We realized recently that we had never been on vacation just the three of us. We have gone with friends and family but never just the three of us so we decided that this was a must! We decided to visit the Asheville, NC area. We planned it all out and were so excited for weeks! The night before we left I woke up at four am really sick! I had a sore throat, cough, ear ache, chills, muscle aches, and I was throwing up. We planned this trip for this week because I would be 21 weeks pregnant and we thought we could avoid as much sickness as possible. Think again. We ended up leaving three hours later than we had hoped but that was good because I was so sick I thought we were going to have to cancel. I slept most of the way there and by the time we got there I was feeling better.
We stayed in a town called Black Mountain at a place named Lake Eden. We spent our first day there just exploring the grounds. I was so upset because I forgot my nice camera! At least we had a camera and we got some good pictures but I know they could have been better.
The place we stayed had no cable, no cell service, and internet came and went. It was wonderful! We went to bed early so I woke up early. I felt so much better. I sat wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea. Molson was at my feet and we watched the sun come up and listened to the birds. If it wasn't so early, I would enjoy watching the sun come up more often. Such a magical time of day. After a while, I heard a rooster “pock-a-kangaroo” as Ila would say. Luckily, her and Dru woke up in time to hear it. She thought it was awesome. We made breakfast and then headed out the door excited for the adventures that awaited us. There is a main road that leads you right to the parking lot of the waterfalls but our GPS decided to take us on a five mile one lane, gravel road up a mountain. It took us longer but it was beautiful. Ila kept pointing out little trickles of water coming down the side of the mountain calling them waterfalls. She had no idea what was in store.
We started at Hooker Falls. It was a short hike through the woods and you could hear the sound of the waterfall getting louder and louder. It was just beautiful. Ila had her shoes and socks off within seconds of being there. The water was way too cold to get in but Ila did put her feet in. We pretty much had the waterfall to ourselves. Ila loved finding rocks to throw into the water.
After spending a while at Hooker Falls, we started the hike to Triple Falls and High Falls. It wasn't a very long hike but it was mostly uphill. Dru carried Ila up and I struggled to carry our other child up. My legs were burning and I was very short of breath but then I would look up and see senior citizens coming down the hill so I knew if they could do it, that I could do it. We finally made it and we decided to eat lunch at some picnic tables with Triple Falls as our view.
After lunch we walked down hundreds of stairs to walk out on Triple Falls. It was beautiful. I kept getting nervous that Ila was going to fall off of the cliff and was imagining how I would save her with my super hero moves, but other than that, very peaceful. We spent some time there and then Ila was showing sleepy signs so we put her on Dru's back in the Boba and headed to the next fall.
She stayed awake long enough to see High Falls from a distance and then she was out. She slept on her Daddy's back while we made our way closer to the waterfall. We had to climb and jump from rock to rock to make it there. I don't really trust my pregnant balance so I was a little cautious but it was really cool to watch Dru jump on the rocks with Ila on his back fast asleep. He had the camera at the time or I would have taken a picture. We made it to the base of the falls and just soaked it in. I was sad that Ila was missing it but it was nice to just enjoy the beauty and power of the waterfall without worrying about her falling or drowning. We just sat there and stared for a long time.
Eventually, we headed back to the parking lot to drive to the next waterfall. Ila was wide awake and ready for more. We headed to Pisgah Forest. You could see Looking Glass Falls from the road so it wasn't a hike, just some stairs. Ila and Dru got out in the water and walked around a little bit. Ila would describe the water as sticky (she means slimy) and cold which she says while fake shivering. They played in the water for awhile and then we decided to go looking for another waterfall that isn't on the maps. We searched for it and couldn't find it which didn't really hurt my feelings because I was beat! We saw a path that we thought would take us to the waterfall but it kind of went straight up and I don't know if I trusted my legs to take me so we headed back.Once back, we changed and headed out for Mexican! Dru craves Mexican while I'm pregnant. He could eat it everyday. The rain held off all day but it didn't look like it would be holding off any longer. We found a indoor place called Fun Depot. It was crazy! They had everything. We decided to take Ila bowling for the first time.
It was a mini bowling alley and had bumpers but she still managed to get gutter balls. She thought it was fun for about two or three frames and then she was ready to move on. She rode on rides that she didn't want to move so we didn't have to use any money. She played in the giant play area and played a few games. Dru hit a few balls at the batting cages and then we left with Ila resisting with everything that she had.
We went home and Ila wanted to take a bath in the “doggie tub” then we went to bed early again.
When Ila woke up she asked if we were going to see more waterfalls. The weather wasn't cooperating like it did the day before. It was cold and raining off and on. We found a place called Mountain Fun Lodge. It had jump castles and it also had play houses with costumes. It was really cute and Ila had so much fun it was a struggle to get her to leave.
It wasn't raining so we decided to check out downtown Asheville. It was freezing so I went and bought a sweater. We stopped at a little soda shop and got Ila chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. Cold doesn't faze her. We didn't do much but walk around. We checked out a few vintage stores and Dru got some awesome finds. I got a few things, too. We bought out first gift for baby. I was too cold to take any pictures. The city was cute but we weren't too impressed. Ila was getting cranky so it was time to go. She slept in the car and we picked up pizza from a little local pizza place.
There was a huge emphasis on fresh, local organic foods and holistic health care. That was true for the entire area which we loved. There were more organic choices at the grocery store and there were just as many natural health offices as conventional doctor's offices. When we woke up, it was time to go. We set an alarm so we could hear the rooster but he wasn't crowing that morning. Probably too cold for him but when we stopped to get gas, we could hear a rooster! We had so much fun and I'm so glad we took this little mini vacation. We will be back again, next time, we'll be a family of four!
