July 25 - Hiking the Bald, Party at the Pavilion

In the above picture, we're all headed to my favorite place in the world. I couldn't wait to show it to Isaac. There is a path through the woods that takes 5-10 minutes to travel, pretty steep, and then the trees and brush open up to a green hillside - the edge of the Bald.
Below, we're just coming out of the woods. My parents carried Isaac the whole way, and he's heavy!

Stopping to look at wild blueberries...or maybe cowpies...

Adam takes Isaac up ahead to our favorite rocks, while I stop to stare and photograph...

Feeling the cool breeze and the warm sun.

And there we are on the most beautiful mountaintop you can imagine.




Harley is a mountain dog.

Adam took Isaac exploring through the rocky field below us.


Until my dad whistled for Harley, and the cows came instead...I looked up and saw one charging over the top of the Bald toward us, as fast as I'd ever seen a cow run. Then came others behind her...We ducked into the rocks and called Adam and Isaac back. I only got pictures once they had passed, as I was focused on staying out of their way...


Isaac wouldn't look at the camera...

The best part of the hike for Isaac: the crackers my mom packed for him.

Breathtaking.



Below, Isaac and his baby brother.

These last photos are from the evening, when people gathered once again for dinner and drinks at the pavilion. Adam enjoyed playing with Sydney and Isaac, who were delighted to see each other again.





And my dad had fun too.

Isaac loves grass...running, spinning, rolling in it...then lying down and staring up at the sky and telling me what he sees.





Another perfect day at Yellow Mountain.

July 24 - A few more

I forgot to include these pictures that my mom took...Above, Isaac loves this lego set that I remember playing with as a kid.



Isaac being silly...My painting in the background!

July 24 - Party in the Meadow

It seemed that there was something fun going on every night while we were on the mountain. The first evening, people were getting together for drinks and appetizers in the meadow. What a beautiful place to tailgate...

Above, my mom and Isaac took a walk while he finished waking up from his nap.



Feeling better.

Sydney is pretty close in age to Isaac, and they made friends right away. Below, Isaac was picking flowers to give her and saying "Give flowers Sydney!" What a little gentleman.


Looking for more flowers to give away...

First time with a T-ball set. Ba-bop and Dada showed him how it worked.




Then Claire arrived on an ATV and was the hit of the party in the eyes of her almost-2-year-old fans. Sydney got to take a ride with her, and then she and Isaac both climbed on to check out all the controls. The pictures say it all...

July 24 - Day 1 of a week on the mountain!

We realized we'd rather spend a week at Yellow Mountain than anywhere else, so that was our vacation this year. An amazing time full of hiking, playing in the creek, walking in the woods, eating great food (thanks Mom and Dad!), and even a little NC-style barbecue in town. Above is Isaac's view from our deck as he played with his sand table.
We went out every morning to do something fun. On the first day, we wanted to get our water-loving boy into a creek and my dad wanted to get in some fishing, so we headed to a favorite fishing hole on the mountain.

After a short hike through the woods, Adam and Isaac were in the water, exploring.

All day after this, if anyone mentioned the creek, Isaac said "Throw rocks in it!" This was probably his favorite part.


This place is teeming with life, and the woods are so thick that they can be dark even in the daytime. Popoo used to always sing "Down in the deep dark woods..." as he turned his VW Bug down a bumpy trail straight into the thick Virginia woods on his land. So I have been singing the same thing to Isaac whenever we enter the woods. After a few days, we could hear him in the back seat whenever woods were in sight, saying in his sweet little voice: "Deep dark woods. Popoo says."

Above, fly-fishing in an Appalachian stream has its challenges...Adam says he's lost a few flies on tree branches, and this picture shows why...But I think my dad kept his hook out of the trees that day and caught some fish.



Creek-hiking makes you really thirsty, even if you spend half the time holding up your arms to Dada and saying "Carry me."

July 22 - Day in Charlotte - pool and lunch

We just got back from a wonderful vacation in NC. Most of our time was in the beautiful mountains, but we had a day in Charlotte on either side, which was also really fun.
We don't have a lot of pictures from our pool outing, but here are a few. Isaac probably liked the spray feature above the best of all, although he got more comfortable in the baby pool by the end. This is the club where I used to swim as a kid and the same concession stand, more or less, where I used to get snacks with friends. It was pretty fun to come back here my my mom and my boys.

After hanging out in the baby pool under the beautiful blue sky and warm sun, we headed to the covered patio pictured above for grilled cheese and fries. This was vacation, after all. Yum...

Isaac's camera faces...