Blowing Rock

After we left Grandfather Mountain we went to a little town called Blowing Rock.  First, we ate at a little pub right next to an ice cream shop. (The air was filled with the smell of waffle cones).

 Then, we enjoyed looking at the beautiful flowers.

There were several cute shops filled with homemade items like jewelry or pottery. One that caught my eye was the candle shop. There was a women showing how they were made and it was pretty interesting.

Here are a couple of examples of what they might look like when they are finished.

 Pretty funky huh?

 It was such a neat little town and a nice way to end our day!

Grandfather Mountain

North Carolina is BEAUTIFUL! At least the parts that I have seen. My sister lives in Hickory NC and her house is surrounded by mountains and trees as well as all manner of wildlife. One morning Melissa took us to Grandfather Mountain to spend some time outside and enjoy the gorgeous view.

At one point on the mountain there is a wildlife reserve. It has eagles, otters, bears, lions, and deer.

This is the "mile high" bridge

Such an awesome view!

Oh and just a side note..."Forrest Gump" was filled here. Tom Hanks was filmed running up one of the steep curvy hills. They even places a little sign letting people know. Kind of fun :)

Called to duty

Just a few days before I arrived in North Carolina, my brother-in-law Ted, was informed that he was being called to active duty in the Coast Guard. He was being sent to Louisiana to help with the oil clean up. Unfortunately, that meant that we weren't going to be able to do some of the fun stuff he had planned, BUT the night before he left he took us out to dinner.

Blaine, Ted, Melissa, and Collin

My wonderful mom and dad

My buddy

Thank you Ted. Thank you for dinner and for all of your hard work!

North Carolina

After I left Tennessee I didn't go straight home. Instead, my parents drove Morgan and me to see my sister, Melissa, and her family in North Carolina. It was the first time Morgan got to meet her cousins Blaine and Collin.

Peek-A-Boo!

As you can see Morgan warmed up to them pretty quickly. It was sweet to see those boys with her. They kept saying "She is soooo cute!" I have to say, I agree :)

Group Shots

I heart my family!

fun with grandpa

One morning, at my sister's house, I went downstairs to discover my father jumping on the trampoline with my three year old nephew, Adam. So...I grabbed my camera and ran outside. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't really turn out that great. I still have a lot to learn about all the settings on my camera.

What an introduction

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a best friend that lives in Nashville. After we were finished at the zoo, Elizabeth came and picked Morgan and me up (in the pouring rain).

She brought us back to her cute house where Morgan and I got some dry clothes. The great thing about friends you known since you were 10 is that you don't really have to entertain them. I was just happy to see Elizabeth and her husband Lee and enjoy their company. We had a great time eating Chinese food and watching TV.

Unfortunately, what I was dreading happened. Morgan threw up again. At their house! I kept apologizing over and over again. They were trying to tell me not to worry about it, but I couldn't help feeling sad that this was the first time they met my daughter and she was totally sick. I made a call to Morgan's doctor for a little advice and she told me to give her a little bit of children's Benadryl. So that's what I did and it seemed to help.

I asked Elizabeth to bring me to a restaurant that I couldn't find in California and she brought me to the Calypso Cafe. Yummy Carribean food. We started off with these awesome black bean and rice nachos.

Then I had a grilled chicken, mandarin orange and almond salad. It came with corn muffins with coconut on top.

These last three pictures make me smile. They are our attempts at taking a picture of ourselves.

Elizabeth and Lee thanks again for letting us come crash with you! It was great to see you. Hopefully, next time you see us everyone will be in good heath :) Miss you already!