getting behind so soon. . .

We have been up to lots of fun things in the past few weeks. . .we just haven't taken the time to write about them. Two weekends ago we went to the Sheek's mountain place to pick apples from their orchard so we could make fresh cider! Before we get to that, however, we want to show you just what it looks like for us to load up our car for a weekend trip. Our loft has this rinky-dink shopping cart that everyone uses when they have big loads to take upstairs/downstairs. We often try to fit our entire weekend on one cartload so we can get on the road more quickly. That said, here is Curt. . .


When we got to the orchard, Curt miraculously transformed into a monkey. It was quite alarming. Even Steve commented that Curt didn't leave a single apple on the trees when he was done with them.


Pretty apples!! I think we had 11 of these crates plus a huge washbin full of apples!!


Now, it's time to make fresh apple cider! The loveliest assistants washing away all the dirt:


First, you turn a crank to grind up all the apples into mush - skin, cores, and all. Don't be fooled. . .that cranking is WAY harder than it looks!!


Then, you slide the barrel of apple mush to the end of the trough and crank down a lid that squeezes all the juice out. And that's how it's done. . .there is nothing like sticking a cup in that fresh stream of golden goodness. You can either can the juice or freeze it and it will keep all year!


Apparently we were too distracted drinking the delicious cider to take any pictures of us enjoying it. Know that we drank way more than we should have and are still enjoying it now. This past weekend we went to a pumpkin-carving party hosted by one of Curt's co-workers. We enjoyed getting outside and meeting some new people. Curt scooped out all the slimies!!


Basically, we took a screwdriver to the poor pumpkin and wreaked havoc. It's actually quite pretty when it's lit. Maybe next year we do the entire thing with only a screwdriver. . .


Sunday we drove out to the Parkway with some friends and hiked Sharptop Mountain. The trail was quite crowded and steep, but the 360 degree views at the top were worth fighting the masses. That's about it. Although, I think we just may have another adventure in the very near future. . .

an early birthday treat!

I have been wanting to take Curt to Boone for many months. I spent 4 fabulous years there for undergrad and it is still relaxing to go back to those mountains. So Curt, ever my sweetie, took me camping in the High Country for my birthday. We left Friday morning and drove straight to Julian Price Park so we could set up camp. Then we strolled around Blowing Rock for the afternoon and ate dinner at Storie Street Grille (while we were still clean) - one of my favorite restaurants. Saturday morning was quite chilly so we purchased hot drinks to enjoy while going to Art in the Park - a summer/fall monthly art festival in Blowing Rock. Then we had waffle cones of pumpkin ice cream from Kilwin's for lunch and headed to Boone. We had a great time wandering around King Street, Howard's Knob, and ASU campus. That evening we had Bonzai burgers at Murphy's. . .can you tell I really just wanted to go the mountains so I could eat loads of yummy food?? By Sunday morning we were feeling all that yumminess and decided to get some exercise. We packed up and drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway so Curt could see the viaduct. I had heard there was a trail underneath it, but had never hiked it. We decided to try it out and it was beautiful!! Here you can see the bridge as it curves around the mountain:


Susan Ada getting attacked by the ferocious, and large, tree roots:


Signing off another great weekend (even if we are 3 days dirty):