A Few Mountains, a Bucket Load of Mist, and a Couple Sprinkles of Snow

Josh and Alex with a not at all stuffed black bear

We just got back from a couple nights up along the Blue Ridge, and may I just say that it was one of our best vacations yet. The Man had gone up to backpack along the Appalachian Trail with his dad and brother, and my wonderful father-in-love suggested that I come along to join them for the last night. And I agreed. Since I would be in a cabin and not experiencing frostbite via sleeping bag.

So Thursday afternoon I chucked Littles in the car, and we wound our way through the rain out of DC and up into the mountains where the fog closed in on us. Little Man slept most of the way, but around the time the fog hit (and we're making hair pin curves through the Shenandoah), he woke up to his ears popping and proceeded to make life significantly noisier. It was an adventure. Luckily, though I couldn't see more than 10 meters beyond the car, I didn't drive us off the side of a mountain. I'll save that for next time. I also avoided hitting any deer. Both of those accomplishments count as mini-miracles.

One of the deer who escaped with his life

That night, we went down to the lodge restaurant and ordered our meals as we looked out the window, wondering where the mountains were in all that cloud. Littes proceeded to charm the staff and most of the patrons while eating more than his fair share of what was ordered for dinner. And I found out that two of the waiters were from Indonesia! I can't say how excited I was by that. And a little confused. I love the mountains, but how do you go straight from Bali to the Blue Ridge?

We had some incredible views

Friday we sent Dad and little brother on to Tennessee, and the Man and Littles and I just spent time together, watching movies, taking naps, driving through the mountains, exploring, and drinking lots of coffee to stay warm. It was just relaxing. And Littles was a trooper. Which made things about twenty times more fun. We woke up Saturday morning to watch the sunrise before heading home and after breakfast, it started snowing! My first snow of the year. I was pretty ecstatic. The Man says it was just flurries, but it still counts. And we saw deer (lots of them) and chipmunks (haha) and even a coyote. At least we're pretty sure it was a coyote. But the highlight was probably the snow. And just spending time with the Man and Littles (and Dad and my brother-in-law). Every once in a while, a little break from the norm and a reminder of the incredible beauty of God's creation is just what I need. The quality time with my men was also a huge plus...