This past Thanksgiving we traveled to North Carolina with Mike's family to stay on Cloud Nine Farm. We had never had a vacation in the mountains before, and coming from Florida we were all excited for a change of scenery!
Within an hour of arriving we were bundled up and exploring the property. The girls loved wearing hats, mittens & scarves.
Every night Mike built us a beautiful fire, we roasted marshmallows, hotdogs, told ghost stories and had many drinks!
Of course we were on a farm, and what is a farm without animals? Janet, our host let us feed the chickens twice a day everyday. Maddy was literally on Cloud Nine. She made a special connection with a chicken she named Jewel. They were best buds all week. Janet also introduced us to her cows, Sir Loin, Stew Meat & Hamburger. Ha!
The weather was perfect the whole week, highs in the 60s during the day, 40s at night and no rain!
Could Nine is beautiful in so many ways.
A lot of time was spent in the kitchen feeding a family of 11 for a week and one of those meals was our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to Allison, Lauren & my Dad-in-Law who did most of the cooking and my Mom-in-Law who always had the next pot of coffee ready. :)
On a beautiful, blue sky day we climbed a natural monument called Chimney Rock.
It was quite a climb but it was worth every step. The views from the top were amazing. It was a memorable experience that we will never forget.
After our hike up Chimney Rock we we came back down to town for some delicious ice cream and to check out the Rocky Broad River that flows from Hickory Nut Gorge.
As much fun as we had outside we had fun inside too, there was video games, air hockey, a big screen tv, two fireplaces and tons of alcohol (for the adults of course).
Mike was in his element, my man loves nature. And of course the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Mikayla had a ball. She was an angel all week. Here she is in the dormant-till-spring blueberry patch.
Fishing...
First time paddle boating...
We had so much fun down by the pond!
It was great spending time with my sister-in-laws.
Twice we visited DownTown Asheville, a little college town in the mountains. Rich in art, music and natural lifestyles. Mike would be quick to say, it's a hippie town. :)
Mike's parents had lunch at a Woolworth Soda Fountain. Apparently these were popular back in the day but us youngins don't know anything about em... LoL. Unfortunately, 20 minutes after the picture was taken Maddy started to feel sick, thankfully we took separate vehicles so Grandma & Grandpa were able to take her home. That afternoon, our last vacation afternoon... Maddy spiked a fever of 103.5 and puked twice. Obviously that's a crappy way to end any vacation but we were very concerned about the drive home the next day, but by then she was feeling much better. Tired but better.
When Grandma & Grandpa took sick Maddy back to the cabin, Mike, Mikayla and I went to lunch with Allison, Mike, Lauren, Cam & Reese. We had a yummy meal and some local brews.
After the lunch we walked around checking out the local shops, architecture and the beautiful colors of Fall! It was hard to leave Cloud Nine Farm, Janet was so hospitable and her cabin & property were so relaxing. We would go back in a heartbeat.
