Friday afternoon I sat in the pick-up line at Owen's school with my dog in the back, Barrett in her seat, my mom beside me, camping gear packed around everyone, and the canoe on top of the car. The window was down; the sun warmed my face; a breeze kept me from getting too hot, and Van Morrison's "Bright Side of the Road" was on the stereo. My husband and Dad and friends were waiting at the park nearby--their trucks similarly packed with stuff.
The weekend only got better from there.
There was the lake, of course. And the woods.
Cooking, eating, some wine, some champagne.
Lots of sitting. And talking. And reading. And sitting.
There was fishing, and swimming, and playing in the woods.
And on Sunday (our anniversary), a morning canoe trip on a still lake, with the sounds of an occasional fishing boat, our paddles, coyotes on the mountain, loons on the lake, and our own silent prayers of praise and thanksgiving.
Oh, and a chattering little girl in the front of the boat.
But that was okay, because she loved it all, too.
Yesterday we visited the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, NC (outside of Charlotte). My dear dear friend Jeannette has a bench on exhibit there as part of a show called Come Sit a Spell, and I wanted to go see it. My mom and my aunt have both been wanting to visit the gardens for some time now and my cousin's kids were on Spring Break (as is Owen) so it seemed like the perfect time to go.
And it was: sunny, 87 degrees with a light breeze, lots of sunshine, much in bloom, everyone relaxed and happy.
Five moms, two Grandmas, three sets of sisters, three cousins, four second cousins, four grandchildren, one son, six daughters...lots of fun. (Really only my mom, my aunt, my two cousins, my cousin's two kids, my two girls and me, but we all qualify somehow in that other list in different ways).
My mother, being quite the Grandma, printed up lists and brought pencils and totes for each child for a scavenger hunt. They loved it, and took off running to find the items. It kept them occupied until the fountains took their attention away.
My water-loving baby girl had to dip her fingers in each and every one.
We finished off by getting soaked in the arching fountain. Did I mention Barrett loves water?
Change of clothes and time for a picnic lunch under the trees before heading home.
Lovely day. At the dinnertime round of gratitude-giving, Barrett summed it up nicely for us all: "I'm thankful for running with my kids," she said.
Indeed.
Saturday began as an off day. Paul made our ritual pancakes, but the girls were grumpy, which made their mama grumpy, and little irritations seemed to accumulate throughout the morning. Soon we were off to Asheville to visit with the in-laws and attend a pumpkin-carving party at the home of some long-time friends. I had ideas of doing something autumnal and fun with our little family--corn maze, pumpkin patch, hayride, etc.--but it was clear from the morning mood that we needed something a little more low-key.
As we rode over the mountain the fall colors grew more and more vivid and spectacular. In just a matter of days the leaves have made a dramatic change which, at our elevation means everything turned brown or dull yellow and fell at once. In Asheville, however, this was peak weekend--reds and yellows and orange and blue blue sky. Paul and I found ourselves drawing deeper breaths, feeling a peace fall upon us.
By the time we arrived in Asheville, had lunch, and set out again on our errands before the party, Paul had formulated a plan to take a brief escape drive along our beloved Blue Ridge Parkway. Tourists at every turn-out and overlook, traffic steady, but we didn't care as we gawked like flatlanders and reminisced to Owen ("Look, sweetie, down in that valley is Mommy's childhood home, the ball field and pool where Mommy and Daddy used to spend summers, our elementary school!").
We turned around after a few miles, the Parkway having worked its magic on our collective moods, and even had time to stop at my old home church (the one in which we were married) to visit, at last, a pumpkin patch before the party.
The night was difficult. The girls and Paco crammed in bed with me, sleeping fitfully, Paul stuck on the couch, Molly feeling out-of-sorts in a strange place and driving us crazy, our allergies acting up. MY mind started racing and I was unable to sleep at all until the wee hours of morning. BY dawn it was a race to get everyone out to early church, which was one of those not-fun outings (Barrett completely intolerant, Owen not very helpful). It seemed as if our Sunday would start much as our Saturday did--on edge, irritated, everyone unhappy.
So we tried to carry yesterday's magic further and decided to drive the Parkway all the way home. Alas we were thwarted (a rock slide has closed a section between Asheville and home) and had to take the highway home. Still we couldn't resist a detour on our end and wound up with a short sojourn up to Waterrock Knob.
Standing on the mountaintop looking out on this place we love, my sweetie and girls beside me, the grouchiness and minor frustrations of the weekend fell away and all was right with our world.
That's what these mountains do to us...what they do for us.
It's Fall.
It's Fall Break.
I've been craving some outside time.
I've been craving some quantity family time, especially with Paul.
These shoes were made for walking.
And that's what I'm gonna do...
Go camping!
We'll be back on Sunday. Hopefully with pictures and stories to tell.
We had another lovely family weekend. Friday night fish dinner at Dad's. Then Saturday, we found ourselves with a rare day of nothing to do, so we defied the rain, packed a picnic, and went for a drive. We ended up in Andrews walking along the (sadly empty) main street strip and eating our picnic in the car in the parking lot of the town of Andrews public library while rain beat down on the roof and windshield. Then we drove along the beautiful Nantahala River Gorge, stopping to take pictures and watching the few brave kayakers shooting the rapids. We followed Wayah Road by Nantahala Lake and on over near Wayah Bald (but didn't go up there as it was already a full day) to Franklin, then home for some tomato soup and grilled cheese quesadillas.
In the car, we sang, chatted, Barrett cried a little, listened to NPR, and looked at the scenery. We got out when there was something to see and when the rain allowed and sometimes to let me take photos despite the rain. At one point, as I was scrambling over some rocks to take photos of a waterfall in the gorge, Owen said to Paul in the car, "Life is beautiful. There is one life and it goes on and on forever." (The little existentialist.)
Indeed, life is beautiful.
Note: This is not the greatest photo, but it does show just how much water was pouring over the rocks in the river Saturday. We didn't see them hit these rapids, but saw some kayakers down from here who must have just made it through them. I don't know much about it, but it looked to me like this had to be a Class III or IV rapids.
Today's joy...
the prospect of a new year.
I have always liked New Year's as a holiday, although I don't get into all that New Year's Eve revelry. Paul and I sometimes go out to celebrate with dinner and a movie, but more often we stay home, watch a DVD, count down via the radio or our clocks, have a New Year's kiss and hug and go off to bed. It's kind of nice, really.
Probably the most fun New Year's Eve party we've ever been to was a time before kids when we decided to spend the holiday on Ocracoke Island. We stayed in a bed and breakfast (one of the few open that time of year) and went out to eat at the only other place that was open: Howard's Pub. Now Howard's, being the only place on the island that was open, was a hopping place. They had a live band, free party hats and favors, and everyone was there--locals and tourists alike, from the tiniest tot to little old ladies. And best of all, everyone was dancing, from the tiniest tot to little old ladies. It was such a fun way to ring in the New Year, if you're going to do so with a bunch of strangers.
It's not New Year's Eve that I like about this holiday. It's the whole out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new quality. How everything is quiet and peaceful (for those of us who don't watch football) and reflective. To me New Year's is about new beginnings. It's about letting go of the past. It's about moving forward. It's about hope and promise. Even in tough times.
I like that. I think we can all use some hope and promise, especially in tough times.
We're back. I'm tired. Catching up on emails, and reading blogs, and uploading photos, and laundry, and chores, and getting the girls back into their sleep schedules, and all the garbage tasks that come with returning from even a short trip.
So I'll just give you a brief look at a couple of the very few photos I took. All of these are from our wanderings around downtown Raleigh: the museums, the State Capitol, etc.
Okay, I will just add one thing: my favorite part of the whole trip was watching the girls get excited about the NC Museum of Natural Sciences (pictured above). Owen was bouncing from exhibit to exhibit exclaiming over everything. Even Barrett (once we let her out of the stroller so she could walk) was saying "Look! Look!" every few minutes. Both of them were rendered nearly stuporous over the dinosaur exhibit, the highlight of which you can see through this window: a skeleton of an Acrocanthasaurus, a replica of a Brachiasaurus, and Pteranodon replicas flying above. Owen ran into the room and bounced around like a pinball. And when I turned around to see Barrett, I nearly burst with love to see her standing in the middle of the atrium, surrounded by people, her head thrown back, mouth agape, saying over and over "Wow!" My girls. Oh they make me so proud to know them.
Through the window of the NC State Capitol Building (I liked the bust. I think this might be one of the rooms that make up the Governor's office, but I'm not sure.)
NC State Capitol Building and surrounding park. I love these trees.
Really I didn't take too many photos. We were driving and then shopping most of Friday. I was too busy enjoying the kids' reactions at the museum. At the Halloween party (and the night before at my friend Cathie's) I wanted to talk with friends and interact with adults and so put the camera away for a while. In away, that was kind of nice to be able to do.
The garden is in: in a big way. The girls have been shucking corn (admittedly from our friends' garden) with Grandpa and breaking beans with Grandma. I'm cooking up the zucchini bread, committing squash larceny (where you leave squash in someone's open vehicle--not really, but I want to), eating tomato sandwiches. Ah, the bounty. We are blessed.
I will be away from the computer for a few days, going on a fun weekend with my girlfriends of 30 years. I'll tell you all about it when I return.
Have a great weekend!
