To the Mountains

Last week we left city life and headed up to Blue Ridge Mountains with Matt's parents and his aunt Margaret.  Our little cabin in the woods had a beautiful porch and beautiful mountain views.

We were surrounded in every direction by woods and the dirt road that led up to the driveway of our house was a bit daunting with it's steep incline.  Our first morning in the mountains we were greeted by a black bear sniffing around the outside of our house.  After spotting us he quickly wandered back in to the woods but later we saw him again walking down our driveway.

Hannah and Lily loved that the other face that welcomed them to our cabin was this one on a tree outside the back door.

Most any time of the day that we were home someone was outside on the porch enjoying the cooler temperatures and beautiful views.  My favorite time was morning snuggles with my early risers.

Afternoon chats, play time, supper preparations and just sitting with a great book were all good porch activities too.

Our other favorite spot was the firepit right next to our house.  Hannah had been asking me to buy marshmallows at the grocery store weeks before this trip so that we would be prepared for the roasting.  Warm gooey marshmallows are a definite mountain adventure must.

We did venture away from our mountain home for several fun outings.  Matt found out early on that the road leading to our house connected with some off road trails through the mountains.  His dad came along and we took a good part of a day riding and exploring the woods along narrow, windy gravel roads.

There were many stops along the way for some exploring cliffs, visiting an old cemetary and a picnic in the woods.

After lunch we made our final two stops.  The first was a beautiful lake at the top of the mountain.

Don't you just want to sit on that bench and stay a while?  Oh and did I mention the temperature was probably in the 70s?  Ahhhhhhhhh.  Hannah took some time to stand next to the water and feel the wind while Lily stuck her toes in the water for the fish to nibble.

Our final stop was a mountain waterfall that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.  The girls got to stretch their legs, get their feet wet again and do a little more exploring.

The day after our trail riding fun we stayed a little closer to home and visited a nearby apple orchard for some early season apple picking.  We visited Mercier Orchard and were able to fill two big bags full of ripe green, red and yellow apples.  When we arrived back at our house Hannah took one of the apples she picked and mmmmmm'd and ummmmmm'd as she ate...finally declaring it was THE best apple she had ever had.  Then she asked when I was going to make her an apple pie, some apple cider and applesauce :).

Our trip was so full and so fun and I am pretty sure that no one wanted to leave.  We packed up a little sad to leave our mountain retreat headed back to the real world.  We are back though and now in full get ready for school mode.  Hannah's first day is Monday and I will be back soon with pictures.  Have a great weekend!