When we got there there was a kids trail that we took first.

 Four kiddos on a hike in the wilderness.

 Brett's a turtle! Every so often along the trail was a learning center on a particular animal.

 Reagan being a turtle.....her passengers didn't think she moved very fast!

 Frogs/toads was another.

 Bears, another. Shhh. We fed the bears!

 Us.

 Chimney Rock. There are steps or an elevator....yep, we took the vator!

 The view from the top.

 Up high with Papa!

 I'm the King of the WORLD!

 Nope.....Brett's the KING OF THE WORLD! We had a beautiful day to view the sights. I love the mountains.

You know you husband loves you when he disrupts traffic by pulling over so you can get a picture of the fun covered bridge and the amazing creek in its path! Thanks, Babe. :)

Apple Orchard

Array of gourds with varying personalities. :)

Isn't she a beaut!

Pretty pumpkins

Brady posing with the hay bale caterpillar. It had a name, but I cannot remember what it was.

It smelled so good!

Fun yard decor, corn stalk horses.

Brady enjoying his apple on the tree stump chair. After we left Chimney rock we headed back towards Maggie Valley, but took a different, more scenic, route back to the cabin. We stopped at one of the many apple orchards in Hendersonville, NC.

Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock

  After the orchard stop we were near Looking Glass Falls, a place we've been to a few times now, but it never gets old. We figured Mom and Dad would enjoy it, and I think they did.

Two of my favorite men on a big rock.

Rock jumping.

Me and my guy

Sliding Rock is in the same National Forest as Looking Glass so we took Mom and Dad to show them where we did the water slide last summer! Reagan and Brett, "We can't believe we did that!" lol

Trick or Treat in Waynesville, NC

 I did a little research before our trip so we'd have a plan for Trick or Treating. A near by town, Waynesville, does their trick or treating downtown at the local shops on Main Street. Not being from around there I decided this was the smartest move instead of picking a neighborhood and going door to door. It was a very nice little town.....the view....simply amazing!

We got to town early so we checked out some shops. One stop was a chocolate shop. Yum! Everyone picked a treat. We also stopped by a pet shop and got a treat for Buddy who was back home in New Bern.

The time came so the kids changed into their costumes. We had a "grab something from the dress up bin" kind of Halloween this year. Reagan came up with a singer ensemble. Brett re-wore a ninja costume. Brady work a Karate suit, but if you asked him he was a ninja too. Addison chose Snow White. Way to recycle, kiddos!

Trick or treat! The towns folk really get into the spirit and were all decked out in costumes too. So fun! Brady had fun showing off his Ninja skills!

 

 In the South most churches have carnivals on Halloween. Ours does and we were missing it so I was happy to find a church downtown that was having one. The kids had a great time. Reagan is helping Brady play Angry Birds.

Throwing darts at the balloons. He got a couple and was STOKED!

Each kid made their shot!

Daddy had an assist for each little kid.

Gem Mining in Cherokee, NC

 Reagan and Brett shaking through the 5 gallon bucket of dirt/gems we bought. We all had fun searching!

At the end we took our findings inside and the lady explained what each one was. We found a lot of goodies to include, ruby, sapphire, smokey quartz, emerald, citrine, and amethyst. It took us a good while to get through the bucket, which was fine. We also grabbed a Geod to bring home and break open.

Scavenger Hunt

One of the days my folks headed into Asheville to visit the Biltmore Estates. The kids and I had been and I knew Mom and Dad would enjoy in more on their own than with three uninterested (been there, done that) kiddos. With that we did a little hike around our cabin and did a scavenger hunt.

Reagan searching. The list was very diverse so all involved would be challenged. The little two sought colors and shapes of leaves, rocks, and bugs.

The big two found things like a leaf with dew drops, moss, and even this that didn't belong (trash). May as well keep the area clean.

We went back to the cabin with our collected leaves and used some for rubbing. Brett also had an assignment for school to make a book of leaves he'd collected that were sorted by the type of edge they had. Great timing on this project, leaves we no problem to find! He was excited to bring home some leaves that perhaps his classmates wouldn't have.

Some of their rubbings. This also counted as a cub scout project for Brett.

Please FEED the bears!

 We visited the bear zoo where they encourage you to feed the bears. We bought a few trays of greens and veggies and got to it. "Grandma, don't drop me.....

".....cuz even tough this Grizzly is sleeping......

"THIS ONE IS NOT!" So, when this guy gets up on his hind legs he's pretty freaking HUGE!

Brett is holding food out and watching the black bears do a trick before he drops them the food.

Another black bear

Brady goes back to check on that Grizzly...yep, still there!

Everyone feeding the goats. Daddy was quick to hand out hand sanitizer!

That little left hand is telling the story....she was a bit freaked by the goats, but warmed up.

White Tiger named Chief....so you KNOW he was cool! Now, this is the type of place that is cool, yet it breaks my animal loving heart to see these guys all blocked in and on concrete. That said, they were very clean cages and were very well fed, so that was a plus. Had they not been I would have left. The owner seemed like a very carrying person.