Middle of Nowhere

The North Carolina mountains provided a welcome retreat this past weekend, a retreat from the media. Paul and I were picked up by my parents on Saturday morning and breezed up to Old Fort in about 4 hours, stopping by Wendy's and the grocery store on the way. Paul was passed out most of the time and ended up sleeping a bunch over the rest of the weekend, which was great to see :) We had the best weather we could have ever dreamed of!! I loved showing Paul around, it was so special since the mountains is where I had spent so much time growing up. Paul and I threw the frisbee, ventured down to the pond to watch the frogs scatter, braved the cold water with my dad in the swimming hole down the road, etc, all on the first day. My Uncle Van and Aunt Mel arrived with their 3 dogs and bird, then my other Uncle Joe and Aunt Kebbie arrived with Grant and Elizabeth. For dinner, we had a feast prepared by Mildred, what a meal! We had asked her to help us out with a couple of side dishes, but of course she went above and beyond the call of duty and made us about 7 different dishes. She also had the place clean and had added some decorations to the living room. I think she really takes pride in helping us with our place. That evening we built a bonfire outside and sat around it enjoying each other's company.

After sleeping 10+ hours, Paul and I finally got up on Sunday morning, him an hour after me (unheard of!). Joe, dad, me, Paul, and mom went on a hike to Pot's Cove. My dad and Joe took off their shirts and went swimming in a pool in the creek, crazy boys! That wouldn't be the last time as we went on another hike later in the afternoon to some waterfalls. I don't remember ever having seen this particular place before. It was a sheer piece of rock on a steep incline with water rapidly flowing down to a huge pool. My dad and Joe tied a rope to a stake and lowered themselves down to a tub formed in the rock by the water. I got some great pictures :) Later that afternoon, Paul and I went on a creek walk. My first step in the creek and I busted it, but other than that, it was a great time. We hiked all the way up past the wood shed. It was one of my favorite things I did all weekend because tramping through the creek made me feel like a kid again and I loved sharing that with Paul. I think he was impressed with my ruggedness :)

Both Elizabeth and Grant commented on how much they liked the mountain place and how much it meant to them. I was really impressed by that! I don't think I really came to appreciate it until a few years ago. I was so glad that Paul could come to see it and to meet some of my dad's family, as crazy as they are. I think he was highly entertained by us, he had a great time laughing at my dad and uncles dancing and singing on the porch at night. He had the chance to connect with my Uncle Van regarding music and I know he got to talk to Joe a good bit. Everyone was so impressed by him, just made me fall in love with him all over again. I hope we are able to come up many more times in the future! Maybe next time I won't get so many bug bites!!!