Ridgecrest Family Getaway

 As with most things this year, summer camps were closed and the boys were devastatingly sad about missing out on Ridgecrest and Strong Rock. They love camp, everything about it, and look forward to it all year long. It was a heartbreaking disappointment for them.

In lieu of typical camp, Ridgecrest decided to host "family getaways" to allow for individual family groups to come, rent a cabin, and get to experience camp together. This made "camp" possible in a relatively safe way. There was overall a good turn out and I think it was a unique and fun way to keep camp open in some way during these crazy times. 

Ridgecrest employees were given the opportunity to get a day pass to the family getaways, so on the very last day of the summer, we headed out to spend the day at the camps. 

Let me just say, we had the best time. 

We spent much of the day with our best friends, the Suggs family, and we were busy for a straight 11 hours that Saturday. We started at the waterfront at boys camp, we did axe throwing, visited puppies, did the giant swing, archery, and the pool at Crestridge. We walked about a million steps and were completely and utterly exhausted by the end of the day. 

We loved it. It was the absolutely perfect family day to close out this non-traditional camp season. 

An Evening at the Ballpark

 I've never been a big fan of watching sports on TV or even going to sporting events. There are some exceptions; I like the occasional Gator football game; when we went to a Panthers game a couple of years ago I loved it; I even liked the one NASCAR race that Daniel and I went to (and had a box seat which made it so much fun and is the only way to do NASCAR). 

But since moving to Asheville I have learned to really love going to Tourist baseball games. Now, admittedly, I mostly go for the socializing and food options. It really is the perfect summer outing. 

Baseball was canceled for this season and we really missed it. The field was, however, open for lunch and dinner some days-- letting people go and sit on the field or in the stands if they wanted to. On the very last night they were open we spontaneously decided to go eat dinner there. 

The boys thought it was too hot to sit on the field so they chose a spot in the stands. We ate hot dogs and nachos and cotton candy and it was a very low-key but fun evening out. 

We are very hopeful that baseball resumes next season 😊

Family Time

 In late July, when I realized that the summer was practically over, I made a list of things to do with the boys-- some outings, some activities at home-- and while we haven't completed many items on the list, we did take a fun family outing which ended up being a perfect day.

I decided I would take the boys to see Looking Glass Falls and then over to Brevard for lunch. It was a last-minute, spontaneous sort of plan and then Daniel decided he was going to take a day off and go with us. Then we decided to add on a visit to Sliding Rock also. (Sliding Rock is not my thing. At all. Zero interest in it for myself. Daniel coming along is the only reason we made that stop. I love my boys, but I am not sliding down a giant rock into ice cold water. Nope). 

We went to Sliding Rock first and were able to get there just as they were opening. Masks were worn by all that were not in the water. Social distancing was practiced and we headed out before it ever got too crowded. Then we went to Looking Glass Falls, and they were beautiful. There are so many waterfalls around here, I need to do a better job of visiting them. After the falls we headed to Brevard-- a cute mountain city that is always featured in magazines about this area. We had lunch outside at a soda shop and then walked around for a bit. I'd like to go back and do a little more exploring soon.

It was a good day. The summer has been long and most of it has been spent at our house. Daniel has been working about 7 days a week since May. Getting out and away for a day was what we really needed. 

A Day Out

 The hardest part of Covid and quarantining for me has been not really being able to take the boys out of the house to do things. We have done some outdoor things for sure- but usually things like hiking or playing in a creek. Good things, but there are so many other things I like to do with them, especially in the summer, that we just haven't been able to do. 

One day in July I found a groupon for a gem mining spot about an hour from the house. The boys love gem mining. This seemed like a safe, socially distanced activity that we could do- so we went!

We had a really good day. We headed out in the late morning and grabbed an early lunch at the Culver's drive-thru. (Culver's is delicious by the way). Then we headed to the gem mine. I will say that this particularly one was not my favorite location. We also go to one in Emerald Village on the Blue Ridge Parkway and I think the drive and location is prettier and feels more like a gem mine. But the one we went to was still so much fun. The boys each got their own 2.5 gallon bucket and found quite a lot of gems, and even a few sharks teeth. 

It was a day that was good for my heart. Out of the house, doing a planned activity, spending time off screens and together 💕