Asheville Area Antics

JJ's cousin got married this past weekend near Asheville. Corinna, Kay and I headed up the mountain early to spend time with extended family.

Uncle Jim rented a house, and although there was a mishap with a leaky shower that gushed through to the bottom floor, it was a nice set up.

Here's "The Pink House."

The highlight of the week before the weekend wedding was visiting The Biltmore House. I think I went there a long time ago but actually am not sure. It was a beautiful estate. We got a 2 day pass.

Of course, the primary reason for our trip was to attend Brittany and Jeff's wedding. The boys came up Friday afternoon.  We enjoyed the rehearsal dinner Friday night and hanging out by the hotel pool on Saturday before the wedding. The weather was looking very iffy as there were thunderstorms in Asheville throughout the week, even knocking out the power at The Holiday Inn. But, the weather cooperated!

The venue for the wedding was Hidden River Events in Swannanoa. The bride made a grand entrance...

He sealed the deal with a kiss and the couple rode off together...

We enjoyed good food and time with family at the reception. 

Jeff and his brother are opening a brewery in Charlotte in a few weeks. I tried a few of the beers on tap. The one in this picture was a coffee ale, quite tasty to one who drinks little beer.

We ended our wedding weekend by  hiking at Linville Falls, the place were JJ proposed to me in April of 1998. 

Unfortunately, on the way home we blew a tire along I-40. JJ changed the tire in 90+ degree heat. 

Thankfully we got home safely and were able to get a new tire. Though this was my first Father's Day without my dad, it was a good day.  We are blessed indeed!

Staunton River Camping

We had a great time camping with friends over Memorial Day weekend. We visited Staunton River State Park in Virginia. It was great to get away after a busy week of soccer tryouts and an eventful spring. I am way behind on posts and hopefully will catch up soon.

The kids liked the pool although the water was cold.

As always we enjoyed eating together. JJ made low country boil and his delicious wings, 20 pounds of them.

Most of the group went on a bike ride. We simply enjoyed hanging out together.

We spend a lot of time hanging out by the fire as it got rather chilly in the evenings. 

Our Java girl has a camping buddy!

I loved this pic I got of Corinna and JJ...

Rachel taught the kids how to play a card game called Spite and Malice. They played other card games, played on the  playground, and rode bikes.

The downside of the trip were the ticks and bug bites. I got over 100 bites which I think were Chiggers. One of the highlights of the weekend was that a friend from App named Julie was camping at Staunton River too. 

That's a wrap. Our next camping trip is coming up at the end of the month.