mountain bound

I have always fancied myself a true "beach person"--warm weather, sunny skies, a beautiful and refreshing ocean to dip into, and sand between my toes--I love it all. But I have discovered in recent years that the mountains have begun to lure me, and being in the mountains in the fall may be every bit as enjoyable as being at the beach in the summer. It is still a bit shocking for me that I have begun to feel this way. But I have.

Last weekend, we made a last-minute trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina to see the fall foliage and to give my boys their first taste of the mountains. We learned that the leaves were becoming vibrantly red, orange, and gold, and we wanted to see them. Plus, we had never taken the boys to Tweetsie Railroad, so we wanted to take them there before it closes for the winter.

We left around 9 am last Sunday morning and arrived in Boone around noon for lunch. After lunch, we headed over to Tweetsie Railroad, a small theme park in the mountains at Blowing Rock that features a three mile ride on an historic steam engine. During the ride, the train pauses for shows put on by "cowboy and Indian" actors. Paul and I both enjoyed Tweetsie Railroad as children, so being back there again brought back such wonderful memories for us both.

The boys had so much fun at Tweetsie. They loved riding the trains (the steam engine and a smaller one), the ski lift, the airplanes and helicopter ride, the tilt-a-whirl, the Drop Zone, the Tornado, the ferris wheel, the go carts, and the kiddie boats. Bennett especially loved flying in his own airplane at least five different times, and Anderson rode the Drop Zone ride at least six times. They also loved playing in the arcade, visiting the Deer Park (a petting zoo with goats, deer, pigs, llamas, etc.), and visiting the gift shops.

After spending several hours at Tweetsie, we left to check into our hotel. Paul was very dear and booked us a room at The Chetola Resort (www.chetola.com) because he knows that a clean hotel with nice amenities makes his wife incredibly happy. The Chetola Resort is set on a mountainside with Chetola Lake below. Our room had a stunning view of this lake with a backdrop of trees and their rich golden leaves. We were a short walk from downtown Blowing Rock which may be have one of the most charming streets I have ever seen! I really want to return soon just to visit all of the shops there.

Monday morning we went to Grandfather Mountain (www.grandfather.com). Unfortunately for us, it rained the entire day, so when we ventured onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, our views were obscured by dense fog and steady rain. We still drove up to the entrance of Grandfather Mountain's park, and the drive there was very enjoyable (though a bit nauseating with all of the curves) because the golden leaves draped the narrow, winding roads.

After our trip up the mountain, we descended to a town called Valle Crucis that Paul and I had visited on a trip there years ago. There is a store there called Mast General Store (which now has several locations--www.mastgeneralstore.com). Since 1883, the Mast family ran this store until selling it a few decades ago. During its early years, the family tried to carry all of the items their neighbors might need - from plows to cloth and "Cradles to Caskets," which led to the popular saying, "If you can't buy it here, you don't need it." Today, the store is on the national register of historic places as an example of an old country store. It still offers a wide variety of products. The boys' favorite section of this store is the candy section. There are literally barrels and barrels and crates and boxes of various candies. Each person takes a basket and picks out the candy they like best. All four of us chose our candies, then we headed upstairs to the toys section. The toys are a real throw-back as you can find all of the toys our parents played with as kids--from paddles with the attached balls to pick-up sticks to old-fashioned cars and aiplanes. We then stopped by the old-fashioned coca cola cooler to pick out our own bottled sodas to enjoy.

I think I may have had tears in my eyes most of our time in the store because it made me miss my grandparents terribly. Everything there reminded me of them--from the soda bottles to the games they used to give us each Christmas to the candy selection. Even the way the old floors creaked evoked memories of Grandpa taking me to an old country store outside of Troy, NC where he would buy me a pack of M&M's and a bottled coke. And the chocolate stars in the candy bins reminded of the my Granddaddy who would buy me those treats at the Belk candy counter every time we went to North Hills Mall.

We left Mast General Store for Greensboro where we stopped and spent a few hours with Paul and Ava (Paul's parents, in case you didn't know) and to cut our trip in half. It was nice to relax there by the fire and eat some delicious Brunswick Stew and to rest up before we drove the last leg of our trip.

Ahhhh.....the mountains of North Carolina. I want to go back! And we will.....a ski trip this winter is in the works. Can't wait!!!

more at jockey's ridge

more jockey's ridge photos

wright bros & jockey's ridge photos

kite flying at the wright brothers memorial

a trip to the outer banks

The more I travel and sight see, I grow in my appreciation of two things: One, I can't help but appreciate the beauty of God's creation. He is far and away the most masterful, creative, imaginative, thoughtful, brilliant Creator. Two, I become more convinced that I live in the most beautiful state in America. North Carolina's bookends are the majestic, alluring Appalachian mountains in the west whose color, in a few weeks, will be saturated with brilliant hues of gold, red, orange, yellow, green, amber, etc. and the mesmerizing, robust waters of the Atlantic in the east. And in between you find some of the most beautiful landscapes--sand hills, forests, pastures, farmland, plains, foothills--along with lakes, rivers, creeks, swamps and streams. I especially love to stumble upon the old farmhouses "in the middle of nowhere" with tin roofs, fencing in need of new paint, and woodsheds and wash houses out back. They take me back to my childhood on my grandparents' farm in the Uwharrie Mountains. But that is another blog for another day.

For the Brewers, the end of September and the beginning of October was spent in the Outer Banks. This was my children's first trip to "OBX", and I must say that this historic, well-known part of our state never disappoints. This part of our coast is rich in history, from being the home of the country's very first British colony, to a safe haven for slaves after the Civil War, to the infamous "Graveyard of the Atlantic", to the place where German submarines stalked American shores during World War II, to the place where the first airplane actually flew. The history alone is enough to lure you there.

But the Outer Banks have so much more to offer. The landscape is breathtaking. Watching the sunset at Jockey's Ridge (the largest Sand dunes on the East Coast), driving along miles of untouched beaches, visiting lighthouses that stand proudly along the shores, climbing the steps of the tallest brick lighthouse in America (Cape Hatteras Light House), driving across the Pamlico and Roanoke Sounds and the Alligator River, walking through the beautiful forests where the "Lost Colony" was once established, and watching ocean creatures swim under the pier off of our hotel were only highlights of the beauty we enjoyed on this trip.

This was truly one of our all time favorite family trips. Each of us loved the Outer Banks for different reasons.

For Paul, his favorite part of the trip was probably visiting The Wright Brothers Museum. Even though we had both been there before, we both had goosebumps as we re-read the history of the first flight and walked the trail that they blazed with that first flight. Our favorite quote was from one of the brothers who said, "Isn't it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them!" It reminded me of the Scripture from Daniel, "For there is a God who reveals secrets" and from a quote in the Shack when Sarayu tells Mac that God has hidden things from us because he knows the joy we experience in seeking and discovering.

As soon as we arrived at the Wright Brothers Memorial, we were able to fly handmade kites with the park rangers. About twenty families joined us and the rangers as we spread across the grass that now covers that famous landmark and released those trash bag kites into the wind! Even though the kites were made of brown trash bags, it was a beautiful site! Then, private planes began to land at the landing strip next to us, and it really brought home to us the evolution of flight--from kites to planes. What an amazing invention God allowed those Wright boys to discover!

Anderson's favorite part of the trip was the evening that he and his dad went fishing on Kitty Hawk Pier. Unbeknownst to them, the blues were running, and Anderson and Paul, along with their fellow fishermen, began to reel in fish after fish after fish. It was truly an exciting and unexpected experience. I feel like God just directed the fish under the pier that evening just for my little boy, like he did for his disciples when he told them to cast their nets to the other side of the boat and they almost caught more fish than they could handle. Anderson and Paul ended up giving their fish to some of their new fishing buddies on the pier who were happy to take them home to eat.

Bennett probably loved almost everything about the trip. He was all smiles running up and down the sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge. He was deliriously happy just riding the elevator (which he calls a "yemenator", a combination of his word for lemonade and elevator). He also loved frolicking with his brother and dad at Bodie Island Lighthouse, playing in the arcade at a restaurant we visited near Cape Hatteras Light House, and eating cookies each night that were free in our hotel lobby.

I loved everything about our trip, but each moment really does have a special significance to me. When Anderson and I walked the stairs to the top of Cape Hatteras Light House, I was a bit teary eyed because the first time I had made that climb all I could think about was how much I wished he and Paul could be with me (this was P.B.--pre-Bennett). Anderson has acquired a fear of heights, so he was happy to keep his back against the lighthouse and preferred not to move towards the railings, but that was fine by me. We still stood there and took in the view. There really are not adequate words in the English language to describe that view.

Other highlights for me were just driving down that beautiful stretch of the Croatan Highway from Kitty Hawk to Hatteras, watching my boys play video games in the arcade at a mom-and-pop pizza joint near the lighthouse, running by myself in the morning down the streets of Kitty Hawk, grabbing Starbucks and breakfast for the boys after my run, seeing my first giant stingray in the wild floating gingerly under the pier (which, incidently, inspired Anderson to do his ocean animal report on stingrays), snuggling Bennett while Anderson and Paul fished that night, eating Duck Donuts, sitting beside the Wright Brothers Memorial and taking in the view of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Roanoke Sound, going to Fort Raleigh and walking on the same soil as the members of the Lost Colony, going backstage where the play "The Lost Colony" is performed, going to the North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke and watching the boys play with stingrays and gawk at the sharks, and even doing school work with Anderson in the hotel lobby while Bennett napped in the room.

I am so thankful that we have chosen to keep Anderson home with us this year and that we are enjoying so many adventures with both of our boys as a result. I am more aware now of this truth than I ever have been: Time is always moving. No force of man can stop it. The only power we have is the power of choice--we can choose to seize each moment we are given and not allow time to steal any more from us than necessary. I thank God that He has given us both the opportunity and the wisdom to seize these moments.

castle mcculloch photos

From the previous post, here are a few photos, thanks to "Nanny" (Anna, my sister).

castle mcculloch

Last month, Anderson revisited the subject of the earth's rocks and minerals in science. He had originally studied this in the third grade, but since this is a topic which interests him, and since we were going to next study fossils, I thought this study would be a great precursor to that.

So, after studying the layers of earth, minerals, gemstones, and rocks, there was no better field trip for us to take than to the Castle McCulloch in Jamestown, North Carolina.

The Castle McCulloch was once a gold refinery built by Charles McCulloch who was inspired by the architecture of his native England. This refinery housed the latest technological development in that time--the steam engine. McCulloch Gold Mill was built in 1832 and operated for many years as an integral part of the history of gold mining in North Carolina and in the nation. The gold rush in California lured miners west, and the "castle" eventually became a hospital for injured soldiers in the Civil War. Over the years, the property was abandoned and left to deteriorate until a man named Richard Harris purchased it for $1,500 and refurbished it. Now, Castle McCulloch is a beautiful property, ideal for parties, weddings, tours, and events. The castle itself is stunning, and the surrounding property with its streams, pond, forests and landscaping is breathtaking. I think this property must be especially beautiful in the fall with all of its rich, deep hues and textures.

We were able to "round up" at least fifteen people to join us on the field trip. My sister, Anna, who researched this location and thought it would be an ideal place for a field trip, joined us with her son, Jackson. My sister, Laura, bravely brought her three children (ages four, twenty-one months, and nine months), too. Then, Paul's cousin's wife, Heather, joined us with her children and friends, and our friend, Dawn, brought her daughters and mom, too. Because we had a group, the castle was opened to us outside of normal operating hours for just $8 per person if you mined for gemstones and $4 per person if you did not. So, from 11 am to 2 pm, we had the full attention of our tour guide as we explored.

First, we met in the small rocks and minerals museum on site. We were all able to take home a stone as a souvenir. Anderson chose fool's gold (pyrite), I chose a piece of amethyst, and Bennett chose a peacock stone that was exquisite--bright royal blue with metallic flecks in it.

Next, our tour guide took us to a huge rock quarry whose property is adjacent to the castle's site. That was a highlight of the tour for me as we had just studied the layers of earth, so having a close-up view of layers of rock which reached over 450 feet tall was a treat. There was a lookout point with railings (still made me a bit nervous with the kids, though) where we could stand and watch the excavations and rock breaking that was going on below. The equipment looked like they were the size of match box cars from our view. Eventually, when they have removed all they can from this area, they will fill this gigantic hole with water. As someone who used to jump off cliffs in high school at an old quarry, I never realized how very, very deep that water was. I only knew that none of us could ever find the bottom!

Next we ventured back to the castle where we saw the adjacent building used for parties and entertaining. They were built as replicas of the queen of England's tents. The chandelier was the largest of its kind in North Carolina, made of thousands of hand-picked crystals, and the glass which surrounded most of the building was recycled and done by hand.

We then followed a beautiful trail over a large wooden bridge that stretched over the place where the pond empties into a stream. Beyond the bridge was another bridge (which looked like a draw bridge) that led to the huge double doors of the castle. The castle looks like it has a moat around it! We toured the inside of the castle, with its beautiful hardwood floors, suits of armor, ornate woodworking, iron chandeliers, stone, and high ceilings. We also watched a fifteen minute video on the history of the castle.

Next, we went mining! We all were able to mine for gold and gemstones. Playing in the sand and water and finding these treasures were such treats for the boys. They found all kinds of stones--from emeralds, to amethysts, to pyrite, to rose quartz, to a variety of other stones.

We concluded our trip with lunch out by the pond under one of the tents on the property that is just by the bridge. It was peaceful and relaxing. It had been raining most of the day, but by this point, the earth was wet and silent. The boys were lethargic and still. It was a much-needed rest from a very busy day. But what fun!

I hope to post pictures very soon....I just have to get them from my sister since my camera's memory card was not in it--a discovery I did not make until after we arrived at the castle.

an afternoon at pullen park

As you can read from previous posts, we really love Fridays around here. Fridays are typically our field trip days. The week of Labor Day, we had to have school on Friday since we took Monday off. But, since we can finish school in a few hours, especially when we have tests (which we do at the end of the week), we were able to spend most of the day together as a family, just having fun.

After tests were completed, we ate lunch at Carolina Ale House. This restaurant is one of the boys' favorites because it has sports memorabilia and lots of tv's showing various sporting events. In fact, I think they walk in, fingers crossed, saying hail mary's with rosary beads in hand (and we're not even Catholic), praying that the hostess will seat us in the "NC State" section. Unfortunately, that section's booths were taken, so were relegated to the far-less-interesting, not nearly as visually appealing "Carolina" section. Ugh. The boys were not happy about that.

After lunch, we headed over to Pullen Park for some good ol' family time. The weather was beautiful--a late summer day with plenty of sunshine and temperatures which remind you that fall is indeed just a few weeks away--a truly perfect day to enjoy the outdoors.

First, we rode the train which encircles most of the park. It is the same train I loved to ride as a young girl; Actually, I still love to ride it! To be able to ride that same train with my children now brings such joy to my soul. It is the merging of my own childhood memories with the memories my boys are creating for themselves, right before my eyes. There's something so indescribably sweet and precious about that.

After the train ride, the boys and I played on the swings and monkey bars while Paul bought more tickets for the boys to ride the kiddie boats and the carousel. I was a bit sad to see that Anderson had outgrown the kiddie boats. He barely fit in them! But, he was willing to endure a cramped space with little leg room and a tinge of embarassment so that his brother could enjoy the ride. Bennett generally doesn't like to ride things like this without his big bro at his side.

We finished our day at the park with a ride on the carousel. Again, my boys enjoyed the same ancient, beautiful carousel that I rode as a child. I love that the operators allow the ride to last quite awhile. In fact, by the time the ride ended, I felt a bit queasy. Sadly, I am getting less amusement-park-ride-tolerant as I age. I want to change that!

I will probably write and say this so much that friends get tired of reading and hearing it, but I am so grateful that God led us to teach Anderson at home this year. It kinda reminds me of the credit card commercial...

The cost of homeschool materials--$300.

Weekly field trips--$25

Hours spent per week teaching and planning--20.

Number of chores left undone as a result--lots.

Good quality time with my children...

Priceless.

more museum pics

the fossil dig

As I mentioned in the previous post, we had a fossil dig in our sand box in the back yard on Wednesday. It was a beautiful, cool, fall-like day on Wednesday, ideal weather for an outdoor science experiment.

Since Anderson is studying fossils, I took him outside with containers of old playdough, a large spoon, salad tongs, and a cookie sheet. We explored our woods looking for objects that we could imprint in the playdough. This would demonstrate how an object can leave its mark in soil and rock that then hardens and can be studied thousands of years later. We found acorns, pine needles, pine cones, mushrooms, sticks, a snail, and leaves. We rolled out our playdough and placed each item firmly into it, leaving a clearly visible, distinct imprint. We then allowed the playdough to harden.

Next, I took several of those objects and buried them in our sandbox. Anderson had to carefully dig to find each of the objects without damaging them during his excavation. This demonstrated to him how scientists must be very careful, working tediously to recover fossils without damaging them.

Although we had plenty of unwanted help from our Golden Retriever, Hampton, and even though Bennett had a difficult time understanding why he couldn't just run his large truck all over the sandbox while "Bubba" was digging, we had a good time. Just being outside with my boys, basking in warm sunshine and cool breezes, was a gift to this teacher.

full days, fossils, field trips, and friday fun

It seems that my only time to blog is on the weekends. My weekdays are filled with school work, planning, cleaning, cooking, football practices, and playtime with the boys. Yes, my schedule is chock-full of various tasks, but I am so happy that we made the decision to teach Anderson at home this year. We are having fun!

This past week kept us very busy! With football practices, the first NC State home football game of the season, a doctor's appointment for both boys to have physicals and vaccinations, and a field trip planned, we wanted to have as little work to do as possible on Friday so we could go to the museum. I have learned that I must carefully plan our weeks as you have to complete a certain amount of work each day to not get behind. (And the perfectionist tendency in me does not want to ever be behind!) My goal is to try to finish school by the beginning of May to give Anderson a long break before he starts sixth grade next August. In order to do that, we work anywhere from three to five hours a day on school work, and lately it seems that our school day has extended from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm with a thirty minute break around 10:30 am.

On Monday, we had a very full, long day. I think it was our longest school day ever; we wrapped up our day by 2 pm, but it was necessary since the boys had their appointment with Dr. Britt (our favorite pediatrician) and a football practice on Tuesday, and I didn't want to have to work into the afternoon that day. Anderson and I are at our best in the morning hours, for sure. On Wednesday we had a beautiful fall-like day which was perfect for our fossil dig! I will write about that and post photos in the next blog. On Thursday, we had a full day of school followed by football practice and NC State's first home football game of the season. Sadly, we lost to South Carolina 7-3, but at least it was close. Thursday was Granddaddy Paul's birthday, so he and Ava (aka Grammy) spent the night with us after the State game so that Paul could take his dad to play golf for his birthday on Friday morning. So, on Friday morning, Grammy went with the boys, Jackson (my nephew who is in the second grade and is also homeschooled) and me to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. We have been to this museum several times, and we always enjoy it.

Since Anderson has been studying fossils and dinosaurs, I especially wanted us to see those particular exhibits that are there. They are fantastic! So much of what Anderson had learned about was on display, and since I had researched the exhibits before we went, I had him read about the Acrocanthosaurus, a dinosaur whose fossils are on display and were found in this part of the country. It is a dinosaur that was very similar to the T-Rex.

Even though we visited the museum to see the fossil and dinosaur exhibits, we enjoyed browsing the entire museum. Anderson liked the bugs and butterflies exhibits especially. We were able to have the butterfly house all to ourselves, and several butterflies lit on Anderson and Ava! Bennett was enthralled with the stuffed animals that are on display on the lower level of the museum, just past the entrace. He kept asking me to hold him as he looked at a large stuffed panther, an owl, a Bald Eagle, and the gigantic teeth of a Great White Shark. Whew! Were they huge!

After spending two full hours at the museum, we went to the City Market and ate at Big Ed's with my brother-in-law, Jordan who works downtown. Ava especially loved this old-fashioned restaurant that serves some delicious, old-fashioned, southern country cookin'! It was delicious, and the portion size was extra generous which is, I can only assume, in keeping with the namesake of the restaurant, Big Ed.

On Saturday, we went on a family bike ride on the American Tobacco Trail. My dad surprised me this week with a new bike of my own. I have not had my own bike since he and Mom gave me my ten-speed when I was a child. So, needless to say, I was so excited! We biked for eight miles, and during the ride, Anderson kept telling me he didn't feel well. As it turns out, he has a virus and has been sick all day today. Thankfully, he seems much better tonight. Prayers are being answered as we were very concerned he had the flu. Whatever it was, it appears God is taking care of it quickly for us, and we are grateful.

What a week! Thankfully we have the day off tomorrow to rest and prepare for another busy week to come. Labor Day is here, and summer officially ends. Fall.....here we come! Adventures await...

more photos from field trip friday