Three Things: I Like to Remember

After 40-something years of life - and being with the Man of the House for half of that - it should be pretty obvious that I have a LOT of memories.  Some I like to think about more than others.  Sure, there are the obvious good memories: the day we got married, the day each of our kids was born, the birth of our first grandchild..  I could easily fill a "Three Things" post with those alone.  But beside those joyous occasions - there are others that I especially enjoy looking back on because they make me smile.  This is just three:

1) The First Date:  I spent the whole evening wondering if it was, in fact, a date - or just a couple of friends hanging out.  Mostly because the Man of the House was so cool and nonchalant about the whole thing, including how he asked me out.  Something along the lines of how he was going to see this movie and if I wanted to see it I could go with him.  After the movie, when he took me home, we sat in my parents driveway for the longest time just talking about stuff - like the universe and our place in it.  (yeh... we were real deep back then)

2) Our First Vacation to the Outer Banks:  The place we stayed was great.  We relaxed on the beach, we explored, we visited lighthouses, we ate good food.  It was one of those great vacations where we didn't plan anything - just played it by ear.  And had a blast doing it.

Back From the Banks

3) The Time We Got Lost Hiking at the Pink Beds: Sure... at the time it didn't seem like a "good memory" type of a thing.  But now, it's something we still talk (and laugh) about! Somehow we had gotten off the trail we intended to take.  A hike that was supposed to be a few hours turned into an all day event.  We were never lost, lost.  We were always on a trail, so we knew we would come out somewhere.  The question was: where?  And how far from our car would we be at that time? You can read more about that here:

Pink Beds: Part one

Pink Beds: Part two

Pink Beds: Part three

Pink Beds: Part four

You can sometimes find me connecting at these Blog Hops and Link Ups
 Life of Meg: Monday Mingle
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
A Proverbs 31 Wife: Living Proverbs 31
A Life in Balance: Motivation Monday
The WellSpring: Playdates with God 
Tell Me A Story: True Stories
The Beauty In His Grip: Sharing His Beauty 
Salt & Light: Beautiful Ashes

Road Trip: Pink Beds (Part 4)

This week's day trip took the entire family hiking at the Pink Beds in Pisgah National Forest.

Despite being a little apprehensive at having wandered off our original trail, we were able to enjoy so much of the natural beauty around us. It made for a full, and tiring afternoon!

Sunlight filtering through the leaves

Mountain stream

A perfect resting spot...

With a great view

Finally heading home, after a long afternoon of exploring. This sign made me happy because this was photo #477 on my memory card - of forest service road #477.  (I'm a geek like that)

 

Road Trip: Pink Beds (Part3)

This week's day trip took the entire family hiking at the Pink Beds in Pisgah National Forest.

The day started seeming like a straight forward little hike along the Pink Beds Loop Trail.  Before it was over, we would learn two lessons:

1. not all who wander are lost - but sometimes they are
2. always always always bring the map with you

 You see... the Pink Beds Loop trail is simple enough.  You can walk the entire loop or you can cut across the middle on Barnett Branch Trail to make it a bit shorter.  That was our plan.  And with the trails marked and knowing our plan we didn't think we needed to bring the book of maps with us.

However... when you somehow start the trail where you thought you would be finishing the trail - this can cause you to turn onto Barnett Branch where it actually splits away from Pink Beds Loop.  Which in turn leads you up tothe Black Mountain Trail.  NOT where we expected to go.  And a more difficult hike. 

Fortunately the Black Mountain trail brings you to the Club Gap trail down to the Cradle of Forestry which is adjacent to the Pink Beds. So it all turned out good.

And we got to see some sights we would have otherwise never have come across.

A sea of ferns

Lots of little creatures.  Like frogs...

and snails!

Pausing for lunch

More cool, twisty trees

Beautiful views of the moutains

Road Trip: Pink Beds (Part 2)

This week's day trip took the entire family hiking at the Pink Beds in Pisgah National Forest.

We had a perfect day for hiking: sunny and warm.  And the journey started out with a nice, simple hike along the Pink Beds Loop trail.

Shady and cool along the forest trail

Born to hike!

A right angle bridge which incorporates a fallen log

There are lots of cool, twisty trees like this!

Huge ferns!  These almost came up to my shoulders!

Road Trip: Pink Beds (Part 1)

This week's day trip took the entire family hiking at the Pink Beds in Pisgah National Forest.

The Pink Beds area is beautiful!  (But, really... what isn't in the mountains of western North Carolina?)  If you enjoy hiking  - or just sight seeing/ picnicking - and find yourself in this part of the country - I highly recommend a visit!

Female off spring and grand baby - ready to start hiking!

crossing the creek

Mountain laurel blooms helped to give the "pink beds" their name

Man of the House and Male Offspring walking through a mountain laurel grove

Grand baby thought something smelled funny and wanted everyone to pinch noses and join him in saying "ewwwww"

Much of the area is a mountain bog

There are plenty of foot bridges and walkways to keep your feet dry

Seeing prints like these in the mud remind you this is a wilderness area! That thing was as big or bigger than my hand!

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