Solar Eclipse in Charlottesville, VA

Charlottesville, VA

August 21, 2017

After a short visit in Asheville, NC we packed up once again and headed off to Charlottesville, VA for an overnight. We were weary after the white supremacist march in the summer 2017 which resulted in a death and unrest that followed. Fortunately, things had settled, but there were still signs of protest and anger over what had taken place. We persisted and continued with our plans and arrived to Charlottesville around lunch time. We booked at the The Graduate Hotel right in town. It was a lovely, dog friendly hotel with a room big enough to accommodate all five of us. We ate lunch at The Mellow Mushroom, a chain offering salads, subs, pizza. It was decent, kids were happy, dog joined us. We were right in time for the start of the solar eclipse and the clouds were sparse. It was fun to watch people stopping in the middle of the street to look up at the sun with wacky eclipse glasses on. At least the eclipse took our minds off things, even if it were temporary.

Blue Ridge Parkway to Ashville, NC

Asheville, NC

August 20, 2017

We packed up the car, said our goodbyes' to Echota Mountain and headed towards the Blue Ridge Parkway for a scenic drive to Asheville. Along the way we made a couple of stops for photo ops and for short hikes to take in the scenery. It is one of the most beautiful and scenic drives in The United States. The sea of mountains and trees go on as far as the eye can see. Everything was in full bloom and the weather was perfect.

The Mountains of North Carolina 2017

Boone, NC

August 14, 2018

We set off at 4am towards the mountains of North Carolina, more specifically, Boone North Carolina. Car was packed with 3 sleeping kids, one sleeping dog (brought the dog), one sleeping mother and a father driving on a mission.  My high school friend was kind enough to give us her mountain house for the week so that we could enjoy all there was to offer in the area. After stopping for a quick bite at 8am with the dog we arrived to Boone by 12:45 and began our summer adventure.

Granada- Still a Treasure

August 23-25, 2015

Alhambra here we come

I could visit the Alhambra over and over again. It is truly one of my favorite places in the world. The massive scale of the castle, the detail, the Moorish architecture, everything about it is amazing. Bringing the family was so great. I was so excited to have them in Granada, to experience another example of a southern city of Spain, taste the food, see the sights, see flamenco in the caves and just take in every sight and smell.