Traveling 'round the state

So last weekend we traveled around to 10 or 11 different wedding venues, all of them rather remarkable. I believe we have narrowed it down and will be sending out announcements very soon. Here are a few pictures that turned out.

Be safe.

A foggy morning on Carl Sandurg pond in Flat Rock, NC

The overflow from the pond

gathered leaves and a reflection

The lobby of Coppercrest

The main stairway

This is the waterfall out front of The Oaks in Whittier, NC

from the Homewood

The main hall

Pumpkin Etiquette

JJ: So last night Stace and I dropped in on her friend Sharon and we carved a couple of pumpkins… Now it has been a while since I last carved a pumpkin and well, my intent was good. My planning was a bit off, but the idea was there. Sharon just had to make a face in hers while I took a bit of a different approach. Poor little pumpkin.

Oktoberfests!!

JJ: There are several key elements about Autumn that make it my all-time favorite season: Football, the crispness in the air, the lack of annoying insects, the changing of the leaves, and of course, socially sanctioned bouts of public drunkenness for a charitable cause.
Welcome to Oktoberfest!
Charlotte saw it’s Oktoberfest a wee bit early, say September 30th, but it was well received none the less. This year it was held at Memorial Stadium on the community college campus as it had outgrown its previous home of my neighborhood, NoDa. So imagine a football field ringed with over 100 beer vendors from all over the country, each with multiple products, all for you to sample in a commemorative 6oz glass, for a single ticket charge on a cloudless Autumn day under the Charlotte skyline. Throw in a couple of bands, several thousand happy people, and having the regional Heineken distributor as a good friend who got you and several friends VIP passes which let you basically go and do whatever you wanted.
Say it with me: Sweeeeeeeet.
All the proceeds went to the MS Society and as they sold out the event, they raised a good chunk of change.
In turn, Knoxville, TN had their Brewer’s Jam on the 14th and it was very similar so I’m guessing the venue was the same group. I believe there were 50 vendors or so and I don’t think I ever saw the estimated number of products… The Brewer’s Jam was raising money for Community Share and I know they had to put together a good bit of money as well. They had more regional brewers then Charlotte and about half the over all vendors, but it was also under a cloudless blue Autumn sky and everyone seemed to have a great time.
We were better prepared for the TN version as it wasn’t quite the bombardment on the senses as the Charlotte event was.
There were some definite differences between the two events but they were both great fun and Stace and I were in good company. Vive la Fall.

Stace and Mel at the Charlotte Oktoberfest!

Shawn

a couple people this way

quite a few people over there...

a botched panoramic of the Brewer's Jam, but you get the idea

a pretzel necklace??

where to go...

wait.. Charlotte didn't have a kiddie section...

Myself and my good friends

late in the day

posting for profile

Not for the faint of stomach

So we awake in the morning in the River Bend (not River's End) campground all snuggled up in the Focus and I head over to the freshly brewed coffee in the gazebo. Justin had not packed coffee for us - it's a good thing we didn't pack out- that would have been a long hike out without my morning coffee, especially with me reminding him that he forgot the coffee every step of the way.
We pack up, say our goodbyes, and on the recommendation of Gary, head to Schoolhouse Falls over in Panthertown Valley. The ride up was windy and misty and when we got to the trailhead, there was a light mist falling. But we threw on our rain gear and headed out. This trail was fun and slimy and straight downhill and by the time we got down to the falls, the water had risen enough to make crossing to the gravel bar tricky. Thankfully we had a tripod and waterproofed boots to make the best of the occasion and we worked our way over to get some good shots. We'll definitely make the hike again to do some more camping and photo-taking. Not sure about swimming however as the tannic acid leeching from the soil makes the water a pretty coppery color....not sure I want to dive into that.
We would have stayed longer and played but the weather wasn't cooperating and I was getting hungry so we hiked out and zig-zagged our way down the mountain (and got some amazing views along the way).
We drove a little aimlessly trying to find food and ended up at Subway where we consulted our waterfall book and decided on Dry Falls located in Highlands, NC, a mountain town that we had read about on CNN.Com travel. And the switchbacks started there....my dad would have had a field day with them...they were making me a little nauseated as we made our way up to Highland. It's a quaint little resort place and the views are spectacular as are the Dry Falls. It's hard to describe how massive something is other than to say that people standing beside them from a distance looked like ants and the roar was so loud that we couldn't hear each other as we got closer. The Falls were incredible and we spent quite a while just taking in the magnitude of them. The pictures will have to tell the story as I'm at a loss for words.
And then we decided it was time to hit the switchbacks and head home to dry out and eat some hot and sour soup to ward off the cold I felt coming on.
As Justin mentioned, we've replaced the tent and are eager to try it out so I imagine they'll be a camping trip very soon.

Hope all is well! Now maybe will put a picture of us in the profile (hint hint)

Stacey (OJ)