8-11 to 8-17, NC/TN/VA

Well, it was hard to leave the beach that day and drive away from our friends, but it had to be done.  Our time at the beach was up and we had reservations and sights to see for the second part of our trip.  The first afternoon we covered a lot of miles, from Wilmington to Asheville, NC.  Thank goodness the hotel had a pool....the 'boys' swam and I read by the pool.  =)  To each his...her... own, right?!

The agenda for this day was to see the Biltmore.  I really didn't know anything about it until the tour.  This ginormous mansion sits on an 8,000 acre estate and was home to the Vanderbilt's.  It was INSANE.  The amount of wealth these people had is beyond comprehension.  It's an extravagant place today...muchless the late 1800s.  Amazing.  I wish I could have taken photos in the house, but no such luck.  We took a "headphone tour" through the house (Nikolas was SO good) and wandered the estate afterwards (in the 3 million degree heat).   The downside of all of this is that it cost us a small fortune just to buy tickets.....there just seems to be something fundamentally wrong with that......the family of the richest family (back in the day) charging everyday people an outrageous ticket price just to see it.  Hmmm.....I sure hope all that money really is used to keep the place running.  There sure didn't seem to be a lack of interest.  The place was packed!

It's disgusting how commercialized this place is.  This old carriage house adjacent to the 'house' is now filled with shops, cafes and a restaurant.

This is the Biltmore.  Crazy, huh?

The view from ONE of the gardens.

This beautiful, arbored walkway was about 20 degrees cooler than everywhere else.

Another view from another garden....

The gardens were beautiful.

So, yes,  I loved seeing the Biltmore (who wouldn't?).   However, that doesn't mean I approve of how commercialized it is and how costly it was to see it.  But, that's just my two cents!

After leaving Asheville, NC, the next day, we headed to Cherokee, NC, a few hours away.

Poor Nikolas.  We've worn the poor boy out!

This next stop was my choosing.  Although we always love to see animals, it was difficult to see them under these conditions.  This is a grizzly begging for food.  I won't get into all of the reasons why I didn't care for this place, but I will share the photos of these amazing animals.

On to greener pastures (as I'm sure the bears would have appreciated).  Since I have Cherokee in my lineage, we wanted to learn more about the culture and the people.   We next went to a (replica) Cherokee village.  We were given a tour and shown different aspects of the Cherokee life circa the 1850s (I believe).  It was very interesting to learn about their tribe, their clans, their houses, their food supply and how the women were basically in charge.

He's so excited about this little bow.....

We left Cherokee and drove through the Great Smoky Mountains.  I've heard Sven tell me how beautiful they are and so we finally had the chance to see them together.  I must say they were pretty (nothing compares to the Rockies, though!!).

I've been to Memphis and western TN several times, but never to the eastern part of the state.  I still can't believe how far we are from Montana!!

Slowly making our way back to Maryland, we came across the hometown of Andrew Johnson- Greeneville, TN.  It was a neat, free (a nice reprieve after all of our other vacation expenditures!) tour of his homes and workshop.  It was the most quaint little town I think I'd ever seen...it was straight out of a country song.

Can we just tell our realtor that "a setting like this would do just fine"?!?!

We've accumulated some serious laundry on this trip.  Thank goodness I don't have to wash it like this when we get home!

Andrew Johnson's  burial site on a hill above the town.

And so ends our fantastic vacation.  It was a great break away from the rat-race that is Maryland.  It was nice to see the slower side of life and people who still greet each other on the street.  I'm glad we got to see so much of the mid-Atlantic region before leaving the east coast.  Who knows what next summer's vacation will hold!

8-6 to 8-11, Kure Beach NC

I was going to make this one giant blog entry including all 8 days of our vacation.  As I started going through the photos, I decided it was just way too much info for one entry.  So, here goes part one of our fantastic week of vacation at Kure Beach, NC (near Wilmington).   It all started a few months ago when my dear friend Delisa invited us to spend 5 days at the beach with them.  Are you kidding??  Heck ya!!  We're all lost souls transplanted from the west coast to the east coast, so what better opportunity to make the most of it than to meet for a week at the beach together, right?!  RIGHT.  We had an EXCELLENT time.  We lounged, we sunned, we ate, we boogie-boarded, we ate, we slept, we ate....well, you get the idea.  It really was a fantastic week.  Here are some of our highlights:

Aunt Patti and Uncle Allen were kind enough to let us spend the night at their house in Norfolk on our way down to NC.  We fondly call their house:  Club Henry.  It's a great getaway within a getaway.  They made us feel so welcome and boy did they feed us well (can you beat blueberry pancakes made out of blueberries freshly picked from the garden?!).  And as you can see below, they have an awesome pool in their yard...and a Koi pond.....it's heaven to Nikolas.  After a long drive from Baltimore to Norfolk, the boys thoroughly enjoyed their swim.

The hostess with the mostess....Aunt Patti.

Is that our boy doing a hand-stand in the water?!  Can you see how he outgrew everything in his closet?!

Nikolas loves to feed the fish in the Koi pond.

How did I not get a picture of Patti and Allan together until we were getting ready to pull out of the driveway?!

Saturday was not the best start to our fantastic vacation.  Who knew traffic to the beaches of the Outer Banks would be gridlocked for hours?!  (Probably everyone who's from this area, but we had no idea what we were in for....)  Honestly, we didn't want to go TO the beaches like everyone else, we simply wanted to make a detour through Kitty Hawk to see where the Wright Brothers first flew.  We did, we saw, and we got back in the car and drove for another 8 hours....really.....it was a REALLY long day......

Sunday...a new day!  We finally arrived at our beach house late Saturday night.  A good night's sleep and we were ready to start our day with a new perspective.  What a beautiful one, right?  Nikolas got his wish of finally getting to go fishing.  Not much biting going on except this sting ray (don't be fooled..the other thing is a block of wood).  

We were told by a veteran beach goer that there were fossilized shark teeth to be found on the local beaches.  We then spent the next 5 days with our heads glued to the sand everywhere we walked (is that why my neck hurts so bad?!).  The size of the tooth in Nikolas' right hand is about average for what we collected, but can you BELIEVE the giant one he found (in his other hand)?!  It was unreal!!!  Thank goodness he only found the tooth and not the shark that used to be attached to it!!

Nikolas and Nathan.  Those two are just plain adorable together!!

Hmm....adorable?  I don't know.  Me and Delisa.  Hot mommas or just stinkin'-hot mommas?!  =)

Our boy LOVES the beach....particularly where the ocean meets the sand (wait....isn't that a Counting Crows song???......)

Nikolas, Sven and Chris....boogie-board ready.

Ride it all the way in, Nikolas!

Do you think he's having a good time?!

Too cute......

One of the afternoons, Sven, Nikolas and I headed to a different beach up the road (the name escapes me now).   I just love these beach settings!  This area really felt like we were back in Pensacola.  I was so surprised how much it reminded me of Perdido Key.

The reason we drove to a different location was to meet up with our good friend Malacie.  She and her family are good friends of our from Pensacola (we used to be 'neighbors').  They live in Wilmington now and it was a great coincidence that we vacationed so close to where they live.  Unfortunately, Malacie had just broken her arm.   Poor thing!!  

It's fun to capture images of Nikolas reading to Nathan as both boys grow.  

And Nathan thinks it's fun to swipe his mom's hat.  =)

Nathan is a great sharer and Nikolas is a good sport.

After hours of fishing on the beach, this was the big catch....one of the boys may be a tad more excited than the other one.  =)

And no trip to the beach is complete without being buried in the sand.....

......or feeding the seagulls.

What a good looking family!

SIGH.  Sven and I aren't too fond of this photo.  But, it is what it is!

And sadly, it was time to leave.  It wasn't a mansion on the beach (more like a shack) and we had our share of laughs at its expense.  However, the memories we take home with us are priceless-- good times with cherished friends never to be forgotten.  Thanks you guys!!!