To mark the beginning of a new chapter around here, (Jackson is about to start KINDERGARTEN!) we decided to take a little trip to the mountains. Of course the main event was Jackson and Kate's first visit to Tweetsie Railroad, but we managed to pack a whole lot into our long weekend.
Sean took Friday off and we left bright and early which gave us all of the afternoon in Boone. On the way to Grandfather Mountain, we had lunch at Frontier Barbeque. Tricia recommended it and when we past right by it with rumbling tummies, we decided to check it out. After eating more than our fill of BBQ, brisket, mac & cheese and fried okra, we headed on over to Grandfather. I'm pretty sure Mildred here was disappointed that we didn't bring in our leftovers to share with her!
Of course, what Jackson does, Kate does. Sean thought Kate climbing this rock was a terrible idea. She does have a history of being a little careless clumsy.
She thought it was great idea and was happy to climb right to the top with her big brother!
Jackson still hates having his picture taken, but Kate is always ready and smiling for the camera. Such a pretty girl!
At the top of Grandfather Mountain, the temperature dropped and the wind was a whippin'. The storm clouds were heading towards us, but since we weren't planning to hang out up there, it made for a nice view of Mother Nature.
Kate was happy to cross the bridge with me. Jackson, eh, not so much. He and Sean finally made it across, but I don't think he ever took his eyes off the storm clouds.
Not to worry, we were inside the Top Shop when it started raining and rain is all we saw or heard.
We spent all of Saturday at Tweetsie Railroad and the kids had a blast! We got there bright and early and were on the first train ride of the day. Maybe not our best move. The kids did fine, but I think they would've liked it more if they would've had a little time to get used to the cowboys and their antics. Jackson just seemed a little timid - not really sure about the whole gun fight thing.
Seeing the dynamite blow the walls off the outhouse was definitely Jackson's favorite part!
Life is good.
I do hope this picture is not foreshadowing...
Tweetsie was hosting the K9's in Flight - some pretty talented, frisbee catching dogs. They were cool to watch, but it was hot and Kate doesn't do 'sit and watch on bleachers', so I was glad it was a pretty quick show.
We decided to take a lunch break away from the park so we could still salvage a nap for Kate. It worked out pretty well and we were back at Tweetsie by 3. The afternoon was the first time we made it up the top of the mountain. As you can see, Kate loved the chair lifts!
The petting zoo was probably my favorite part of the day. There were tons and tons of goats - even a few smaller ones walking around with us. Jackson loved feeding them! We had to keep reminding him to save some of his food for the other animals.
It took Kate a little while to get the hang of feeding them. She went for more of the tease method, which I was afraid would result in a little nip.
She finally figured it out though, once we got to the goats that didn't have to try and fit through the fence to get to her.
This one especially liked her!
And when she ran out of food inside the cone, she just let him eat the cone!
This llama just looks sad. I mean, he actually looks pretty happy, but I think that may be because llamas don't have mirrors. He could really use a good bath and brush. Poor guy. I admire his confidence though!
The pot bellied pigs gave the crowd quite a show. Okay, maybe it was just one especially happy pig that had his eye on a lady. And I did not want to have to answer any questions, so we moved on. (Of course, Sean and I giggled like teenagers though.)
The rest of our afternoon was spent on the rides. They both had a blast and fortunately the lines were fairly short!
This is a real ferris wheel - a big one!
The view from the top...
Can you find Sean and Kate?
After packing up on Sunday morning, we stopped by Foggy Mountain Gem Mine for a little treasure hunt!
Then on our way out of town, we attempted to see one of the Linville Falls, but I read the directions wrong and we ended up at one of the longer trails to the falls. We stopped by the information center to look around and the folks there gave us directions to Linville Falls. They also told us that we were already about halfway up the mountain to Wiseman's View which overlooks the Linville Gorge. Since Kate was already on the verge of falling asleep, we decided to skip the waterfall and instead took the 3.5 mile drive up the gravel road to the top of the mountain. It ended up being perfect! We parked, walked a short ways along a paved trail that let right out to the overlook. It was a beautiful sight! I can only imagine how gorgeous it is in the fall!
Jackson was our photographer for this shot and he loved it! All he wanted to do was take pictures after this!
{photography by Jackson}
{photography by Jackson}
He was quite proud of this shot. He said, 'Mommy, I just took a picture of the clouds!' It is a pretty shot with the mountains in the distance. :-)
{photography by Jackson}
We took the parkway back to 421 and it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon ride. Quiet too! Both kids were fast asleep before we even made it down the mountain from Wiseman's View!