The Mountains With Kate

I took Kate to the mountains this weekend for some quality mother-daughter time before she heads off to Kindergarten next week. (Last year my dad, Barb and I (along with baby Camryn) took Ben to Atlanta for a baseball game and a trip to the aquarium. I really enjoyed having some one-on-one time with Ben, so we thought we'd make it a little tradition for each one of the kids. Sadly, Barb and Dad couldn't join us this summer due to the chemo that Barb's enduring at the the moment. We missed you both very much and will take a rain check for next summer. ) Kate and I started our journey early Saturday morning, picture courtesy of Ben. We headed straight up to Valle Crucis, NC for some horseback riding. When I made the reservation over the phone they told me Kate was too young to ride a horse, so we scheduled a pony ride. I was hoping once we got there they would let us both ride (since Kate is the size of a typical seven year old), but it turns out it's not the size they worry about, but the ability to follow directions and 'lead' a horse. So we stuck with the pony ride. She loved it.

Here she is on her new friend Kelly. Kelly is a miniature male horse, Kate thought it was funny that a boy had the name Kelly.

After the pony ride we stopped by Mast General Store to stock-up on some candy. Hey, is that Stonewall Kitchen I see on the shelf?? Is there anywhere they don't sell that stuff??

Once we got our fill of candy and some local mountain music we headed to Blowing Rock where we stayed at the Meadowbrook Inn. This was my first visit to Blowing Rock and I fell in love with the little town. It sort of reminds me of Bridgton, Maine where I grew up. Only much nicer and quainter ~ but what Bridgton has the potential to be.

Waiting for lunch at one of the cute sidewalk cafes. Yes, those are my sunglasses.

Feeding the ducks at the Meadowbrook Inn.

We walked over to Chitola Lake that evening after dinner.

Endless Engery Kate running up and down all the hills at Chitola.

The next morning we visited The Blowing Rock. Here she is outside the visitor center. Everything about the park was beautiful!

Kate just loved climbing around, through, over, under all the rocks and boulders. You'd never know she was born a 'city' girl!

Here she is peeking over the edge. The rock to her left is THE Blowing Rock. It's the only place on earth that it snows 'up' (at least that's what they claim). It is said that if you stand on top of that rock and toss anything out over the cliff the winds will carry it back up to you. We took their word for it. I don't stand too close to cliffs. Kate on the other hand was very interested in testing that theory.

At an overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway headed to Grandfather Mountain. It was beyond breathtaking! We were both ooh-ing and ahh-ing the entire time.

We parked in the lower parking lot at Grandfather and decided to hike up the rest of the way. Apparently most people drive up, but really, mountains are made for hiking! It was a beautiful hike and Kate did such a great job. We hiked for 2.5 hours and she didn't complain at all. She really enjoyed being in the woods.

Here she is scaling one of the more difficult legs of the hike. Notice the ropes along the side. She wanted nothing to do with them. "I can do it Mommy!" she claimed ... and she sure did do it. I was amazed by her attitude and her abilities all day!

And here we are at the Mile High Swinging Bridge at the top of Grandfather. If you know me at all, you know I do not do well with heights. We talked about this bridge as we hiked. Kate couldn't wait to cross it. I, on the other hand, was dreading it!! I really didn't know if I would be able to make myself go across, and then back again. I still can't believe I did it. My stomach does flips just looking at this picture! When we reached the half way point, the wind picked up and that bridge really did start swinging, I thought I was in for it. I felt my body start to freeze and for a split second I could not move. Then this beautiful blue eyed girl turns around and says to me "Isn't it beautiful up here?" I didn't look around (at all) but that was enough to get me to the other side. She saw no reason to be scared. How could I let her down be letting my fear get the best of me? I wasn't about to ruin this moment for her. So we crossed, had a nice little snack and crossed back over. I don't know if I will ever do it again, but I'm glad I did do it. And I'm really glad I was with Kate when I did!!

After Grandfather Mountain we explored the caves at Linville Caverns before heading back home to Charlotte. I took lots of pictures, but had problems getting them up on blogger today. The 'caves' as Kate called them were her favorite part of the trip. We'll have to make a trip back there soon, now Ben is dying to go! We had a fantastic weekend together. I will never forget it. I look forward to many more trips like this with each one of my kids.