Peter and I have friends that live in Sanford, NC which is closer to the east coast that we haven’t seen in quite a while. We use to come up and visit them on occasion and they would come down and visit us but lately the travel budgets have been depleted so the last time we saw Robert and Jackie was probably two-three years ago. Peter had called Robert and told him we were coming to
NC but that we would still be a few hours away from them but Robert didn’t care and wanted to see us so we decided on a meeting place and got up early to get on the road. Peter and I took our kids while my mom stayed to sleep in and Ali and Sean stayed to have some quiet time too. We had decided to meet at Humpback Mountain and see the Linville Caverns. We told the girls all about how we were going to walk inside of a mountain and I asked them what they thought it was going to be like. They were excited to explore and I think a little nervous about going inside of a mountain. When we pulled up to the office we walked around some of the rocks nearby and watched the creek below. I took the girls to the bathroom and by the time we got out Robert and Jackie had showed up. We said our hellos and hugged and caught up a little before a tour guide told us they were about to start a tour if we wanted to go. We got our tickets and then got in line (there were maybe
12 of us altogether). When the guide opened the door to cavern you could feel the cold 52 degree air come out and greet you. It stays 52 year round and the water that runs through the mountain is 42 degrees year round. We took a few steps in and saw trout in the stream, blind of course, and going crazy over the food they were being fed. Javan liked the fish and kept saying, “fishy, hi fishy.” The girls held tight to Daddy and Jackie as we walked along. The path was clear and lit but you still had to watch your step and your head. There was an upper level that we got to explore just below the fault line but you had to climb a few stairs and Abbi says, “I didn’t know there were stairs inside of mountains.” We weren’t aloud to touch the rock walls at all because the salt and acidity from our skin causes the rocks to corrode and deteriorate. We got a to a tight path that was above a deep water pool, divers had attempted to see how deep it was and after dropping a
200 foot weighted rope, found that it didn’t touch the bottom. We walked over metal grates for this part and we were aloud to touch the walls because they wanted the path to be wider. I think that was Javan’s favorite part. The walls were cold and damp and almost slimy feeling. Once we got out of the narrow path we went around the corner and the guide showed us what it was like to be an early explorer with just a single oil lantern for light. That was pretty scary and I don’t think I would have made it too far into the cavern if I only had a lantern to guide me. You could only see right where you were and nothing more than 3 feet ahead or behind you. After the guide showed us the lantern light she turned off all the lights so we could see just how dark it was with no lighting at all. As you can imagine it was pitch black with no traces of light at all. When the lights went out Javan said, “Go?” his way of saying, “where did you go?” I was holding him of course to keep him warm
and me too. When we got out of the cavern we looked around the gift shop and Robert bought us a cool book about The Blue Ridge Parkway. We went and took some pictures on the rocks while we talked some more but then I started not feeling well and knew I needed to get some food in me. We said our goodbyes and headed back. We took the Blue Ridge Parkway back for a few miles and then got off for some lunch. We were going to go farther down it but when I called Ali she said they weren’t doing anything and just waiting for us to return so we took the quicker route back to the cabin.
We got back around 3:00 and talked about our trip, the girls were very excited about their new adventure and very willing to share their stories. Sean and Ali wanted to get out for a little while so they left us with their kids and had some alone time. I took the kids down to the covered porch and started another craft. I had brought shirts and fabric paint so the kids could each have a shirt from our vacation. I took turns with the kids having them put their handprint on each of the shirts with a different color for each child. After all the handprints were done the kids were aloud to decorate their shirts however they pleased. They all did a great job and once the shirts dry I think they will look very nice. I decorated Javan’s but since his shirt is so small there wasn’t really much room after the handprints.
After the shirts were done the kids got dressed in their swimsuits and played in the creek for hours. We finally had to tell them to get out when Peter had finished making hot dogs for dinner. We ate downstairs on the porch and as the kids were finishing up I brought the supplies to make smores. Each child roasted their own marshmallow and then got the chocolate and graham cracker to have a smore. Once the kids were set I made my own and it was so good I went back for another. As it was getting darker I brought out some of those glow sticks bracelet things
and disbursed them between the children. They had a great time dancing around and making their glow lines streak in the dark. It was our last night here but because Peter and I got up so early we were really tired and couldn’t stay up for very long.
Steve and Heather are heading back up to VA tomorrow so Steve can get back to work. My mom called me this afternoon and asked if we wanted to come over for dinner at their house and say good bye. After work I finished up a couple things and got the kids ready and we drove over to my mom's. Peter brought his computer because him and Steve always have to give each other stuff they have off their own computers. My mom and Jim made BBQ chicken and we just ate and talked. 
My mom brought out guinea pigs that are only a couple weeks old. Her guinea pig had babies so now she has three more. The kids all played with them and loved on them until it was time to go. As we were packing up our stuff I noticed Bresa had red spots on her face and then her eyes got really red too. Apparently Bresa is allergic to guinea pigs, oh darn, I guess we can't take one home. My mom washed her face and hands really well and by the time we got home she was all better. It was sad to say goodbye to Steve and Heather again but we are glad that we got to see them one last time before they left.
