Thursday, August 09, 2007

Antonia's Visit

We had the wonderful privilege of hosting Antonia for two evenings, our beloved friend from just over the pond. She was in town for a quick stop for a wedding, and it was very fun to see her again after such a long remission. Megan and I treasured the bits of time we were able to have her, and we even met her mate Terry, who was an equally rousing conversationalist. It was great to have them both, and hopefully is won't be so long until our next rendezvous.
Antonia's Visit

Friday, August 03, 2007

Summer 2007 Family Vacation

Thanks to the Harrison's generosity, Megan and I had an amazing vacation near Asheville, NC. We ate every meal outside listening to the lovely sounds of the nearby creek, and the weather was ideal for hiking in the nearby mountains and visiting the local attractions.

Every morning greeted us with crisp mountain air while we breakfasted and shared a morning devotional. Even though we frequently ate our breakfasts at standard vacation time (9:00 am), we still saved room for other amazing meals. Clint and Jeanne's recommendation of breakfast at the Stony Knob Cafe was, of course, amazing, and I definitely want them to know that I will forevermore take their recommendations to heart.

The first few days we were here were actually rainy, but since the McGinty's had been traveling, it was a nice time to sit on the amazing porches and just watch the lush mountain vegetation reflect an entirely new and richer hue of green. I made my way partly through A State of Fear by Michael Crichton and otherwise enjoyed the dramatic expedience of entering into the vacation mentality that I had foregone for far too long.

Once the weather permitted, we ventured out for a quick sortie to drink in the scenery of a nearby waterfall: Douglas Falls. The trip was decently long and bouncy, as it took us nine miles east of Bernardsville through the Pisgah National Forest. The trail and scenery was worth it, however, as was the lovely waterfall greeted us with exuberant mists kissing our faces as we passed nearby.

Some of our other adventures included Chimney Rock and Montreat, old favorites of ours. The best of all of this was just being able to share the memories of this area with Megan's family. We will miss them and times such as these as they head back to Texas and then on to Japan, but we definitely used the most of our time.

Summer 2007 Family Mountain Vacation