Couples Retreat

Last weekend Josh and I headed back to paradise island aka Hilton Head. The first day we biked around and had dinner at San Miguels in Shelter Cove Marina.

The trip was a gift from Joyce for Christmas. The gift included her watching all the kids for the weekend. Super Grandma!!!

A highlight of our trip was biking around Pickney Island, a National Wildlife Refuge. Wow! This is just one of the many alligators we saw, only a few feet away.

My favorite part of the island was a pond where tons of big birds were nesting. The sound of all of them was loud, unique and included gurgling.

Never seen anything like it. I think this bird has babies in her nest.

We hardly saw any people while we were on the island.

Proof that I was there too.

Notice Josh way ahead. Looks like he's going into a jungle. When we'd bike accross sand, millions of crabs would run away.

Here's a close up of the crabs.

We made it to the end of the island.

This area had no sand, only shells.

I was so excited when Josh found this welk! He found 2 more before we left.

Another alligator, Josh almost hit this one with his bike before it ran away.

Rare beautiful flower.

After our bike ride, we went out to lunch and walked around Coligny Plaza.

Every place we ate was outside. And we were blessed with perfect weather.

Later we drove into Sea Pines to explore the Baynard Plantation Ruins.

Then we went back to the Sea Pines Forest Preserve and saw this huge lake we hadn't seen last time and 3 alligators.

We had to go back to Harbor Town. Live music was playing outside and we had dinner on the upper deck of Land's End Lavern.

Another highlight of our trip, the last day before leaving, we went on a 2 hour kayak tour.

We saw several dolphins pretty close. Tough to tell but this is a mom and baby. Go to https://youtu.be/YG1k5DZqBw4 to get a better view of some dolphins. Unfortanately I could only get my camera to film in black and white.

Josh caught a cannonball jellyfish. The guide told us so many interesting things and was very entertaining.

Thank you Joyce for blessing us with this awesome adventure!

A Happy Mother's Day!

The kids had a random day off school so we went to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens just west of Charlotte in Belmont, NC.

I got a family pass so we can go back each season and see what's in bloom.

We packed a picnic and let the kids explore.

Joyce and I have been trying to see more of the Charlotte area to get to know our city better.

One of our favorite things has been taking walks on the many Charlotte area greenways.

To celebrate Mother's Day, we headed to the mountains.

Our first stop was The Blowing Rock. Joyce is climbing on the actual rock formation that clearly states "climb at your own risk".

Next we headed to the observation tower.

Did this place ever have the views! The high country is just a little bit closer to heaven.

After a delicious lunch at Woodland's BBQ we headed to downtown Blowing Rock to attempt a 1.6 mile hike to Glen Burney Falls.

The path description said moderate to strenuous so I prepared the kids for a tough one.

There were several smaller waterfalls along the way.

We made it to the falls! I sure do love waterfalls.

Before heading back we visited one last falls and a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Our resting spot. So proud of the kids, only Benny had to be carried on the way back.

We checked in to the lodge at Chetola Resort and the kids went swimming.

Then we went paddle boating in the lake, ladies have their own boat.

For dinner we had pizza at the Mellow Mushroom. Then the kids got candy as a reward for the hike. Thankfully Jackson stopped eating when he got to the scorpion.

The next morning, after a wonderful breakfast buffet, we went to Bass Lake. Moses Cone Manor is the house in the background.

This 1 mile hike around the lake was very relaxing.

Coolest duck ever. Made a neat sound too.

So THANKFUL for a family that loves to explore and spent time together.

On our way from Blowing Rock to Boone, we stopped by Mystery Hill. The best part was their huge arrowhead collection.

In Boone we stopped for lunch at the Red Onion. Then the Mast General Store for snacks. We drove through Appalachian State University and headed home.