Our one year anniversary was coming up May 20th. We wanted a little weekend getaway to celebrate, but we just couldn’t work it out around the 20th. So, we planned a weekend trip for just the two of us in the mountains at Chimney Rock, NC leaving on the 5th.
Some of our trees and bushes came and were planted, but we were a little worried our apple and peach trees would come while we were gone. Also, we had just planted our first garden so we were a tiny bit anxious. We left our second oldest, a high school senior, at home for the weekend with instructions to water the garden and to keep an eye out for our other trees. If they came we wanted him to put them in the shade and give them some water on the roots. I know they are supposed to last 30 days with that gel stuff on their roots, but that is new to me and well we were nervous about them.
This is the first time we had left him home alone and before we got 2 hours up the road he was calling because he had cut himself at work (restaurant) and was going to the emergency room. Oh my! We were worrying about the trees and garden thinking he’d be OK, and here he is only his second day at a new job and on his way to the ER!! He kept reassuring us it was OK and we didn’t need to come back. He was telling us it wasn’t that bad and he didn’t see why they were taking him to the ER. So, we hesitantly proceeded on our trip checking in with him constantly now. He ended up getting a couple of stitches and texted us pictures! Still he says there is no need to come home.
Other than obsessing over leaving him behind, the garden, and the trees we had a wonderful time at Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. Lake Lure is where they filmed the movie Dirty Dancing. What woman hasn’t seen that movie a few hundred times? We took a pontoon boat ride the first evening and just chilled and enjoyed the gorgeous evening.
Our sweet little cabin:
The steps Baby danced on in Dirty Dancing:
The view of Lake Lure from the boat:
After our relaxing boat ride we had supper at a lakeside restaurant. Then we meandered through the town of Chimney Rock. It is a sleepy little town with a few quaint restaurants, ice cream and candy shops, and some craft and souvenir shops line the “main” road. You know the types of restaurants that are closed on Sunday. I can’t help but like that. There is a peaceful river that is behind the shops where you can walk down to and just walk along the path. It is so nice there. Some families were there with their children playing in the water as we just strolled along enjoying the rippling of the water and being in nature.
After about 8:00 pm the little town basically shuts down. It is a wonderful place to really get away from the rush of life. Although I enjoy places like Asheville, NC too, Chimney Rock is very different. It doesn’t have a “night life”. I like it that way.
The next morning when we awoke we had some breakfast and enjoyed our coffee out on the back porch of the cabin. We then got ready to go for a day of hiking at Chimney Rock State Park.
First, our easy hike took us to Hickory Nut Falls.
Then we hiked to Chimney Rock and then continued on to the Summit above. It was extremely steep. The view was fantastic!
Looking down from Chimney Rock where we had just been:
Looking up from Chimney Rock to where we are going:
View looking down on Chimney Rock:
Our trip was quite the accomplishment considering Jon’s fear of water (I got him on a boat) and heights (I got him on a mountain). Bahahaha! Jon didn’t drowned or plummet to his death, our son survived his first weekend home alone (barely), he watered our garden, and our trees still had not arrived.
