Tuesday, October 31
Halloween this year was different than we have grown accustom to. Over the past 5 years we have developed a tradition with the Olson's in Fargo, ND. The girls and the Olson boys would gather candy until it was too cold to visit another house and then they would play together the rest of the evening. During play time Kristi and I would sip warm coco's while Reese drank whiskey;-)
This year I sat on the porch of my house in shorts passing out candy while Kristi and the girls toured the neighborhood with over a dozen kids. One tradition we were able to continue was having the kids costumes made for them by thier Nana Pam. The girls love this and look forward to it every year. This year Nora was a Red Fox, Hanna was Little Red Riding Hood and Sam was Superman.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Haunted Mordecai
Saturday, October 28
The Mordecai house was built in 1785 and is located near downtown Raleigh. The house is allegedly haunted. The girls thought it would be cool to see a haunted house so we all went down for the evening in costume.
Unfortunately the tour of the house itself was sold out. This was awful planning on behalf of the event coordinator. We were able to partake in some activities to lessen the disappointment for the girls. They were able to color trick or treat bags they could keep. They also spun string into rope to make garlic necklaces. Hanna took her necklace off when we got home because the smell was making her sick.
The Mordecai house was built in 1785 and is located near downtown Raleigh. The house is allegedly haunted. The girls thought it would be cool to see a haunted house so we all went down for the evening in costume.
Unfortunately the tour of the house itself was sold out. This was awful planning on behalf of the event coordinator. We were able to partake in some activities to lessen the disappointment for the girls. They were able to color trick or treat bags they could keep. They also spun string into rope to make garlic necklaces. Hanna took her necklace off when we got home because the smell was making her sick.
Friday, October 27, 2006
High School Football
Friday, October 27
After Hanna attended a cheer leading clinic, she was invited to perform at halftime of the high school football game. Although the evening of the game was drizzling and the Wakefield Wolverines lost to the Broughton Capitals 17-14, Hanna had a blast and was smiling from ear to ear.
After Hanna attended a cheer leading clinic, she was invited to perform at halftime of the high school football game. Although the evening of the game was drizzling and the Wakefield Wolverines lost to the Broughton Capitals 17-14, Hanna had a blast and was smiling from ear to ear.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Blue Ridge Parkway
Monday, October 2
The morning after our visit to the Biltmore Estate we packed up our vehicle and headed toward Grandfather Mountain. We were approximately 90 miles away from our destination and our path was to be the famous Blue Ridge Parkway. With the wonderful experience we had the day before I was not expecting to be as impressed on day two of our adventure. I am happy to admit I was wrong. For those of you that are not familiar with the Blue Ridge Parkway, it was built right after the great depression in an effort to help generate jobs. The parkway is over 400 miles long and it was the first of its kind. It connects the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.
Our specific path that day was from Mile Post 394 - 290. The parkway is a windy road and the maximum recommended speed is 45 m.p.h. in designated areas. On average we drove 35 m.p.h. There are numerous scenic overlooks you can pull off the main road and park at. These are incredible but they add time to your journey.
There were a few key stops we made that are worth mentioning. The first one was Mount Mitchell. Just before the peak there is a restaurant that has a fantastic overlook where we had lunch. Kristi kicked two biker locals out of their window table so we could have the best seat in the house. After lunch we drove to the peak but could not actually get to the official peak site because it was closed. The second stop was Little Switzerland. We stopped here to look at the shops and decided it would be better to move on but agreed next time through we would visit longer.
The third stop was the Linville Caverns. This was a stop we had planned on and ended up being a true test of my ability to manage my claustrophobia. Our tour guide for the caverns had a dry sense of humor and probably was going to play dungeons & Dragons that evening (likely lets his buddies into the caverns after hours for real gaming effect). The tour (consisting of 12 people) takes you back into the caverns 600 feet, the walkway is narrow and the clearance is less than 5 feet in places. There is one part of the tour when you walk into a section so narrow you have to walk sideways in a single file. This section ends in a room where several people can stand while the others are spread out along this sliver of a catwalk shoulder to shoulder. Once everyone has stopped, the tour guide shares with us we are standing over a bottomless cavern, "...we have used sonar and can verify it descends at least 250 feet but when we brought divers in they could only go to 50 feet before risking being trapped...". Next he asks me to reach into a cove area and flip a light switch on. Once I do this the tour guide continues, "...if you look below your feet, you will see you are standing on a small man made bridge that is suspended over the bottomless cavern...". When I looked down to view this, the only thing that prevented me from hauling out of there like the Hulk was that I had fortunately been last in line (first out of this Indiana Jones death trap of doom) and physically next to the tour guide. We learned on the way through the remainder of the tour that during the Civil War, deserted soldiers hid in these caverns for up to a year. The last part of this tour was a demonstration of "pure darkness". Apparently when there is no light present your eyes can not focus on anything to adjust to the darkness and if you are exposed to this for more than six months you will go blind. But don't worry about that because after just two weeks you go crazy. Our tour guide positioned everyone to hold the hands of their tour mates and turned out all the lights to expose us to this. While we were in "pure darkness" he explained how people used to enter these caverns with a lantern or flash light and after exploring for hours they would drop their lantern into the water or lose their flash light and be trapped in total darkness with no way out. After he joked about letting us try to find our way out, he turned the lights back on and we exited the caverns.
Our last pass through worth noting was the Lin Cove Viaduct. It is a short piece of the road but what makes it special is that it is basically a long stretch of suspended bridge which was built alongside the mountain.
The morning after our visit to the Biltmore Estate we packed up our vehicle and headed toward Grandfather Mountain. We were approximately 90 miles away from our destination and our path was to be the famous Blue Ridge Parkway. With the wonderful experience we had the day before I was not expecting to be as impressed on day two of our adventure. I am happy to admit I was wrong. For those of you that are not familiar with the Blue Ridge Parkway, it was built right after the great depression in an effort to help generate jobs. The parkway is over 400 miles long and it was the first of its kind. It connects the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.
Our specific path that day was from Mile Post 394 - 290. The parkway is a windy road and the maximum recommended speed is 45 m.p.h. in designated areas. On average we drove 35 m.p.h. There are numerous scenic overlooks you can pull off the main road and park at. These are incredible but they add time to your journey.
There were a few key stops we made that are worth mentioning. The first one was Mount Mitchell. Just before the peak there is a restaurant that has a fantastic overlook where we had lunch. Kristi kicked two biker locals out of their window table so we could have the best seat in the house. After lunch we drove to the peak but could not actually get to the official peak site because it was closed. The second stop was Little Switzerland. We stopped here to look at the shops and decided it would be better to move on but agreed next time through we would visit longer.
The third stop was the Linville Caverns. This was a stop we had planned on and ended up being a true test of my ability to manage my claustrophobia. Our tour guide for the caverns had a dry sense of humor and probably was going to play dungeons & Dragons that evening (likely lets his buddies into the caverns after hours for real gaming effect). The tour (consisting of 12 people) takes you back into the caverns 600 feet, the walkway is narrow and the clearance is less than 5 feet in places. There is one part of the tour when you walk into a section so narrow you have to walk sideways in a single file. This section ends in a room where several people can stand while the others are spread out along this sliver of a catwalk shoulder to shoulder. Once everyone has stopped, the tour guide shares with us we are standing over a bottomless cavern, "...we have used sonar and can verify it descends at least 250 feet but when we brought divers in they could only go to 50 feet before risking being trapped...". Next he asks me to reach into a cove area and flip a light switch on. Once I do this the tour guide continues, "...if you look below your feet, you will see you are standing on a small man made bridge that is suspended over the bottomless cavern...". When I looked down to view this, the only thing that prevented me from hauling out of there like the Hulk was that I had fortunately been last in line (first out of this Indiana Jones death trap of doom) and physically next to the tour guide. We learned on the way through the remainder of the tour that during the Civil War, deserted soldiers hid in these caverns for up to a year. The last part of this tour was a demonstration of "pure darkness". Apparently when there is no light present your eyes can not focus on anything to adjust to the darkness and if you are exposed to this for more than six months you will go blind. But don't worry about that because after just two weeks you go crazy. Our tour guide positioned everyone to hold the hands of their tour mates and turned out all the lights to expose us to this. While we were in "pure darkness" he explained how people used to enter these caverns with a lantern or flash light and after exploring for hours they would drop their lantern into the water or lose their flash light and be trapped in total darkness with no way out. After he joked about letting us try to find our way out, he turned the lights back on and we exited the caverns.
Our last pass through worth noting was the Lin Cove Viaduct. It is a short piece of the road but what makes it special is that it is basically a long stretch of suspended bridge which was built alongside the mountain.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Biltmore Estate: Asheville, NC
Sunday, October 1
We drove to Asheville, NC Saturday night. The next morning we got ready to go spend the day at the Biltmore Estate. When you arrive at the property entrance you pass through a security check point where you show proof of admittance. The actual estate is approximately three miles from the property entrance. You drive through a wooded area that has a spectacular view.
We began our visit by having brunch at the Deerpark Restaurant. The buffet was one of the best buffets I have visited. The choices were extensive and the quality of the food was exceptional. Nora and Hanna asked if we could eat there every weekend;-) When we walked out of the restaurant we saw a yellow and black spider the size of half of a hotdog in the flower bed by the sidewalk. Needless to say, I could not get Kristi to pose next to it for a photo.
Next on our journey was to tour the farm yard area where the animals were kept and the produce was grown. They had horses, sheep, goats and chickens. As Kristi and the girls were looking at the chickens, a hen laid an egg right in front of them! Next to this area was a "bird of prey" exhibit. We were able to step within five feet of a Redtailed Hawk, Barred Owl and a Great-Horned Owl. Near this was a mining exhibit where kids could take a bag of rocks mixed with sand and spread it out over a screen and run water over it to reveal any gem stones that were free to take home. Nora picked out all the purple ones and Hanna collected the blue ones. From here we visited a crafting area where we watched a potter, wood carver , blacksmith and a play about a snoring dragon. To close out this portion of our day we took a wagon ride pulled by two Belgian Draft horses which weighed over 2,100 pounds each. Nora & Hanna had their picture taken with Bert & Ernie (the horses).
Before going to the actual estate for our self guided tour we visited the Biltmore Estate Winery. Kristi and I attended a wine tasting while the girls waited in a kid designated coloring area. After looking over the available wines in the gift shop we all went outside to a grape stomp. Hanna, Nora and Kristi each took turns stomping grapes.
We had literally been saving the best for last. Our final stop was going into the Biltmore Estate for a self guided tour. We parked in the designated area and walked up to the vista which overlooks the grounds and estate. Once we reached the vista and took in the full view of the estate it was truly amazing. I told the girls this was Hogwarts (from Harry Potter) and we had enrolled them in school and we were dropping them off today. They didn't believe me but honestly, that is what it looks like. The building is 175,000 square feet and full of interesting art and history. One item in particular that I thought was cool is a chess set that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.
We drove to Asheville, NC Saturday night. The next morning we got ready to go spend the day at the Biltmore Estate. When you arrive at the property entrance you pass through a security check point where you show proof of admittance. The actual estate is approximately three miles from the property entrance. You drive through a wooded area that has a spectacular view.
We began our visit by having brunch at the Deerpark Restaurant. The buffet was one of the best buffets I have visited. The choices were extensive and the quality of the food was exceptional. Nora and Hanna asked if we could eat there every weekend;-) When we walked out of the restaurant we saw a yellow and black spider the size of half of a hotdog in the flower bed by the sidewalk. Needless to say, I could not get Kristi to pose next to it for a photo.
Next on our journey was to tour the farm yard area where the animals were kept and the produce was grown. They had horses, sheep, goats and chickens. As Kristi and the girls were looking at the chickens, a hen laid an egg right in front of them! Next to this area was a "bird of prey" exhibit. We were able to step within five feet of a Redtailed Hawk, Barred Owl and a Great-Horned Owl. Near this was a mining exhibit where kids could take a bag of rocks mixed with sand and spread it out over a screen and run water over it to reveal any gem stones that were free to take home. Nora picked out all the purple ones and Hanna collected the blue ones. From here we visited a crafting area where we watched a potter, wood carver , blacksmith and a play about a snoring dragon. To close out this portion of our day we took a wagon ride pulled by two Belgian Draft horses which weighed over 2,100 pounds each. Nora & Hanna had their picture taken with Bert & Ernie (the horses).
Before going to the actual estate for our self guided tour we visited the Biltmore Estate Winery. Kristi and I attended a wine tasting while the girls waited in a kid designated coloring area. After looking over the available wines in the gift shop we all went outside to a grape stomp. Hanna, Nora and Kristi each took turns stomping grapes.
We had literally been saving the best for last. Our final stop was going into the Biltmore Estate for a self guided tour. We parked in the designated area and walked up to the vista which overlooks the grounds and estate. Once we reached the vista and took in the full view of the estate it was truly amazing. I told the girls this was Hogwarts (from Harry Potter) and we had enrolled them in school and we were dropping them off today. They didn't believe me but honestly, that is what it looks like. The building is 175,000 square feet and full of interesting art and history. One item in particular that I thought was cool is a chess set that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.
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