We spent last week at the Gibbons/Reid "Gibbnest" in the mountains of NC, the same place we were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving last year. It was just as beautiful this time as it was then, but with the benefit of warmer weather! We were able to hike and explore the area much more, and once again made ourselves so at home that it was hard to leave. We call this particular destination the "Pollock vacation," because he (for once) gets to take part in the action - running off-leash and sniffing out new terrain.
A portion of the trip was made especially fun by the company of our friends Cynthia, Michael and their son Charlie (just a couple months younger than Frances). The babies were great sports about all of the schedule-wrecking mayhem, and we adults had never shared so many consecutive nights of cooking, eating and laughing together. It was fantastic!
Above are the views from Whiteside Mountain on a clear day. Below are pictures from the hike we took to the top on a foggy day earlier in the week. Both conditions were beautiful.
The big field at Little Pond was a favorite short-walk destination. The grass was kind of long, and the terrain a little more bumpy than the babies were used to. Watching their overwhelmed and excited steps, it looked sort of like they were walking on the moon. Sitting down was easier.
The water play table we brought from home was a hit!
Frances was pretty serious about gearing up for the first Whiteside hike...
...and then crashed about 30 minutes in :)
The "Farmer's Market" in Cashiers is home to a sweet little pig, named "BB," I think? We wished it had been time to pick out a pumpkin, but it just seemed too early. They were beautiful to look at, anyway.
More adventures and sights...
Here's the very little video we took - most importantly Pollock's first "swim!"
A portion of the trip was made especially fun by the company of our friends Cynthia, Michael and their son Charlie (just a couple months younger than Frances). The babies were great sports about all of the schedule-wrecking mayhem, and we adults had never shared so many consecutive nights of cooking, eating and laughing together. It was fantastic!
Above are the views from Whiteside Mountain on a clear day. Below are pictures from the hike we took to the top on a foggy day earlier in the week. Both conditions were beautiful.
The big field at Little Pond was a favorite short-walk destination. The grass was kind of long, and the terrain a little more bumpy than the babies were used to. Watching their overwhelmed and excited steps, it looked sort of like they were walking on the moon. Sitting down was easier.
The water play table we brought from home was a hit!
Frances was pretty serious about gearing up for the first Whiteside hike...
...and then crashed about 30 minutes in :)
The "Farmer's Market" in Cashiers is home to a sweet little pig, named "BB," I think? We wished it had been time to pick out a pumpkin, but it just seemed too early. They were beautiful to look at, anyway.
More adventures and sights...
Here's the very little video we took - most importantly Pollock's first "swim!"