On the road again

We had a late start leaving the farm, but once we were on the road it was a nice drive. We stopped in Ashville, NC to see the city everyone talks so much about. We ate lunch at the Laughing Seed, which is a vegetarian restaurant on Wall Street. We ate at an outside table, with the dogs of course, where we could take in the brick buildings and beautiful trees of the town. The food was awesome and affordable and we would definitely recommend this stop to anyone visiting Ashville.

 

After that it was a quick stop at the grocery store for s’mores supplies, along with other less important food items, and we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway was simply inspiring. Much of the trek consists of the road winding up and then down various mountains, but not before providing several outlook locations to stop the car and really take in the breathtaking views. We cruised the stretch for hours, excited to see what was around the next bend. We both loved the views, but I think Honey was the biggest fan of the Parkway, insisting on keeping her out the window for a majority of the drive.

 

 

 

We camped at Crabtree Falls for the night, a campground stationed along the Parkway. We set up our tent, started a fire, and enjoyed roasted marshmallows for a while. The next morning, we hiked a trail nearby to the Crabtree waterfall. It ended up being a decent hike, which was great for the dogs, and the waterfall was beautiful. We spent some time on the bridge, watching the water…fall. Then it was back to the campsite to bust out the maps and figure out exactly how to get to our next destination, Ryan’s grandmother’s house in Hamburg, New York.

 

Once a route was figured out we were on the road again. With the hurricane influencing the weather, the rain followed us for most of the drive through West Virginia, which was just fine by us because the views were beautiful. The rain clouds loomed low in the valleys between the mountains as we drove by. Originally we planned to camp another night, but we decided against it since the rain was so relentless. We stopped in Morgantown, WV to find a hotel and instead found out that all hotels in the area were sold out due to a WV vs. Marshall football game we were unaware of. So from that point, realizing Hamburg was only another five or six hours, we stopped for a few coffees and drove through the night. It was actually an enjoyable drive, probably due to the coffee and our deliriousness, but regardless we arrived in Hamburg around 3am on Sunday and were happy to crawl into bed.

Today we went to a park with cousin Jim and his son Jacob, where Tonya got her first lesson in Frisbee golf. We played about half of the 18 hole course before returning to the house where, since it was labor day, everyone was coming over for dinner.

Always enjoying our vacation,

Ryan & Tonya