Asheville to Atlanta

I'm having trouble uploading photos right now, but I have some good ones to post.  We left Pittsburgh for our longest trip to date.  We arrived in Asheville, NC on Wednesday evening to meet Michelle and Rachel at our campsite at Lake Powhatan in the Pisgah National Forest.  We were all sad to leave John's family and the kids were really missing their cousins.  I was anxious because I felt that I was now leaving familiar territory.  Up to this point, we had been only a day's drive from home.  We had a family meeting to decide whether the kids could get along well enough for us to continue with the trip.  We decided to make it a go, and off we went.

I was really grateful to have Michelle and Rachel meeting us in Asheville.  We've missed them so much since they left Kittery four years ago.  It's was interesting to see Rachel and Hannah together now that they are so much older and more mature.  They picked up right where they left off.  The children were wonderful in the car and kept their word that they would cooperate along the way.  We arrived without incident, set up camp and the kids jumped right into the lake.  They all pitched in with camp chores - making the fire, helping with set up, washing dishes.  

The next day (June 30) we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway to find Sliding Rock - a natural water slide just outside Asheville.  We climbed up a path, sat on the rock and slid down into the swimming hole.  The water was a balmy 48 degrees!  Being Mainers, we were undeterred, but the cold water did take my breath away.  That was pretty fun.

On Wednesday, July 1, we drove to Great Smoky Mountain National Park on our way to Atlanta.  We met my old friend Margaret, her husband Patrick, and four of their five children.   I hadn't seen the kids since the two oldest were babies, and I was so happy to get to know them.  I suppose I should not be surprised that my favorite old friends have such wonderful kids, but I just knew my children would love Margaret's children, and they did.  Photos of the beautiful Taylor family will be coming soon.  Margaret is as fun and down to earth as ever.  It's such a pleasure to have this chance to see my friends in their homes with their children.