Not Quite All Bliss

See the smilin' picture on the last blog entry? Well, we just spent 35 mins listening to her tantrum on the way back from the Asheville Visitor's Center http://www.ashevillechamber.org/visitor/index.asp We made the mistake of going into the gift shop there and they had a stuffed black bear Bridget just did not want to leave without. Don't know what caused the deal...could have been hungry, a reaction to off-diet eating or the weather, it's raining and occasionally thundery. Whatever the cause, it abbreviated our trip into town. Maybe it's just meant to be a stay in RV, quiet day...

Asheville West KOA

Asheville, NC

Hi ya'll! We're in Asheville after a smooth trip off the mountain. We're also expecting thunderstorms this afternoon, so we gave the photobug took the day off. New photos from our side trip up to West Jefferson can be seen at the end of the slideshow on the post below this one.

I think I speak for Julia when I say, Boone/West Jefferson are on our list of possible places to settle. Cool mountain air, life a little slower than the city, and no shortage of scenery to see. According to the locals, schools are very good in this part of NC. The infrastructure is great--brand new in this area. We were surprised to learn West Jefferson was a town of a population of only 1100. Seems most homes up here are second homes to folks in Charlotte or Winston-Salem. The only thing we are having trouble with is the accent (and a few observed rednecks)...that twang is some'em to get used to!

The kids made new friends yet again. Bridget met a family of 7 adopted kids (2 white, 4 black, and 1 russian). Okay, I thought it was a little unusual. They had a great time spinning on the marry-go-round and feeding the goats. We took a forced march (for the kids) up the mountain across the road from the campsite to see a cemetery. They found some cool rocks in the road and some kindling for last night's fire.

Got to get back top my Stephen King's novel...reading is an important part of unwinding for me when I'm on vacation...D

North Carolina (West)

We arrived in at the Boone KOA.

Link to pics:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.9csnabjb&Uy=h7d2hd&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

North Carolina (East)

We got into the KOA Campground at Smithfield NC about 4:30 on Thursday. That night was a warm one and the kiddos hopped in the pool and we planned our next few days. Friday we headed up to Chapel Hill and did a whirlwind drive by of the campus (it's huge) and then hit Whole Foods for lunch (we ate in a covered playground in the Commons) and supplies. Sorry, no pictures, we forgot the camera ; ( Then it was back to camp for more swimming and dinner. After a disappointing talk with one of the employees first night here, Julia had a long conversation with a commercial renovator about the pros and cons of living in NC and where while David kept the kids busy in the pool. Later today we're off to the KOA at Boone, NC Surprisingly, Julia knows two people who lived there at some point. It's north of Asheville and the area borders on the Blue Ridge mountains. We're going to look at a small community called West Jefferson--their many industry is growing Christmas trees and art galleries (?) per their web site: http://www.townofwj.com/ How tranquil is that.

More later...

BTW, Smithfield KOA is a good one. Check it out at: http://www.smithfieldkoa.com/

Link to more pics: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.3s0ca8dj&Uy=-ppkott&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0