Ramblings

10.19.

The Great Smokey Mountains ( Part 2 )

The second day of our trip was to be Grandfather Mountain and Linville Canverns.

Let me just give you my backstory on Grandfather Mountain.

The first time I ever went, was when I was a little girl. We had this BIG Ford Sherrod Conversion Van. The ones that are so big, they have a built in seat in the back that has a fold down sleeping bed and bulky built in floor tv.

We are talking a BIG VAN here PEOPLE! A BUS!

So, you could imagine my horror when I realized that we would be going up “hairpin” curves with no guardrails on any sides, allowing you to drop of the edge of the earth if you make a mistake. Did I mention there was a thick fog that accompanied our trip up the mountain?

Fastforward ten years………..

MORE FOG! Now my new husband and I decided to take a trip to the mountains and visit Grandfather Mountain again. I figured, “Heck! I was a kid before! Things always seem like a bigger deal when you are a kid!”

NOPE!

This time was worse. I had this old Honda Prelude that took very wide turns and to beat all was A STICK SHIFT! Ahhhhhhhh!

We literally had to do three point turns going up and down this thing. My new husband and I almost got a divorce right there on that mountain when he found it hysterical to scare me on the way down.

You can probably imagine my apprehensive state when he informed me that he wanted to go up again this time on our trip and take our kids. I kept trying to suggest other things that might be better to do instead. BUT, when he informed me that he would be going up that STINKIN Mountain with or without me, I caved. I decided that big ole thing wasn’t going to lick me!

I just figured I would grit my teeth and somehow get through it.

It really is a beautiful sight. This time, it turns out, wasn’t nearly as bad.

When you enter the gate, they give you (with your admission price) a cd that will narrarate the entire journey up the mountain and give you historical facts about it as well. We decided that we would stop along the way and get out at the pull over areas and walk around a bit.

This really helped me!

The views through the trees are nothing short of amazing.

Look how small the kids look against this huge rock! I couldn’t even get the whole thing in the picture.

Needless to say . . . . . . . . .

This shot was taken at the top of the mountain.

Here is a shot of the “hairpin curves” at the top. They are only at the top. Again, it wasn’t nearly as bad for me this time as it was in the past. However, the hill is so steep that they tell you to gear down on your way down the mountain.

It was 38 degrees at the top. They have a bridge at the top that they call The Mile High Swinging Bridge. The reason you might ask? Yes, it swings. It does this to account for the wind. I’m not talking as much as a playground, but it definitely moves while you are there. Sometimes, it can even sound like a harmonica playing. Thank goodness the wind wasn’t blowing enough that day to let us hear any music!

YUP! That is how high we were when we were standing on the bridge. Forgot to mention that the name of the bridge is also because it is a mile long drop to the ground beneath you.

Across the other side were rocky cliffs you could walk across. I stayed my toosh right there on the landing. My husband, however, lost his mind momentarily and decided to carry each one of our children across. I managed to get a snap shot of him holding Em. For the others, I could hardly breathe, from fright hoping neither of them slipped.

Our next stop was Linville Canverns, which was only a few more minutes down the road. You can go inside the mountain and see what it looks like.

This was really cool. I did this as well when I was a kid, but I could only remember a little.

They even have trout that swim into the caves.

It definitely is not for someone who has the least bit of a problem with claustrophobia.

These were some of the other lovely occupants in the caverns.

It truely was magnificant!

One thing I noticed . . . . . even dried up corn stalks look better with a mountain for a backdrop.

Our trip to the Mountains, regardless of my fear of the heights thing, was really GREAT! It was just like I had imagined it would be.

The best part was being able to look at my kids and see the same excitement in their eyes that I had when I was their age. It kind of made me feel like a kid again being able to experience it all over again with them.

If you can do it, go to the mountains. It will be a wonderful experience for you and the whole family!

HAPPY FALL!!!

– Esther

Tags: Claustrophobia, Ford Sherrod Conversion Van, Grandfather Mountain, Hairpin Curves, Honda Prelude, Linville Canverns, Rock, Rocky Cliffs, Swinging Bridge, The Mile High Bridge, Thick Fog, Trout

10.18.

The Great Smokey Mountains ! ! ! (Part 1)

October is THE month to take a trip and explore some of the South’s most beautiful scenery.

SO!

That is exactly what my family and I did this passed weekend.

When I was a child, my family went to places like Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC and Grandfather Mountain, in Linville. We did this for two reasons. One, they happen to be in North Carolina where I am from. Two, the trees are so beautiful this time of the year with their ever changing colors and it’s crisp Fall air. I wanted to let my kid’s experience this too.

Since, they have never been to the Mountains before, I knew they were going to have a blast!

We couldn’t have picked a better weekend to go. It was almost as if the leaves were literally changing color right in front of our eyes. NO KIDDING!

Our first stop was Tweetsie Railroad. It is the best place to take your kids! It has everything from Cowboys to Indians……..

to even TRAINS! (Hence, Tweetsie Railroad).

The Cowboys put on a little skit for you and you go for a train ride. Along the way, the train stops a few times……

and you even get ambushed by Indians! Oh my! This guys was great, because bless his heart! He held that pose for me for a few minutes because he could see I was trying to take his picture! Haha! I guess he felt sorry for the lady with the bulky camera and all her settings. (Note to self: Sometimes, you just need to keep it on auto!)

Let me just tell you, all the landscaping was beautiful too. I need to hire the same landscaper.

I honestly don’t know what is wrong with me. Ever since I started to have children, I have become afraid of my own shadow. I remember riding on these ski lifts when I was a kid and purposely trying to shake them and scare the bajeezus out of my mom. Now, I have become my mom. I couldn’t even breathe without thinking that one or all of us were going to fall out of those things! Oh well, there goes ever trying to attempt to ski on a mountain.

At the top of the ski lift, they had more fun things to do. They had a little petting zoo with goats, white deer, and even llamas.

Not sure if “Oscar” was trying to kiss me or spit on me! He was THAT close. No zoom lens here!

I know they say you aren’t suppose to show people pictures of your home because of Paparazzi and all, but I thought I would share a picture of my “home in the mountains”.

AND while I was at it, I thought I would share a second picture of my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th homes as well.

We had such a great time at Tweetsie!

While we were there, we got to. . . . . . . . . . . .

Let our 3 year old son play with firearms . . . . . . . . .

Lock our children up . . . . . . . . . .

And even embarrass my husband. *Don’t ask me what the girls are doing???

So I would say we had a fantabulous time!

Check out part 2 tomorrow. (Grandfather Mountain) : )

– Esther

Tags: Blowing Rock, Changing Color, Children, Cowboys, Fall, Firearms, Goats, Grandfather Mountain, Indians, Landscaping, Leaves, Linville, Llamas, Mountains, NC, North Carolina, October, Petting Zoo, Scenery, Ski Lift, South, Trains, Trees, Tweetsie Railroad, White Deer

10.10.

Build your Own Pasta

My kids love it when I do “Build Your Own Pasta Night”.

It allows them to put exactly what they want in their bowl almost like being at a Buffet. Except, I don’t own that much food.

You can use absolutely anything you want. Everyone has different tastes.

I just happened to use what I had on hand.

I used some olives, capers, feta, roasted tomatoes (not pictured), and fresh basil (also not pictured).

For the roasted tomatoes, I just took some grape tomatoes, drizzled a little extra virgin olive oil over them, and a little salt and pepper. Then I roasted them at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to burst.

Afterwards, I sprinkled fresh chopped basil over them.

These things are so yummy. When you roast them, they become sweet and tangy and they start to produce their own juice. So, instead of doing a tomato sauce, I decided to just use these in place of it.

I chopped up extra fresh basil to sprinkle over top at the end if anyone wanted to.

A drizzle of olive oil and ………

a splash of lemon juice is always a great option when you are trying to keep it lighter instead of the typical heavy feeling pasta can take on sometimes.

That’s exactly what I did. : )

AND it was soooooooo good.

It’s a great chance to get creative and try all kinds of different toppings. This would be great for a Get Together also! Especially if you have picky eaters.

Enjoy!

Tags: Buffet, Build Your Own Pasta, Feta, Fresh Basil, Get Togethers, Lemon Juice, Lemons, Olive Oil, Olives, Pepper, Picky Eaters, Recipe, Roasted Tomatoes, Salt, Tangy, Tomato Sauce