How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Our trip to the mountains was fun and refreshing but there were a few things about the visit that took some adjusting. The relatives’ house we stayed at is at an elevation of 4,200 feet. After living at sea level for the past 13 years, the change in elevation took some getting used to. With my asthma I got winded going up a flight of stairs the first couple of days. I also felt a little claustrophobic with the looming oak, maple, and hemlock trees. Only in certain spots could I look up and see blue sky. Everywhere else the view was canopied. The surroundings were beautiful but different than what I've experienced the decade or so. It was odd to look out a second story window and see the branches of a gigantic rhododendron brushing against the glass. The hardest thing that G-Man had to endure was the roads. All the steep hills, curves, bends, and swerves made the kid a little green at times.

Some of my favorite moments? Catching fireflies, wading in a river, and renewing my love affair with Sweet Tea. Oh! I also tried fly fishing for the first time and I actually caught an itty bitty brook trout! But the best part by far??? Sleeping with the windows open! Heaven!

Onto the slideshow!



Dry Falls, Cullasaja River, Highlands, NC



I attempted to acheive the "soft water" look with the falls but I didn't quite get the exposure right.



View down the gorge from the falls.





G-Man standing behind the falls. I wanted to take a photo from behind the falls but my camera would have gotten soaked.



We went gem mining! We sifted through buckets of silt from the Cullasaja River at a sluice. We found tiny pieces of amethysts, garnets, sapphires, smokey quartz, clear topaz, citrine, rubies, moonstone, aquamarine, amazonite, and quartz. In the above photo on the left is a raw garnet. On the right is a garnet that we had cut, polished and set.



While sitting on the deck at the house, the main entertainment was the hummingbird activity. These birds are amazing to watch and very hard to capture on film. I finally put my camera down and just watched. Sometimes 6 or 7 birds would jockey for a spot at the feeder.







We really missed Molly. Luckily, Nigel was willing to share his love with us.



Another view of the mysterious-looking Leatherleaf Mahonia.



We took the boys to Sliding Rock in Cashiers, NC. It's an organic waterslide. All natural fun!







My first catch with a fly rod! This little guy was quickly released. We fished the Cullasaja River and waded about a 1/2 mile upstream. My Sweetie and Mr. A wore waders. G-Man and I toughed it out with our rolled up shorts. The water temp was in the 50s! Mr. A was the only one who came out dry. I went up to my waist. My Sweetie slipped and fell trying to unhook my line on a snag and water got into his waders. But G-Man won the prize. He slipped off a boulder into a pool face first.



We ate...



...and we took photos!

Photos of the Biltmore Estate coming soon!