Hideaway in the Hills: A Mountain Vacation - Day Six

Hi there!  I'm catching up on some 'back dated' entries that I have saved as drafts in the background/editing area of the blog.  Might as well tidy up a bit while I'm poking around!

love and kisses,
HistoryDiva
April 27, 2017

The last day of our mountain vacation - February 27, 2014.

One of the best things about this resort was the 'take a book, leave a book' library in the office.  Apparently folks are constantly leaving their vacation paperbacks behind them in the units and the collection got so large that the staff decided to actually do something about it.  The books are all 'free to a good home' and the guests are welcome to leave behind anything they have finished reading...which means is you like thrillers and weepy chick lit you're covered.

Our big 'adventure' for the day was visiting local wineries and sampling ALL the wines!  My aunt and uncle have developed a passion for visiting wineries while traveling and are always bringing home new vintages for us to try.  It was an entertaining and tasty way to end our vacation.  

Hideaway in the Hills: A Mountain Vacation - Day Five

Hi there!  I'm catching up on some 'back dated' entries that I have saved as drafts in the background/editing area of the blog.  Might as well tidy up a bit while I'm poking around!

love and kisses,
HistoryDiva
April 26, 2017 

Day Five of our trip, February 26, 2014...and it appears that we either didn't do much this day OR I didn't take any pictures OR I just forgot!!! 

Anyway!

Have you seen the movie Dirty Dancing?  It was shot in and around Lake Lure.  Remember that scene where Baby runs across the golf course to ask her dad for money?  Well...that would be the green (okay, brown cause it's winter) right there in the center of these pictures.  The resort we stayed at offers special tours during the summer to all the movie fans who turn up wanting see the movie locations.   

Hideaway in the Hills: A Mountain Vacation - Day Four

Hi there!  I'm catching up on some 'back dated' entries that I have saved as drafts in the background/editing area of the blog.  Might as well tidy up a bit while I'm poking around!

love and kisses,
HistoryDiva
April 26, 2017 

Day Four of the trip, February 25, 2014.

Today we did some more local sightseeing, mostly down by Lake Lure and then we wandered and shopped a bit in the little tourist town.

So...here are some pictures of the lake.

The DivaUncle...working his new favorite hat.

Ducks!

Yup, more ducks.

I don't remember if this was a heron or a crane...it's been THREE YEARS since I looked at these photos you guys. 

Loved these two fearless fowl!

They came so close to the shore (checking to see if we had any treats...but alas, we didn't) that we could have reached out and petted them. 

Hideaway in the Hills: A Mountain Vacation - Day Three

Hi there!  I'm catching up on some 'back dated' entries that I have saved as drafts in the background/editing area of the blog.  Might as well tidy up a bit while I'm poking around!

love and kisses,
HistoryDiva
April 26, 2017 

Day Three of our trip to the mountains, February 24, 2014.

Today we took in some more of the local color and did the 'tourist' thing...which totally means we hit up a State Park. 

Our first stop was....Blowing Rock State Park.

This place blows.  (See what I did there??)  I mean that literally.  The park is located at one end of a long valley that just funnels wind like crazy!  There is an old Native American legend about that rocky ledge you'll see in the upper left of the first picture, all about a brave warrior and a maiden.  I'd tell it here, but then you'd have nothing to Google later! 

It was a beautiful spot to be on a sunny, late winter afternoon.  But it was a bit on the 'seriously chilly' side that day...as illustrated below by my aunt who is wearing six or seven layers.

One of the other attractions in the area are what is know as the 'Church of the Frescos' locations.  Years ago an artist traveling in the area was commissioned by several area churches to paint religious frescos in their chapels. These are small, out of the way area churches.  The communities which support these churches leave the doors to the buildings unlocked so that folks can come in to view the frescos and have a quiet moment or two the lord.

The paintings are beautiful and moving...but to me, taking a picture of something like that just seems...wrong somehow.  So instead, I found a fantastically fun stained glass window which depicted the Ark and lookit...

STAINED GLASS TURTLES!!! 

One of my favorite highlights of all my family's yearly vacation road trip to visit the grandparents was getting to stop at the New River Gorge overlook in West Virginia. 

If you ever get the chance to visit, stop and take a look...it's the most beautiful, peaceful place I've ever been. 

So you can imagine my surprise when my uncle let me know that the river we were driving along was...the New River!  It was like running into an old friend unexpectedly and made my day.   

Our last stop of the day was Ashe County Cheese, a local dairy.

They store their milk in...GIGANTIC COWS!!! 

Day. Made.

Hideaway in the Hills: A Mountain Vacation - Day Two

Hi there!  I'm catching up on some 'back dated' entries that I have saved as drafts in the background/editing area of the blog.  Might as well tidy up a bit while I'm poking around!

love and kisses,
HistoryDiva
April 26, 2017 


Day Two of our Mountain trip, February 23, 2014.  We decided that scenery was the main requirement of the day and poked about twisty mountain back roads all afternoon before stopping for a very late lunch at a roadside dinner...where we caused quite a stir because tourists don't usually stop there! 

A Weekend Away - Part 3

Hello boys and girls!  Sorry for the delay in posting but I was off on another adventure and have been trying to catch up on a few 'real life' things before getting back to Blissfully.  Now if I just get off my duff and get my new pictures uploaded...

So, where was I?  Oh yeah, my long weekend in Helen.

As we were visiting the mountains during the holiday season, my aunt was eager to get some pictures of the town covered in Christmas lights.  So after dinner on Monday evening we headed into downtown, and you guys?  There was nobody else around. 

I mean seriously...there were a total of three people in town and we were them.

 

100% empty streets.

 

So we totally took advantage of it and ran all over the place! 

 

My lovely relatives in front of the "Santa" tree.

 

And speaking of Santa...there's a big pavilion in downtown where local musicians perform during the summer and which serves as the hangout for Santa and Mrs. Claus during the Christmas season.

 

Now, the Santas weren't around...

 

But their chairs were... 

 

The conversation went something like this...

Me: Hey look!  Santa's chair!
Aunt: Yeah, so?
Me: I'm gonna go sit in it! And so should you!
Aunt: We can't just sit in Santa's chair!
Me: You wanna bet? 

 

Boom!

 

Now, I'm pretty sure that qualifies us for the 'naughty' list...but still: totally worth it.

 

I feel that the lesson to take away from this one is that opportunity doesn't always knock - sometimes it leans on the bell.  

 

Also, I am easily amused.

 

Make of that what you will.   

My uncle made some new friends.

They're really tall...but rather flat in terms of personality.

 

Yes, I climbed inside a gigantic Christmas wreath to get this picture.

I'm a wee bit shameless.

 

There is a tiny little hill top park right on the edge of the downtown area which is something that, though I've visited Helen many times, I never realized.  Its a beautiful area, full of mountain views and crowded with picnic tables.

 

  And there's a waterfall...which they light up for the holidays.

There is a mini-golf course outside of the town and the owner went impressively overboard with the decorations, which we loved.  So we circled their parking lot to get better pictures. 

And I may or may not have gotten out of the car, run across the parking lot, jumped a small fence, and climbed into the middle of that clump of pre-lit trees and hugged a light up reindeer because OF COURSE I DID.

My aunt is somewhere in this picture...see if you can spot her.

 

- HistoryDiva