Tired bodies and happy hearts. What a great weekend of hiking and exploring with the whole fam - even the dog!
The cooler weather in NC so far has been such a nice change from Florida, but also quite a bit rainy. As I was checking the weather for this past weekend and I saw it was going to be 55 degrees and sunny, my first thought was "We have to go explore somewhere new!"
There are so many new to us hikes, mountains, and state parks all around that we are so excited to explore. After looking at a few blog articles that listed easy day trips from Charlotte I knew that Chimney Rock was where we were headed. After texting Mike saying "I'm planning a day trip on Saturday, you down?" and he replied, "yep", it was on. I love that he didn't even ask where.
I first went to the website and checked the hours and pricing (and found that there was a sale on tickets) and decided to pull the plug and plan our day.
Everett had a basketball game Saturday morning and then we headed straight there, about 1.5 hours west of us.
We arrived after lunch and it was already pretty busy. We were sent to park in the lower parking lot, and were told that the trolley ride to the top was suspended for a bit while there were emergency vehicles on the roads. They let us know that we could wait to ride to the top or we could hike the Four Seasons Trail up to the same spot.
Not wanting to wait and having been in the car for over an hour, we headed off on the Four Seasons trail. After quite an ascent we were at the top/base of Chimney Rock.
We opted to hike Hickory Nut Falls Trail first to see the waterfall (the same one that was used in the movie The Last of the Mohicans) before we started climbing the 500 stairs to the top of Chimney Rock.
From the top of Chimney Rock you can see Lake Lure and it is a gorgeous spot to stop for a snack. We also checked out the "Opera Box" and got an even different view of the rock.
Sunday we woke up sore, but smiling. Mike and the kiddos hung low at home for most of the day and I got to go for a Moms Day Out to celebrate my friend Leigh's 40th birthday!
We met for brunch at Dandelion Market in Uptown where we ate, drank and laughed a lot. We finished it up at a play at the Booth Playhouse.
It was such a fun day getting to know such fun ladies!
M: Cub Scouts Cookout and Dessert Competition
T: Smothered Burritos w/ Black Beans and Corn on the Cob
W: Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry w/ Fried Rice
Th: Robinson Elementary Spirit Night - Hungry Howies
F: Leftovers
Sa: Chili Mac and Green Beans
Su: Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner)
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