Winter Vacation Dec. ‘09 – Jan. ‘10

***Disclaimer:  This may turn into a super long post.  If you’re not up for reading, then just skip to the pictures.  I’m sure they’ll get the point across!***
So, we headed off for our winter vacation on Saturday, December 26th.  This year we opted to go somewhere that had a better chance of getting snow.  Keep in mind, we don’t see much of the fluffy white stuff down here in Middle Georgia.  If we do, it’s a rare treat!  But – I can now say that I’ve seen enough to last all year!
We were warned by the guy we rented from that we needed to arrive in the daytime because of all the winding mountain roads.  So, we got up at the crack of dawn, and we were off by 6:15am.  The ride up there was pretty uneventful.  We made our way up the mountain, and we were amazed at all of the ice.  We saw so much ice along the interstates, the mountain roads…EVERYWHERE!  Well, as we were driving to the cabin, Brian noticed that our vehicle (Toyota Highlander with all weather tires) was sliding down the hill even with the brakes on.  So, he made the executive decision that it was time to turn back around and head into town to possibly get some snow chains or something.  Now, let me just say…Brian read up on our tires the night before we left, and we knew at that point that they SUCKED!  Why Toyota put such crappy tires on the Highlander is beyond me! 
Well, imagine our surprise when we couldn’t even make it up the darn hill.  We were stuck.  Have I mentioned that there is ICE everywhere and it is FREEZING?!!?  Ummm..yeah!  So, Brian had to think fast.  He walked up to a house and got a shovel and some salt from the owner.  Then he proceeded to chip away the ice to make a path for our tires.  In the meantime, the homeowner had called for a sand truck.  Yep, you see…Beech Mountain and some other areas of NC were hit by a major ice storm on Christmas Eve.  It knocked out power, cable, and was just downright ugly from what we hear.  So, Brian is out there chipping away at the ice, and I’m throwing down salt.  All the while, we’re both praying, and I’m in tears.  It was probably one of the scariest things I’ve experienced in a while.  We were alone and had no idea what we were doing.  After about an hour, the sand truck finally arrived.  Once they got the sand down, we were able to trek up the hill and make our way into town.  We had enough time to grab some lunch, grab some groceries, and make a trip to Lowe’s.  Brian wanted to pick up a shovel.  He settled for some roofing shovel, and we kept it in the car in case we needed it.  Well, we finally arrived at the cabin, and this is what we saw…

This is the walkway leading up to the cabin COVERED IN ICE! This is where we’re supposed to park our car!

So, much to Brian’s dismay, he had to get out and start shoveling away more ice.  Poor thing…by the time he was done, he had huge blisters on his hands and a huge blood blister under his wedding band.  But – he was a trooper, and he did what he had to do to get us into the cabin.

My poor hubby having to do such hard work WHILE on vacation!  Talk about unfair… This is how deep the ice was. Finally, there’s a place to park the vehicle.

Brian probably spent a total of 3-4 hours chipping away ice on Saturday.  I think he’ll be okay if he never sees ice again!However, once Brian got all the ice out of the way, we carried everything into the cabin and attempted to get settled.  We were amazed at the view from the back deck…

 

On Sunday, we ventured back into town for lunch and more groceries.  We had some friends joining us on Monday and Tuesday, so we needed to make sure we had everything necessary for meals.  After seeing the roads, we opted to eat lunches out and cook dinner at the cabin.  Once we got back to the cabin, Brian had to clear out the parking area so there would be enough room for the two extra vehicles.  Poor thing…he was not wanting to do this type of strenuous activity on vacation.  Lucky for him not really Caleb wanted to help, so he joined in on the fun.

Caleb attempting to help with the ice…note the tongue.  I swear that must be his concentration assistance. Gosh he’s growing up too darn fast.  I wish I could stop time some days there are days when I wish it would speed up, too…LOL! He looks beat…not quite done though. He got tired of just shoveling it away.  So, he started making big cracks in it…Then he’d lift it and toss it over the hill.Caleb is still trying to do his part. I think it’s about done now…time for a much needed break and some adult beverage! 

Once Brian was all finished with clearing away the ice, we had some supper and tried to just relax.  The boys had lots of fun down in the basement.  There was a dartboard and a pool table.  Caleb and I enjoyed some games of darts, and Micah just wanted to toss the pool balls onto the table.  He got the biggest kick out of that.  He also attempted to climb the stairs a few times, but they were just way too narrow for too much of that scary crap  fun.

Micah trying to get one of the pool balls. Now, it’s time to put the ball onto the table and see what happens…note the tiptoe action. Big brother is there to help put the balls back into the holes. Time to get another ball…I think I’ll go with green. Caleb getting down from turning off the light above the pool table. Micah attempting to go up the stairs…but he was stopped in his tracks. Micah getting into the GameCube stuff…this entertained him as well.  I tell ya…the boy has expensive taste when it comes to entertainment.  Those simple toddler toys just won’t do.  LOL!

On Monday, we got up and did a bunch of nothing.  We were waiting on my best friend from college, Jennifer, to arrive.  She’s been joining us on our family vacations since last winter.  We don’t get many opportunities to see each other, so I always try to give her a reason to join us.   Once we knew she was getting close, we headed into town for some lunch.  We opted to eat at a local deli, and it was rather tasty.  Brian was even able to enjoy some German items.  But – it was darn cold in that little deli.  Heck, it was cold outside, too.  It was also snowing just a bit…YEAH…just what we need, right?!!?  Once we finished lunch, we met Jennifer (aka Jenny or Jen).  After a quick trip to another shop, we headed back to the cabin.  That evening we just enjoyed hanging out and playing games.  Jenny and I played a few games of UNO and darts with Caleb.  We also enjoyed a few games of Scrabble SLAM! 

Okay, since I have your interest, I’ll go ahead and stop here for now.  Stay tuned for a few more Beech Mountain related posts.  Besides, we’ve still got Tuesday-Saturday to account for!