North Carolina- Waterfalls

After waking the family at 4:30am, driving an hour to the airport, and then flying an hour and a half into Asheville, NC....our first stop was the house we were renting for a nap.  I think we earned it.

A panorama of Pisgah National Forest

So, after a delicous brunch at Tupelo Honey (seriously...it was yummy and I got something totally weird.  Fried chicken on a stack of sweet potato pancakes.  Divine!), and a nap at the house, we went out on our first afternoon of exploration.

Because we knew bad weather may be coming in the area toward the later part of our stay, we went south into Pisgah National Forrest and drove straight to Sliding Rock.  Well, it was actually quite curvy as we got to experience a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway as well.

Sliding Rock is really a water fall.  It's a naturally sloping area where the water rushes over the rocks, but has become famous as a natural water slide.  With 11,000 gallons of  50 degree natural mountain spring water pouring over the 60 feet of rock, it was a true adventure.

I volunteered to be the photographer, at least for the first couple of slides.  Jeremy and the kids dipped their toes in the frigid waters, and almost turned back.  Well, I'm pretty sure he had to grab the arms of 2 out of the 3 kids and practically drag them up the side :)

Without hesitation though, Hannah gingerly walked onto the rock, sat her little tushy down in the cold water and went for it.

 A few seconds later, she plunged into the cold water below.  I was so proud of her!   After a breath-taking moment and swim to the side, the quickly scaled the rocks again for another turn.

By this time, Jeremy had a hold of Nathan, and started down the rock, with Nate sitting on his lap.  Of course, this did not keep Nathan from getting wet and falling into the cold water as well.

Nicole eventually followed suit and made her way out onto the rock slide and down into the cold waters below.

If you zoom in on this one, you can see Hannah beaming at Jeremy.

After several turns, it was declared that "fun mom" needed a shot at the rock slide.  I wanted to turn back, however I was determined to be "fun mom" and could not give up so easily.  So, in I went.  The girls wanted to slide with me, and down we went.  As I came up for air, I kept hollering, because I figured if I kept yelling, that meant I was still breathing.  The chilling water truly takes your breathe away!

At this point, Hannah was the only one left...everyone else was getting warm and dry.  So, up we went for one final slide.  I knew as I slid down that this was it for me.  This old thirty-something year old bum wasn't having a fun time on the bumpy rock slide.

Several minutes later, we were laughing together and taking fun pictures.

I love this one of us.  

We knew our vacation had gotten off to a memorable, and fun start.

This is one of the sweetest photos of the trip.

A short drive away and we found Looking glass falls, just off the side of the road.  It was beautiful!

Through Nathan's eyes.

This little rascal said he was taking a picture of me....but look what I found!

This next waterfall was accidentally discovered a couple of days later, but it deserves to be in this post.  We were headed home after a long and fun day when I saw a brown sign (I love brown signs) that said "Soco falls" near Cherokee, NC.  We quickly stopped and I peaked over the fence.  I could hear rushing water and see what looked liked stairs, but couldn't see the falls.  So, of course we got out to see what we could find.

I would probably say that this is the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen.

We had to "hike" down a sketchy looking trail.  Nathan and I stopped at one point, because I was afraid he would slip on his way down or way back up.  (It had been a scary/stressful day for me...I was almost done 'adventuring').

However, Jeremy took the girls down a bit further...and the pictures are just beautiful!

It was actually two water falls!!

It was fun to see and experience these water falls.

Do I look scared?  I was scared, and stressed from our day of hiking.  My heart say "YES:, my mind says "NOOOOO".  

New Waters

After our visit to Kennedy Space Center, we spent the evening in Coca Beach, just a block from the pier.  Of course, we had to take the kids to visit the Atlantic Ocean...and I never pass up a walk on the pier.

My sweeties and I, enjoying a cool breezy evening.

I love sunsets...and this one is from a different perspective.  Not over the water, as we are used to, but beautiful nonetheless. 

Enjoying the Atlantic Ocean for the First Time!

It was at this moment that I KNEW Hannah would end up soak...and she didn't disappoint :)  She lives life with a wonderful zeal!

Nathan is not known for his "beach bumming" capabilities (I wonder where that came from!?)...

We decided to take the back roads home and drive through the center of the state.  We found a little pull off to check out Lake Okeechobee.  

Oh look!  I found another pier :)

This is the beginning of the Everglades, and a really big lake!

Energy Whiz Solar Cook Off

Back in February, Nicole and her friend Cecilia, worked together in a Solar Cook off competition for the opening of a new FPL Solar facility.  Because they won 1st place in their culinary category and 3rd in design, they were invited to a state solar competition.  

Their menu remained mostly unchanged.  Nicole modified her quinoa recipe to make it more "Mediterranean" and less Mexican tasting.  

The girls stuck with the Very Veggie Fritatta

Nicole's funnel cooker remained unchanged because it worked nearly every time.  She cooked her quinoa in a black mason jar, placed inside of an oven bag and set in the center of a funnal cooker made by a car visor.

The girls also planned to make lemon shortcakes topped with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.

Nicole also made a sun-brewed peach tea, with peaches that Cecilia had picked just days before.  

Cecilia and her family modified their box cooker.  They used a larger and thicker insulated cooler, surrounded by plywood, and covered with a recycled oven door.  

The girls went through several rounds of design judging.  The greatest downside of the day was....it was cloudy.  There was simply not enough of the sun's rays that reached the earth.  Everyone struggled to get their food cooked.  our cookers did not get above 175 degrees or so.

Because the cookers did not get the sunlight they needed, several of their recipes were not fully cooked.  They had to ditch the quinoa and the cupcakes.  However, they made it work with the fritatta, fruit parfait, and tea.  

Ready for judging....

The girls did a beautiful job explaining their food to the judges, and they received rave reviews.  

They won 2nd place for their culinary creations!

Way to go!!!  We are so proud of you girls!!!