Weekend Getaway

This weekend we went to one of the most beautiful places in the world, the North Carolina mountains.  I am lucky enough to have family there and we love visiting.  It is an idyllic setting, with a beautiful stream, pond, and woods.

I really love moss and much of the flat land around the stream is covered with it.
Check out those lovely greens...

Our visit this time coincided with both a fair and with a drenching rain.  But when you promise a three-year-old that he'll be going to the fair you kinda got to "make it work!"

The baby and his Mimi in the rain.  One good thing: no crowds!  By the way, he stole that balloon with his grabby-hands from some poor woman who was holding it for her grandchild.  I was mortified.

I loved this fair because it was like going to a petting zoo where the animals are so loved and cared for, and many of them by children.

Is it just me or does this horse have crazy eyes?

Brahman Cows.  I like their ears--they remind me of Jar Jar Binks.

The kids each decorate their animal's stable...

Win much?

I especially loved this one:

We were there on September 11th, and it was precious to see this little boy's sign.  I am an idiot, and with the haste of getting everyone out of town (oh yeah, and my garbage disposal broke an hour before we left) I had forgotten the date.  But in retrospect I am even more touched by this sign and the sacrifice it represents.  It makes me even more grateful for the luxury of a weekend in the mountains, for our freedom and for our country.

I hope you had a great weekend too!