Summer Vacation 2008 ~ Days 6-8

Day 6: Columbia, SC... to Charlotte, NC

We got up Sunday morning and went to church with Stephen and Jamie. After church they had a picnic, but it was quite warm (and after having service outside we were ready for some AC!) We went home to leftover lasagna (yum!) and then packed up and headed to Matt's sister Melanie's house in Charlotte. James pretty much slept on the drive to Charlotte, so that was good. We got to Melanie and Miguel's and had a good time visiting with them on Sunday afternoon.

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Day 7: Charlotte - Trip to Grandfather Mountain & Blowing Rock

On Monday, they were both off from work, so we decided we'd go to Grandfather Mountain. We made the 2 hr. drive and as we climbed higher, the temperature dropped lower! We went to the animal exhibit they have there and then ate lunch at the visitor center/museum before going up the rest of the short, windy road to the top of the mountain. (They also had real-time weather information there for the top of Grandfather Mountain and it showed temperatures in the 30's at the top with the wind chill!) The temperature continued to drop... and the wind on top of Grandfather Mountain was SO HIGH! I'm not scared of heights, but going across the mile-high bridge was a little unnerving when the winds were howling through the holes in the bridge.

Melanie and Miguel trying to stay warm on Grandfather Mountain.

Needless to say, since the chilly wind was so unbearable, we spent only enough time at the top to snap a few pictures. Then, we decided to drive to Blowing Rock. It was a cute little town and had a lot of the usual "touristy" places and shops... including the all important fudge shop! We let James play on a cute playground and then walked around looking in the little shops until we got hungry and then ate dinner at a little English pub. After dinner we made a stop by the fudge shop to get some chocolate covered pretzels for now as well as some fudge to take home for dessert later. Both were quite yummy!

James got to ride a horse outside a toy store in Boone, NC (on our way to Blowing Rock).

He loved playing on the playground in Blowing Rock.

James fell asleep after eating his pretzel (but we soon discovered it was before he actually swallowed all of it!) Note the fashionable chocolate pretzel gotee he's sporting!

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Day 8: Charlotte - Billy Graham Library

The next day we decided we would go visit The Billy Graham Library right there in Charlotte, and then head over to an art museum. We didn't quite know what to expect, but we ended up staying at the library a lot longer than we thought we would, so we didn't even make it to the art museum. It was a very interesting place and great experience... and best of all it was FREE! For a full review and pictures of The Billy Graham Library, please see Matt's blog post about this awesome place! The picture to the right shows the actual house Billy Graham grew up in (on the left side). They took it apart brick by brick and numbered them so they could rebuild it to be exactly the same. I didn't even know that was possible! Beyond the house is The Billy Graham Library, built to look like a barn, complete with silo. The flowers and the grounds were absolutely beautiful!

Next, we decided we'd like to eat lunch (and James was definitely ready to eat!), so we found a Chili's and had a nice meal together before driving to Barnes & Noble to drop Miguel off at work. Of course, while we were there, we took advantage of their 50% discount and got some frappucinos! (We definitely miss having Melanie close by... especially when we go into Barnes & Noble!)

We had fun visiting with Melanie that afternoon and evening even though Miguel had to work. In the afternoon, we walked to a park near their townhouse so James could play. (As a side note, this park had a frisbee golf course... something I've never actually seen and didn't know existed outside our crazy Lake Placid Camp games!) When we got home we ordered pizza, watched the American Idol finale, and hung out with Mel. It was a great visit even though it was rather quick.