I’ve always loved July 4th because it’s all about chillin’ out, grillin’ out, and celebrating America’s Independence!
Last year, we spent the long holiday weekend at my dad and stepmom’s house in North Carolina and we had so much fun that we decided to do it again this year! They live in the country a bit and not what I consider “close” to most things–however, there is something amazingly peaceful about the area and it’s a nice escape from places we typically vacation to. Just being away from the road traffic that we are used to hearing all day/night long and a zillion other houses makes me want to live that country life! (Though my only stipulation would be to live within 10 mins of a grocery store!) I mean, who wouldn’t want this view drinking their coffee every morning? So beautiful!
We rented a pontoon boat again this year and spent an afternoon out on Lake Lure. I love that you get the view of the mountains along with the lake. Also, there are some crazy beautiful homes on that lake!
While everyone was enjoying the water, the one time I jumped in I literally had a mini panic attack for some unknown reason. No clue what came over me, but I just knew I needed to get the F up out of that water!! I’m not a huge fan of swimming in water that I can’t see through, but I’ve done it before and haven’t felt this way. Something weird just came over me and I was like, “Nope! I can’t do this.” Oh well, I’m more about that lounging on the boat with a cold drink life, anyway. 😉
My dad lives less than an hour from Asheville so we ventured that way one day. Grabbed lunch at Tupelo Honey (yum!) and then took the girls to the local Nature Center, which was basically a mini zoo with all the animals they had. Both girls loved it!
We needed a cold adult beverage something serious after that excursion, so we headed over to Highland Brewery. If you are ever in this area you HAVE TO GO HERE! The whole place is family friendly, with the exception of an adults only rooftop bar area. Since we had the kiddos we couldn’t check that out, but they also have a super fun tasting room, with a jumbo jenga game and indoor cornhole. Also, a huge outdoor lawn area, but after being in the heat all morning we opted to drink our brewskis in the AC.
We ended the day at Juicy Lucy’s for burgers and milkshakes….and Isla decided she would scream her face off throughout the entire dinner. She’s officially reached the age where eating out is not much fun for Mom and Dad. :-/ But the food was good!
We traveled up to Chimney Rock a few times. We didn’t hike this year just because Isla is going through the phase where she would NOT be a happy camper if we attempted something like that, and we never adjusted her to a carrier as she got older…soooooo it just wasn’t a good idea this year. But anyway, they had a cute little carnival that Josie was dying to go to! So we took her there once right before the Lake Lure Fireworks and she had the place all to herself! We were trying to be clever and miss all the traffic, but just ended up missing the fireworks altogether. But it was ALL she wanted to do, so a win for us! We ended with her first snow cone which was one more check on our Summer Bucket List.
We drove back up to Chimney Rock on July 4th to visit the Burntshirt Winery. It was a beautiful tasting room with a great view of Chimney Rock. We stopped by Scoops for some milkshakes to go (we like milkshakes!), then came home to relax.
Actually a lot of our time was spent relaxing, which is what I’m all about 75% of the time on vacation. My stepmom is an amazing cook and she filled our bellies up good during our visit. Can’t thank them enough for having us and are already looking forward to our next trip!
A little front yard yoga, anyone? 😉
Leave a Reply