We stopped a few times on the way to do some sight seeing and get some letterboxes. Our first stop- Mayfield Dairy. Joan and Mandy had never been before. I knew we loved it, so we were excited to stop. Raileigh and I shared some delicious chocolate chip cookie dough. There were these cool giant corn on the cobs made form the yellow milk jugs outside the dairy. I tried to get Raileigh's picture with them, but she was scared of them and cried. Oh well.
We did a drive-thru lunch, and a box at the Cracker Barrell before stopping in Easley, SC. Here was a Jewish Cemetery. There was a letterbox placed there, but there was also a ton of history. It was an amazing place.
We made it to Asheville with no more stops and unloaded all our gear. And, I do mean ALL our gear! It's amazing how much stuff the 4 of us brought for just a few days! Three other ladies had arrived before us- Becky (Buttercup), Tracy (Isabeau), and Melanie (sweet and sassy). They were out on a hike already and, as it turns out, one on which the mileage was significantly more than what the clues said. So, the dark got the best of them. Mandy, Joan, Raileigh, and I headed out for some local Mexican food. All I can say is DELICIOUS!
After dinner, it was time to head back to the house. Let me tell you about this house we stayed in. It was in tiny little Montreat, NC, a little outside of Asheville. The house belonged to Tracy's pastor. He used it as a second home. He offered us the house free of charge- we just had to pay the $100 cleaning fee when we left. How nice was that!
Erica (Oread) arrived that night, as did Joan's daughter Rebekah (sweetdixie06) and we all stayed up late talking. Even after I went to bed, I couldn't sleep. Neither could Mandy, and I think we stayed up until around 3am talking!
The next morning we set out on a group hike. Mandy, Joan, Rebekah, Raileigh, and I rode together. We got to the trail head before the other group and went ahead and started hiking. We knew we'd be slower, so we figured they'd catch up. I carried Raileigh in a hiking backpack. Darren's usually the one who carries it, so this was my first time with it. The hike was listed as moderate, but I have my doubts on that one. The other group didn't catch up and we reached our destination- the ruins of Rattlesnake Lodge- home to a 5 box letterbox series. We searched for a long while before ever finding box #1. Eventually, we did find all five boxes, but it took over an hour. We had just started stamping in when the other group arrived. They had taken a wrong turn on the trail and hiked many miles out of the way. Finally, we headed down. 3 hours after I had strapped Raileigh on my back, I could take her off. I took this picture from the trailhead where we parked our car. There were several of these tunnel bridges along our journeys and they were really neat looking!
The other group headed off for a few drivebys and then went to the Little Foxes Farm. We opted for Riverside Cemetery. We were so glad we did! We ate lunch in the shelter of Mandy's van as it was a yucky rainy day. We spotted a beaver while we were eating! We found several great boxes in the cemetery, including one by Dixie and the Wolf Family. One of the highlights of the cemetery was the number of groundhogs we saw. I'd never seen a groundhog in the wild and it was really cool! They had tunnels they'd burrowed beneath the roads and we watched them run through them.
We actually spent quite a lot of time at this cemetery. By the time we were done, it was time to meet the other group for dinner. Ginger (Knit Wit) also came to meet us and Tboneic stopped by on his way to Nashville. We went to a local BBQ restaurant where they were having live music and clogging that night. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the gorgeous weather! I enjoyed their BBQ, but not even a fraction as much as Sticky Fingers. And, they served hushpuppies with their BBQ, which I thought was odd. To me, hushpuppies go with seafood. During dinner, Myra (karmakat) and Kathy (Maine Mom of 123 Family) arrived. Our group continued to grow!
After another late night (but not as late as the first), we geared up for another day of boxing. We started the day at a church with an old African Cemetery. We wanted to be done and gone before church, but we got caught by the pastor. He was a nice man and left after finding out what we were doing (looking at the old cemetery). We had breakfast at a little local bagel shop near Biltmore and saw a McDonald's with a grand piano inside. Next stop- Belle's Departure. This was my most favorite boxes we got the entire trip. It is a 3 part image that is a collaboration between Dixie and Kirbert. The stamps were fantastic and they were hidden at a park with a great view of where the event actually occurred. Raileigh and I played while the other 3 retrieved the boxes. She'd been doing a lot of sitting for the past few days, so she enjoyed getting to run around for a while.
Next, we headed to Malaprop's- a downtown coffee shop that's home to 2 boxes. Mandy got a coffee and said it was awful. Oh well- the stamps were good! We walked around a bit near the coffe shop and Raileigh made a new friend.
It was almost time to get packed for home, but first we got the 2 boxes that were in Montreat. There is a tiny, but very beautiful nature garden near the entrance and Becky had placed 2 boxes there on an earlier trip to Montreat with her family. It was a perfect ending to a memorable trip.
Of course, we had to make a few stops on the way home. One of those stops was Goats on the Roof- home to goats living on their roof and very bad boiled peanuts. I think it was Raileigh's 1st real experience with pumpkins and she wasn't a fan. (That has since changed- she loves the one at our house).
We also stopped by the big red apple, which was significantly smaller than I'd always thought it was. Oh well. It was still neat to see.
Just a short while later, I finally got to see my Darren! It was a fun trip, but there is nowhere I'd rather be than with him :)
Posts
What a full adventure! Sounds like a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had fun in NC!! :)
ReplyDelete-- Mama Wolf