Looking Glass Falls

When I woke up on Saturday, I needed an adventure.  I quickly decided to check out a local waterfall.  A little online searching led me to Looking Glass Falls.  This is an 85-foot waterfall in Brevard (Transylvania County).  Transylvania County has 250 falls and is known as the Land of Waterfalls.  This waterfall was busy with visitors that day.  You can view it from the road or go down the steps to the viewing deck.  For a better look, you can go around the deck.  The rocks are slippery (be careful).  You can park along the guardrail on that side of the road.  The roads are pretty curvy, so take your time and enjoy the view.  I am ready to check out even more falls...stay tuned for my list.  And now, some breathtaking photos. 

 

Imagine how high the rocks above are (85 foot falls)

 

Love mountain water...so pure and pretty

 

Did some climbing to get this one

 

Ahhh.... :)

 

Festival of Lights and Luminaries

The Festival of Lights and Luminaries is in Dillsboro (Jackson County- next one over).  I live 30 minutes or so from there.  The town is so cute and pretty, especially during the festival.  The shops are also lit up and stay open later on festival nights (two nights each over two weekends).  We went in one store with a guitarist and passed by a shop with a band.  Some of the businesses have treats for visitors to enjoy.  We went in the Fudge Factory and the general store (with an ice cream counter...cute!), among others.  A friend from high school, who now lives here, accompanied me.  I highly recommend checking out the festival if you're ever here at Christmas.  Checking out Christmas lights in cute downtown areas was on my top 10 list (list update will follow soon).   

Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas is a yearly tradition on Main Street in Waynesville.  My church, First Baptist, hosts a Bethlehem Marketplace during this event.  We had an excellent turnout.  I kept hearing that it wasn't as cold as last year.  Tents included the census takers, food (our tent), breadmaking and spices.  There was also a live nativity.  I didn't explore the other downtown events (pretty well occupied), but there were groups singing and dancing. 

Located right on Main Street

Woodworking

I guess they were making drums ;)

Breadmaking

Pottery

Spinning

Census takers

Food

 

Waynesville Christmas Parade

The Waynesville Christmas Parade was on a Monday evening.  It began on my street and also went down Main Street.  It was nice to be able to walk to the starting point.  When I came home, there were bands practicing on either side of my building.  Like any good parade, there were fire trucks, marching bands and kids dancing.  There was also a Christmas tree made out of canned goods.  A lot of goodies were handed out.  I got a small dog bone for my doggy niece, Sprinkles and a promo gift card for Bojangles.  There was an appearance from Curious George and of course, Santa Clause.  It was hard to get good photos, but here are a few that turned out pretty well.     

Tuscola High is near my office. 

A fun blast from the past

 

Pink Beds Trail Hike

The Pink Beds Trail is in the Pisgah National Forest.  We hiked this on the first day of December.  It was a mild and beautiful day.  The trail blooms with pink flowers in the spring, giving it the name.  We crossed into Transylvania County, known as the land of waterfalls.  This was my first time going into that county (I wonder how many till I reach all 100?).  This was my second adventure with the Haywood Hikers.  It was an easy hike and a pretty short day.     

 

Part of a mountain bog

FROZEN

View at lunchtime

Skiing at Cataloochee

Cataloochee Ski Area is in Maggie Valley, NC.  On Sunday, they teamed up with Haywood Christian Ministries to offer a GREAT deal.  By bringing a coat or 10 canned goods, you got a FREE lift ticket.  Even with the donation and my rentals, I skiied more cheaply on a weekend than on a weekday.  Only one intermediate slope was open (two slopes that ran together), but it entertained me for hours.  I had the most fantastic time.  I'm planning to get a season's pass and rent equipment for the season.  As you can see, I wore a helmet...just for the sake of safety.  All those years of skiing with the church group actually paid off.  Oddly enough, Cataloochee requires seasonal rentals to take place much earlier in the year.  Thankfully, they referred me to a store in Asheville (pretty reasonably priced).  P.S.- No, I didn't skip church.  I went to the early service! ;)   

 

 

Waiting to get back on the lift

 

A view of an intermediate slope

Thanksgiving Fun

Thursday
My day started with a run.  I've done a turkey trot the past few years, but this time, I took the free approach.  My new shoes and I headed out for their first run (Asics GT-2170, for your curious runners).  I watched some of the parade and even bought little man's Christmas gift online.  The afternoon brought our big family meal at Memaw's house.  My brother and cousin did their typical leaf raking (my grandparents have a yard full)...and I helped...a little.  ;) If you're curious about dessert, it was awesome! You'll just have to join us sometime and try it out.  I had some pineapple cake (my late Uncle Haywood's favorite) and some cake with chocolate icing (my late Aunt Lola's recipe).  The sugar in the icing crunches...and we love it!  
 
Friday
I got an early start and headed to the football game with Marc and Shelley.  They had an extra ticket, so I sat with them instead (better seat!).  On the way, we stopped at a few stores in Smithfield.  They wanted to get a birthday gift for one of our tailgating pals.  When we got in town, we also stopped at UBE.  I picked up a gift on my mom's behalf and visited Tony, one of my Greenville running pals.  We ate with Curtis and Patricia at the alumni tailgate.  I enjoyed seeing familiar faces from church and ECU.  Dickey's catered the taigate and it was a big spread....totally yummy.  It was a crazy, double OT victory. 

 

 

The Marching Pirates

Purple haze...running out of Skully's mouth

Pee Dee and his pirate pal

TOUCHDOWN!

Celebrating a TD

Pee Dee doing his post-TD pushups

 

Whoo!

 

 

VICTORY!!!

Saturday
On Saturday, I had the chance to hang out with my sister and little man.  Brittany was about to head out, so I kept Anderson for a bit.  We read (mostly looked at) books.  At this age, Anderson is more interested in holding a book and trying to gnaw on it.  Little man is teething, so he gums on a lot of stuff and drools like crazy.  He acted a bit fussy, but he calmed down on the changing table (being on his back means he can reach his feet...favorite toy).  He also enjoyed looking at himself in his mirrored closet door.  Anderson also loves his exersaucer.  It has a musical chameleon.  This is why I now randomly sing red, yellow, I'm blue....  I had a fantastic time hanging out with my sister and little man. 

I love my exersaucer

I have lots of hair

Fun with Aunt Megan

All smiles!

 

National Park Adventure!

On Saturday, I met the Haywood Hikers in Maggie Valley.  I met some of them during a town-sponsored hike.  We drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  With the leaves gone, you can see so much through the trees.  The views of the mountains are gorgeous.  As we were approaching the Smokemont Campground, we saw ELK! It was from a good distance, but I was so excited to see them.  The best time to see elk is early morning or within a few hours of sunset, so we were fortunate to get a glimpse.  Elk were brought into the park a few years ago to help restore the population.  They wear collars and people must stay at least 150 feet away (from all wildlife).  We also saw wild turkeys.  We hiked the Bradley Fork Trail, which runs along a river.  The water was absolutely beautiful.  The trail was pretty easy and not very steep.  We had lunch by the river.  The water is very clean.  I love the sound of rushing water.  When you combine that with mountain air on a crisp fall day, it just doesn’t get much better. 

 

OBX Marathon 2012

Friday

I went to my hotel.  Then, I headed to the race expo for my number and shirts.  Then the power went out…EVERYWHERE.  The only places to find electricity or fresh food were the hospital and grocery stores.  I got some groceries, found that my hotel was dark and searched for power.  The Harris Teeter sub counter did a booming business.  While heading back, I started seeing lights.  Driving around with no traffic lights was an adventure not to be repeated. 

Saturday

I slept in and had a bagel to carb load for my 10 a.m. race.  I ran in the Buccaneer 5k.  Some parts of the course were pretty congested, but it was a good race.  Without launching into a tirade, I would appreciate the announcers providing some etiquette tips to runners.  I didn’t take walk breaks, which I was happy about (no shame in doing so).  I ran into a few Oakmont people at the race.  The Saturday races started at First Flight High School.  I ran a quick errand and headed back to eat, get cleaned up and loaf around.  Before leaving that evening, I spent some time on the beach and took pictures.  Then, I ran a few more errands and headed to our annual carb loading supper.  One of my errands involved buying an elastic knee support.  It was worth EVERY PENNY.  It was good to see friends from Oakmont and just to be back east.  I was asleep by 10.  Quote of the day: ‘’You’re running the 5k and the marathon? Let me shake your hand.’’  She really did shake my hand.  There are bigger feats, though.  Some runners competed in the 8k and the marathon (Blackbeard Challenge).  Running the 5k+marathon was the Queen Anne’s Revenge Challenge. 

Buccaneer 5k medal

 

The beach at Nags Head

5k t-shirt

Sunday

I awoke at 4:15.  I consumed two acetaminophen (1000 mg).  Yes, that is the correct dose.  I totally packed more, which I took at around 9:00 (just had to wait four hours).  Before I get ahead, I had a bagel for breakfast.  That’s always my pre-long race breakfast.  I left very early to catch the shuttle in Manteo.  I parked near the finish and got shuttled to the start.  That was a great way to go, as I didn’t have to go back to the island afterwards.  I was on bus one, which filled up and left before the scheduled time of 5:45.  I was wearing my Oakmont Runners for Bo shirt, my typical Capri pants and some really worn-out Asics.  This was their last race.  I also had on a patriotic cape and a red tutu.  I didn’t see any Oakmont people today, but runners have a way of befriending strangers.  I was even invited to huddle for warmth.  The course involved concrete, asphalt and some trail running.  The trails were a nice break from the sun.  It was a pretty warm day.  My nutrition while running was mainly fruit snacks (Spiderman and Gushers).  There was a table with fresh banana bread…AMAZING! I drank Gatorade and water.  I also enjoyed some Biofreeze.  I was feeling pretty good, but it never hurts.  I should have reapplied sunblock.  I definitely sweated it off (my face was really salty from the sweat).  I also ended up with some funky tan lines.  My run/walk ratios varied.  I started with 3/1 (my timer was set for 2/1, but it cut off and was 3/1 when I cut it back on).  Eventually, I did 2/1 for a while and then 1/1.  And yes, I totally fudged sometimes and walked (just kept moving).  But, I finished and I improved my time.  One of my pals from the beginning called out to me during the race.  It was good to see her again.  One guy took my picture.  Apparently his girlfriend has something against tutus.  He took it near the finish when I was ahead of her (and planned to tell her that).  Thanks to the running/walking, the bridge wasn’t so bad.  The downhill that followed was most welcome.  I spent a few minutes on the main road in Manteo, followed by a few turns and the finish.  The support during this race is always great.  Visitors and community members are everywhere cheering.  Even some of the residents were providing liquids and food (not just official stations). Names are printed on race bibs, so people can call out our names and cheer.  Random runners offered congratulations after the race.  I left the OBX with three finisher’s medals (one for each race and one for the challenge).  We also got some really cool little hats.  My post-race meal: the Billy Barou nachos from Moe’s (chips, queso, pico de gallo, chicken, sour cream, pinto beans) and an orange soda.  During the race, I thought about which event to run next year.  Of course, I’ve already decided on the marathon.  J    

Yes, my shoes have bitten the dust

My fun finisher's hat

Marathon shirt

 

Finisher's medal

 

Queen Anne's Revenge Challenge medal.  It has the words strong and insane.  That sums it up.  ;)

 

One side of the strap on my challenge medal.