Boone, NC

See, I told you we would see that bridge! It was our first stop when we got to Grandfather Mountain. Most of the pictures I took were from our hiking day. I would have taken some when we went white water rafting but I couldn't risk taking the camera. We LOVED hiking up Grandfather Mountain. It had enough ropes, ladders, and difficult climbs to keep us on our toes. The weather was perfect. The highs stayed in the 70's. I had to start hiking in a long sleeve shirt in July! I could get used to that...

The 2nd day of the trip was white water rafting. I was the only Calvert family member who had never been rafting before, and I was so excited about it. Ben and I will definitely be doing that again soon, preferably in warmer water. It was 41 degrees!! Don't believe me...? Ask Joe. We both jumped in (I don't like being told I won't be able to handle it) and I had never experienced anything like that. Joe did a manly flip of the side of the boat while I back flopped and my shoes fell off. When we were in the water Joe tried to talk but words would not come out, while on the other side of the boat my mind was telling my body to turn around but my body didn't listen. We escaped hypothermia and I made it through my first rafting experience. Next stop: Ocoee River. Anyone interested?? We would love to go in a group!

On the 3rd day the girls when shopping while the guys played golf. Worked great for me, they had outlets!

We had such a great time in Boone with Ben's family. We really appreciated the opportunity to go on this trip and we treasure the time we had together as a family!

the bridge

the "kids" before hiking

a few photo ops along the way

looking back, we were super close to the edge. oops.

the Calvert men

the first of many ropes

steep ladders!

me and Brooke looking over the edge. halfway there!

the very last ladder, almost the the peak

We made it to the top!!

Yummy Southern Food, family style!

So tired from all the hiking, you better believe we ate it all!

it was such a cute place

I could handle living there.