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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

3 Days Away From it All

We made it back to civilization! We spent the last 3 days in Nantahala in a cabin that has no wi-fi and no cell service. It was also 40 minutes to the closest grocery store (in Andrews, NC). Honestly, it was really nice to turn the cell phones off and play in the river, build fires and play cards.

We went down on Saturday, unpacked and grilled out some steaks. The cabin was a little strange because it had no oven (only a stove top) and only a toaster oven. Did you know that you can bake potatoes in a toaster oven? We found out that you could! The cabin was an old cabin, we learned from a neighbor that it was built in the '60s and was falling down until several years ago when a couple bought it and fixed it up. It has no air conditioning and a tiny shower. A large creek runs under the back porch and the sounds of the rushing water were relaxing.

Sunday and Monday, we spent part of our day at the Nanthala Outdoor Center, the only place that had a restaurant close by. We got to watch the rafters and kayakers come down the river and there was a shallow spot on the other side of the river where Luke could play in the water. The barbecue place also had some good ice cream that we partook in both days (plus when you can't drink beer, there's always ice cream. I need to cut back on that so I don't gain a bajillion pounds this pregnancy.)

In the evenings, we grilled out and made s'mores over a campfire. While the cabin didn't have access to cable, they did have dvds and Luke found his new favorite movie, Wall-E, that we watched no less than 10 times this weekend.  While Luke watched movies in the evening, Dillon and I played cards and then before bedtime we all read books.

It was nice to not answer emails and texts and to not check Facebook endlessly. It was nice to get relax for a few days and enjoy each other's company. We're off work for the rest of the week so we're hoping for some swimming days, and maybe a trip to the zoo and to make our vacation high last just a little longer.




Our little cabin. You had to take a footpath and cross a bridge to get to it from our car.

Luke loved running across the bridge.


Learning to fish!






Splashing in the river!


Pure joy.







Pinecones!


An Eastern Ring Neck snake Luke almost stepped on. He had an orange ring around his neck and a bright orange belly.





Dirty creek hands.



I love this picture... camping messiness!


A salamander Luke caught in the creek.


Creek feet

Top of the ridge on US Forest Service Road 711


Potty training is going well, except when you're in the middle of nowhere. A waterfall made a good pit stop. :|


Lake Nantahala. When we go back, and if we ever get another canoe, we will come here to paddle instead of the river. No one was there and it was so peaceful.



River rat.



Ice cream number 2!




Luke loved helping Dillon get wood together for the fire. Dillon would cut it and Luke would stack it.