Thursday, September 26, 2013

 

                                                 Apparell'd in Celestial Light....

                           The glory and the freshness of a dream...



                                                     Ye Blessed Creatures...


                  I see the Heavens laugh with you in your jubilee




Camping Spring 2013: A Night to Remember


We decided to stay local for our maiden voyage camp trip this past spring. We’ve owned all the supplies for years, but finally decided it was time to put the ol’ tent to use. Falls Lake is a gorgeous state park with lots of short hike-in camp sites. We fell in love with a little peninsula  doted with dozens of well groomed camp spots. We hiked in the week before to find the perfect  spot with a view of the lake, a little shade, a little sun, and some privacy. We reserved on line, and Friday after work, we took off.

                                                           Eole helped Dad make the fire.
 





She and Mom especially enjoyed the s’mores.

 
 
 
We watched the sun set over the water. We got out some last minute wiggles, and set up the tent.
Then it was time to settle in the for the night. Eole fell right to sleep snuggled between Mom and Dad…Davyn less so….much less so. He was unnerved by so much space, and much like a wild dog, howled for most of the night and crawled in circles around the inside of the tent. Being that our lovely campsite is really only a few miles from the seedy part of Durham, the parking lot was gated and lock and we were as trapped as any hapless soul in the ninth circle of Dante’s Inferno! To top it all off, we went camping off season to avoid bothering other campers, but as fate would have it, a young couple reserved the site right next to ours. I’m sure the experience will delay their desire for children in the immediate future.  

Asheville Trip...last March

Last March a bout of Cabin Fever swept through our family, so we packed our bags and headed west...to Asheville! Some highlights of this mini-family vacation included:

Visiting an adorable animal preserve where we found this adorable hawk girl...
...and this cute baby boy fox 
We saw the bears come out of hibernation, and our own little bear so wanted to join them. 
We kept the cleaning lady busily employed at the Hampton Inn
 
We made new "friends" walking the funky streets of Asheville
 
 
We took a nature walk at Chimney Rock Park
 
And climbed many, many stairs to get to the top of Chimney Rock



                                              Dad ended up getting a triple-duty work out

              The view at the top made it all worth-while though; and then we took the elevator down