Asheville Drive and Day 1

For our first big vacation since moving to Florida, we opted to spend 6 nights in Asheville. Today, Friday, we made the drive up. It was a long, traffic-laden drive. We didn't expect there to be so many cars on the road and it took us about 45 minutes longer (of driving, not including stops) than the mapping websites projected. The kids were fine, we let them do electronics, and as a first, we brought the Nintendo Switch. They shared it in one-hour increments with little complaining. As always, I am glad that none of the kids inherited my propensity for car-sickness. I am unable to do much in a car; I can read in very short bursts, like plugging in an address, or quickly looking something up. There is no way I could read a book or play a video game. Sometimes, it can get a little lonely. Although, Thomas did all the driving, so he was a captive audience. We had trouble finding good gas stations, which is not usually a problem. At one point, we stopped at a travel center and were going to get food and then decided to get McDonald's, but the line was crazy and we couldn't even get in the parking lot. So, we went across the street to Hardees, but their dining room was closed. Finally, we ended up at the Food Lion deli, which was pretty good. That also added to our drive.

Kids on a road trip!

We made it to our cabin around 5. We are alone the first night, but tomorrow, the Wills arrive! I am a little disappointed with the cabin. It is more expensive than our usual rental houses and I expected it to be a nicer. It is okay, just not as big or nice as I expected. The pictures were honest, they were just well-done. Maybe we were spoiled by that amazing house we rented when we went to Boston. That was my dream house (I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this, but I contacted the owner to see if we could rent it again and she had sold it!). 

We unpacked the van and then went to Walmart for supplies. We got stuff for "picnic" lunches and dinner. After we ate, all of us but Jack went in the hot tub, it was a little tight for 5 but I still found it relaxing. It makes me want to get our hot tub up and running. There is a fooseball table in the garage and we played a few games. Everyone went to bed between 9-10, it was a long day.

Saturday, I woke up around 5:30. Thomas woke up at 7:30 and we decided to sit in the hot tub for a bit. The outside temperature was 54, much cooler than mornings in Florida, and it felt nice. Luke joined us a few minutes later and the other kids slowly got up. Everyone was up by 8:30 and they all said they slept fine. We had breakfast; Thomas taught Kara how to play poker; we played fooseball and darts.

We had sandwiches for lunch and left the house around 12 to go our first activity: horseback riding! I found a place called Smoky Mountain Trail Rides. When we were trying to decide whether to stick to our original plan or come to the rental a night early, we wanted to find an activity to make it worthwhile. I had brought up horseback riding to the Wills, but it wasn't something they were interested in doing. So, we decided if we could get a reservation, that would be the plan for Saturday before they arrived. And, we got a 1 o'clock reservation. Perfect! 

We got there just before 1 and learned that the ride before us was delayed. There was a smallish child who spent the whole ride terrified and she slowed everything down. The kids, especially Kara, were really cranky about the wait. But, we had no other plans and while no one likes to wait, the rest of us were more patient about the delay. The previous ride got back around 2 and then had to feed and water the horses and give them a break. Our ride was supposed to be from 1-3 and ended up being from 3-5.

Pre-ride

Horses on their break

Kara really liked this horse and was happy when it was assigned to her. Here she is getting her instructions.

The ride was amazing! The property has been in the owners family since the 1800s, they have over 800 acres and we rode up and around a mountain. We climbed 2100 feet. At times the drop off the trail was really steep, but obviously the horses knew what they were doing (and, the trail was fairly wide--although, they did seem to prefer to stay on the edge). It felt like we were alone in the world exploring in colonial times, we didn't see houses or any signs of other people for the majority of the ride. Thomas said he could imagine he was George Washington, out doing his surveys as a young man. At one point, early in the ride, we came to a view that everyone exclaimed looked as perfect as a painting. It was stunning!

Started to make the climb. I took this picture from above (obviously, I guess)

The view doesn't convey in the picture, but trust me, it was amazing! This was toward the start of the ride, which ended near the path below. 

Anna and Star

Thomas loved his horse (Spider), the oldest one in the barn.

We rode up and around for about an hour. Then, we took a short break and rode down. 

Luke on Charlie

Same view as earlier, only now from near the bottom.

All six of us in row.

Everyone enjoyed the experience and liked the horse they were assigned. Luke's horse was funny. He stopped to eat frequently and a couple of times, he ran to catch up to the horse in front of him. Fortunately, Luke took it in stride and said he loved it. He gave it 8.5/10. Thomas said 10/10. I said 9/10 (it hurt my hips a little); Kara and Jack both said 8/10, Anna said 7 (because of all the bugs). We set the bar high for the rest of our trip!

Last picture is a random barnyard pig. It's stomach dragged on the ground. Maybe pregnant?

We got back to the rental house at 6 and the Wills were waiting for us! Kayce made some amazing tacos (beef and chicken) and spanish rice. Luke was most impressed by her scoop chips and he told her how amazing it was that she made them and how good they were. She took the compliment gracefully! We caught up on all the news. The kids explored a bit and then settled in with video games. Kayce, Kara and I played Love Letters. Kayce had a narrow victory. Then, Kara called it a night and Kayce and I went in the hot tub and chatted some more. It was an amazing day!