Mountain Day Trip

Friday, October 14th, Kelly and I went to the mountains. Normally, we go west to Winston, north to Virginia, and then get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and head south to Boone. This time we went straight to Boone (west on 421), hoping to able to get into Dan'l Boone Inn Restaurant earlier and easier and also hoping that we would get to Northwest Trading Post before they ran out of pumpkin bread. Neither worked out. :-/

 

I had hoped to get up at 6:00 and be on the road by 8:00, but I had trouble sleeping and didn't get up until a few minutes after 8:00 and left closer to 10:00. Not sure if it would've actually made a difference or not. Maybe it still would've been difficult to get into the restaurant (though we would've had more time to spare to wait in line) and maybe Northwest Trading Post didn't have pumpkin bread that day.

 

Anyway, when we got to Boone close to noon, we went to Shoppes on the Parkway in Blowing Rock to get cherry cordials from Kilwin's. If we'd had more time, I might have spent a little more time at the shops, but I was ready to get on the Parkway.

 

On the way back into Boone, we saw a bear on the side of the road. It wanted to cross, so I stopped to let it, but cars were coming so it turned back towards the trees. In all the years we've been going to the mountains we've never seen a bear. Well, except for the ones on Grandfather Mountain. The bear was one of the highlights of our trip.

Since Dan'l Boone Inn Restaurant had too long of a line and nowhere left to park, we got on the Parkway and headed north. It was a beautiful day - temperatures around 60° and hardly a cloud in the sky. I would've preferred if it were a little warmer, but the sun helped.

We would've taken our time a little more than we did if we had gotten an earlier start and/or if I'd slept better the night before. I was hoping to get home before it got dark (I tend to fall asleep at the wheel when it's dark) and thankfully we did.

A bridge is being replaced somewhere on the Parkway and so there was a detour, causing us to miss some overlooks. I didn't like that, but the back country was pretty.

Here are some of the pictures from our trip:

Mt. Jefferson.

 

Near the Mt. Jefferson overlook. The peak on the left, in the distance, that kind of lines up with the gate, is Grandfather Mountain.

Basin Cove overlook.

 

 

At Alligator Back overlook.

 

 

Alligator Back overlook.

 

 

Air Bellows overlook.

 

Air Bellows overlook.

 

 

Stone Mountain overlook.

 

 

Other than a pack of nabs and water for me and peanut M & Ms and a peach Nehi for Kelly that we got at Northwest Trading Post, we didn't eat anything until we got home that evening. We had leftover lasagna.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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New Truck, Redbud Gone, and a Lovely Saturday

Charlie bought a truck from work a couple months ago - a red F150. 2013, I think. They sold it to him for $1500 and he's making payments. We're not Ford people, so his plan is to fix it up, sell it, and use the money towards a different truck. I told him he could just remove the Ford emblems and replace the motor with a Chevy motor. lol 

For now, he's only driving the truck on the weekends. He drives it to work on Monday, keeps it there all week, drives a company truck during the week (they pay for gas), and then drives it home on Friday.

I'll post a picture in the next entry if I remember to take a picture of it.

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Friday, September 30th, tropical storm Ian (or was it a tropical depression by then?) came through. We had a lot of large sticks in our yard, but the worst damage was the loss of our redbud tree. I had suspected it was diseased for a couple years because not all of the branches bloomed in the spring. When it blew over, the roots weren't connected to the tree. I wonder if we could've just pushed it over ourselves. :-/

 

 

 

 

It makes me kind of sad. I loved that tree. We plan on planting a new one in the spring.

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This past Saturday, Kelly and I went to the fall festival at Bur-Mil Park. It started off pretty chilly (mid to upper 50s), but warmed up a little into the 60s. There weren't a lot of activities, so we didn't stay long. We ate some funnel cake, walked around a bit, rode the hayride, and then left.

 

Bur-Mil isn't far from the Old Mill of Guilford (which, surprisingly, I had never been to even though I've lived in or near Greensboro for the better part of 31 years), so we went there next. I took some pictures and we browsed the shop. I couldn't decide on anything I really wanted, but I also didn't want to leave empty-handed, so Kelly got some pumpkin spice scented wax for her wax burner.

 

 

 

 

After leaving the mill, we went to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and Tannenbaum Park, which we've been to a few times. We walked around a bit and I took some pictures, including a few of a hawk.

 

Statue of General Nathanael Greene at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

 

We then went to Chick-fil-A to eat and then to the church to vacuum.

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Kelly and I are hoping to go to the mountains this Friday. Charlie will try to get the day off so he can go with us.

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Purchases since my last entry:

Banana Republic dress. Purchased from someone on eBay. (This is their photo.) I paid $33.57 after shipping and tax.

 

L.L. Bean dress. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. (This is their photo.) I paid $26.33 after shipping and tax.

 

 

Sonoma dress. Purchased from ThredUp. (This is their photo.) I paid $29.87 after shipping and tax.

 

 

 

Dream Pairs heels. Purchased from Amazon. (This is their photo.) I think I paid less than $40 after tax. I think shipping was free.

 

Keds. Purchased from DSW. (This is their photo.) I bought these at the store and paid close to $60 after taxes.

 

 

Blowfish Malibu shoes. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. (These are their photos.) I paid $24.55 after shipping and tax.

 

 

The reason for buying the Keds and Blowfish shoes is I needed shoes for when it's too cool for sandals, but not cool enough for boots. (Comfortable flats are almost impossible to find.) Plus, I can wear an insert for the plantar fasciitis in my left foot. I wore the Keds to the places Kelly and I went to this past Saturday. My foot still hurt, but not as bad. My right foot also usually hurts after awhile, but didn't hurt at all this past Saturday.

 

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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