From the Land of Ma'am: Hiking Stone Mountain

And here I am with another hiking post. ;)  Doing these blog posts is a good way for me to capture the fun, positive memories of my time in NC, so hopefully you don't mind all these photo heavy posts.  Plus I have done a whole lot of complaining about living here, so maybe it's refreshing for you readers to read about some of the things I like about NC!  One of those things is definitely all the areas you can hike!

I was supposed to go to the Whitewater Center with a friend on Saturday but she ended up having to work so I figured I would save that for a week day when it'd be more quiet there and instead I went hiking at Stone Mountain State Park, which is about 90 minutes from Charlotte. I got there at 8:30 and there were only 2 other cars in the parking lot so I mostly had the trail to myself which was nice!

Early on in the hike there were great look-out spots which was nice.  As you can see, it was a gorgeous days.  Temps were in the 50s when I started and up to the 80s by the finish so I am glad I got an early start!

I climbed to the summit first which was strenuous but the switch-backs made it easier than if I would have had to climb stairs.  There were stairs on the other side of the summit so I am glad I went the direction I did!

I hiked a couple of trails off the main trail so got lots of different views of the horizon.  I will spare you the many, many pictures of the horizon that I took, but here is one of them.

About 2/3 of the way through the trail, you got a view of Stone Mountain itself.

And then I hit the "falls" part of the trail.  I love trails that go by water as the sound and views of rushing water are so peaceful.

I did have some mishaps on this hike.  First, I fell and slid  down some rocks when trying to get a picture of one of the small waterfalls.  Ouch.  The rocks did not look wet so this fall took me by surprise!  I had the hardest time climbing back up as the rocks were so slippery. 

My second mishap was when I was crossing a stream.  In hindsight I should have realized there were far to many rocks to step on and I should have taken off my socks and shoes.  But I didn't which means I stepped into water up to my ankle on both feet.  Hiking with wet socks/shoes is not ideal but it was towards the end of my hike so wasn't a big deal!

After about 3.5 hours of hiking, I got to the main attraction, which is the main waterfall.  I sat on some rocks at the base of the waterfall and had my lunch. After about 9 miles of hiking, I was ravenous!

Speaking of lunch, this is what I have been eating on my last two hikes, along with a tuna sandwich that I made at home.  These gopicnic meals are awesome as you get lots of different snacks like trail mix and crackers with some kind of spread.  I liked the first box I tried better as it had hummus with my favorite GF crackers.  I got these on sales at Target for $3.50 each which I think is reasonable.  It'd be a great little snack to bring on a long plane ride, so I will definitely be buying these in the future.

After resting for a bit, it was time to head back to the parking lot - which was located at the top of the falls...  which means I had what felt like 1,000 stairs to climb.  They just kept going and going and going.  My legs were already tired from hiking 9 miles so I was really ready to be done with the stairs when I got to the summit.

Luckily there were views of the waterfall along some parts of the staircases.

Finally, I reached the top and was awarded with this beautiful view.

Exhausted and happy to be safely back to the car!

There was another trail I was hoping to do from a different parking lot in the park but I opted not to do this since I had wet feet/shoes!  So I hit the road and got back to Charlotte in time to read a little Jane Eyre on my patio.  In my bathing suit since it was 80 degrees.  :)

I'm so glad I'm getting a chance to explore more of NC before I leave.  When I was doing this hike I was thinking about how a year ago, I would have been getting up and settling in for 6-8 hours of CFA studying.  Boy am I glad that phase is behind me.  It's been fun to explore all these hiking trails - I only wish I hadn't been in the boot all summer for that stress fracture as I think being able to do hikes like these on the weekends would have made living in Charlotte more tolerable, but oh well!  

If you found out you were leaving the area where you live, what would make your 'bucket list' of things to do/see?  I have a couple more hikes I want to do, and a couple of restaurants I want to eat at before I leave Charlotte.

From the Land of Ma'am: Hiking at South Mountain

Happy Friday!  I guess every day is like Friday for me right now...  don't hate me for saying that...  But in my defense, I really feel like I have earned every hour of this time off! I know that I will never have 5 weeks off again until I retire, which is like a bajillion years away, so I am trying to balance being productive/handling moving-related tasks with enjoying my time off.

Wednesday was an 'enjoying my time off' kind of day (but I also handled a huge move-related task which I'll talk about next week) as I went hiking at South Mountain State Park.  Shortly before I moved to Charlotte, a coworker who had lived here for 18 months gave me a list of hikes to check out.  But a week after I arrived here, I found out about my stress fracture and was not able to do much of anything.  But I held onto that scratched out list of hikes - just in case.  And luckily I am getting a chance to do some of them!  I started with the South Mountain hike because it was only 80-90 minutes from Charlotte so a very easy day trip for me.

The night before the hike, I was video chatting with my sister and told her how I was going hiking the next day.  She said - 'by yourself?' and I said of course.  She then asked if we had rattle snakes or other snakes in NC as that is something she has fears of encountering while hiking on her own and I was very dismissive and said, 'nah, I have never seen any on my other hikes.'

So imagine my anxiety when the first thing I see at the trail head is a sign warning hikers about the presence of rattle and copper head snakes.  #cuepanicattack

I am deathly afraid of snakes.  I couldn't even bring myself to read what the small print of this sign said because the pictures TERRIFIED ME.

But I gave myself a little pep talk and told myself that snakes would hear me and stay away.  I did a lot of random clapping and a little bit of singing to try to make all the snakes aware of my presence.  I didn't see any snakes, thank God, so I guess it worked (and made me look like a crazy lady probably).

The views along the trail were gorgeous and worth all the snake-anxiety.  I did 2 different trails - the first led to a waterfall and the views along the way were gorgeous.

Proof that I actually did this hike and did not steal these photos from the internet

 The first trail was not too tough, but there were a lot of stairs in one section so my legs definitely got a workout!

I tried to stop along the way as much as possible to soak in all the beauty.  Chances are I will never come back to this park so I took a lot of photos to capture this experience!

After completing the popular waterfalls hike, I did a more strenuous hike to a lookout area.  The terrain of this hike was more rough and steep, but the view at the end was worth it!!

I got to that look out point around lunch and ended up arriving there at the same time as this small group of 5 people who were all retired.  I sat down and ate the lunch I had packed and had a really good time conversing with them.  They gave me recommendations for other hikes to do in the area and we talked about things like the books Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  It was nice to have some social interaction.  But then they told me about a 5 foot long rattle snake they saw on a hike they did last spring and I almost had to plug my ears.  One of the women wanted to show me a picture but I managed to avoid having to look at photos of this monstrous snake. 

After that I headed back down the trail to my car as I had to get back Charlotte to attend to some business related to my move...  I'll share the details of that with you next week!

Have a great weekend, everyone!  I'm going to the National Whitewater Center tomorrow - not to white water raft (not my thing) but instead to do some of their ropes courses and zip lines with a former coworker.  It's another thing on my Charlotte bucket list!

Are you afraid of snakes?  I'm irrationally terrified of them.  I know this makes me a bit of a wimp but I am OK with that.  I basically can't handle any creatures like snakes, spiders, mice, rats, you name it. 

From the Land of Ma'am: Days Two and Three in Savannah

Happy Wednesday!!  This week has been an intense one for me, so I am distracting myself by doing another reflection post on my trip to Savannah. 

On Saturday morning I was up bright and early so I could start the day with a run.  Since I didn't know Savannah well, I contacted a local running club and asked if I could run with them.  People used to do this with my running club when I lived in Minneapolis so I decided to give it a shot.  Best.  Idea.  Ever.  The group was super friendly and I ended up running 6 miles with a couple that ran the same pace as me.  It was nice to not have to worry about a route and the miles flew by since we were busy chatting. 

All smiles after my 6 miles!

I worked up quite an appetite after that run, so I showered and headed out to brunch at a restaurant recommended by the couple whose home I was staying in.  I had a delicious ham and cheese omelet.  I was definitely in the clean plate club that morning.
  

After brunch, I did some more walking, checked out the farmer's market in Forsyth park, and popped into some stores, including a store owned by a friend of Nilsa's.  One thing I loved about Savannah was all the cute little shops and boutiques.

After all that walking, I felt I had earned a fun drink and some reading time so I went to a cute coffee shop, did some reading, and sipped on a delicious mocha.

After relaxing for awhile, I headed to one of the squares to do a walking tour of Savannah.  I had done some research on tripadvisor.com and Savannah Dan was highly recommended.  He lived up to his recommendations as he was very interesting and entertaining.  I learned so much about Savannah and the state of Georgia.  For instance, Catholics and Jews were both banned from Georgia when the colony was initially established!

Savannah Dan sure can rock the seersucker suit and bow tie look

Dan also pointed out some of the areas that were featured in the film, Forrest Gump.  Like this steeple is the steeple that the feather floats by in the opening scene.

After the walking tour I went to mass at the Cathedral.  Obviously they eventually reversed that "no Catholics" rule.  Ha.  But I will tell you - I have learned that Catholicism is NOT popular in the south!  The Cathedral was very beautiful, even more so inside but I didn't take any photos as I feel weird taking pictures inside churches...

After church, I freshened up and headed to dinner at Cha Bella, which is a farm to table restaurant.  Almost the entire menu was GF, so that was nice.  I started off with a caprese salad for an appetizer which had some yummy bacon on it and a great balsamic reduction.

My main course was chicken rolatini - it was chicken wrapped in bacon with carmelized onions in the middle and it came with some smoked gouda grits and roasted root vegetables.  It was delicious.

I headed back to my accommodations after dinner.  The host couple was having a small dinner party and they had just finished eating when I got back.  They invited me to sit with them for a bit and I figured - why not!  It was nice to finish the evening with some conversations with new people.

On Sunday I headed out to the Tybee Island area.  My first stop was at Fort Pulaski, which is an old Civil War fort.  I toured the fort area, which was really neat.  It was chillier and SUPER windy, so my visit was shorter than it would have been otherwise, but I am still glad I went.  It was neat to see something that was established back in the 1770s!  And it was cool seeing the big cannons.

My last stop was the beach at Tybee Island.  It was about 55 degrees and super windy so not exactly prime beach weather, but I was bound and determined to go!  I rarely get to see the ocean so it's always such a treat for me.  The sand dunes provided some protection from the wind so it wasn't as cold down there as I thought it would be.
 

I sat in the swing, rocked back and forth, read my book, and let the sound of the crashing ocean waves soothe my soul.

So there you have it.  Another wonderful weekend getaway.  I've been struggling with quite a bit of stress and anxiety lately related to work and my job search but luckily I was mostly able to leave that stress and anxiety in Charlotte.  I felt such a sense of peace and contentment on this trip and I only wish that I could bottle up those feelings for the inevitable days when I get the Charlotte Sads.  But luckily I have lots of pictures on my phone to look at when I need a reminder of the peace and beauty of Savannah.

And - I got to add another state to the list of states I've visited as prior to this trip, I'd only been in the Atlanta airport which doesn't count as visiting the state.  So this trip brings the total # of states I've visited to 29!

In closing I will say that I have loved taking these trips and I really have tried to make the most of my time in North Carolina, but I sincerely hope that this is my last adventure in the south.  It's not that I don't want to see more; I'm just ready for this chapter to come to a close.  I'm thankful for the adventures I've had but I'd trade them all in to be home around family and friends.  I think it's probably easy to read these posts or see my photos on Facebook and think "I wish I could take those trips" but I think what people sometimes fail to think about is that while they may be envious of the trips I've taken and the fun things I've done, I don't think they would be or should be envious of the experience I've had over the past year...   But my fingers and toes are crossed and I'm really hoping that God answers my prayers and that a one-way trip back to Minnesota is on the horizon for me.

From the Land of Ma'am: Day One in Savannah

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone is having a great week.  It's going to be a busy one for me but I made time last night to start my Savannah recaps as I want to write the posts while it's all fresh in my mind.  Basically, I loved Savannah, which you could easily tell if you saw my iPhone photos because I took SO many pictures, especially of the trees and squares.  I knew it was a special place and I had heard a lot of good things about it, but the city totally surpassed my expectations. I actually liked it better than Charleston which sort of surprised me as people rave about Charleston but I just fell in love with Savannah and would be more apt to go back there versus going back to Charleston honestly...

Anyways, I am going to break my trip up into two posts because it's just too much to cover in one.  So here goes!

I drove into Savannah on Friday afternoon.  It was an easy 3.5-4 hour drive from Charlotte (but full disclosure, the drive back took over 5 hours so traffic can really make or break the drive).  Savannah was built on a river and shipping is its #1 source of revenue with tourism being #2.

Savannah's river front was not as picturesque as Charleston but it was still pretty, and I loved the bridge in the background of the photo below, which is actually the bridge that I drove into Savannah on.

On this trip, I decided to cut my costs down a bit by using airbnb.  You can rent an entire house or apartment through this website but since I was traveling alone and knew I'd be out and about most of the time, I ended up renting a room in a couple's home.  It worked out really well and I would highly recommend this couple's home as they were wonderful hosts.  The row house on the right is the one I stayed in.  The 2 rooms they rent out are located on the 2nd floor and have their own bathroom.  Another couple was staying in the other room but I barely saw them. 

Hands down, my favorite parts about Savannah were the beautiful trees and all of the little squares scattered throughout the city.  It was so pretty to walk around.  I took SO many photos of the trees, which of course don't do the city justice.

Many of the trees are covered in Spanish Moss which is actually neither Spanish, nor a moss...

Besides having so many beautiful trees, the city also has about 16 different squares scattered throughout the city.  Some have statues honoring people of Savannah or Georgia's past, some have fountains.  All of them have numerous park benches.  I feel like Savannah must have the most park benches per capita.

This off-centered photo gives you a feel for one of the parks.  This one has 2 different areas:  the fountain area in the front and then off to the back there is a tower that is in honor of someone (but don't ask me who, so many people are memorialized, it's tough to keep track of them all!).

 The biggest park in the city is Forsyth Park, which was my favorite.  There is a beautiful water fountain in the center of the park which is one of the most common images associated with Savannah.

I sat in one of the park benches and took a little reading break.  It was relaxing.And what a beautiful view!

The park has wide sidewalks and on Saturday there was a small farmers market which featured local farmers.  It's definitely a beautiful place to take a stroll.

I was supposed to take a bike tour on Friday afternoon, but it got cancelled as it was maybe going to rain.  It's too bad they cancelled as it did not end up raining, but I was able to easily find something else to do.  I was visiting Savannah during their annual music festival so after walking around some more, I went to a square where they were having a free concert.  It was so relaxing to sit on a park bench, read, and listen to this jazz ensemble.  

After all of that walking around, I had worked up an appetite. I decided to have a casual dinner at a place called Kayak Kafe.  I had done my research and they were known for being GF friendly.  I had some shrimp tacos which were delicious.

After dinner, I wasn't quite ready to go back to the house where I was staying, so I treated myself to a decaf mexican mocha at a coffee shop.

It was my first Mexican Mocha and it did not disappoint.  And I loved the pretty foam art!

My first day in Savannah was so wonderful.  I slept like a baby that night since I had tired myself out walking around the city.  Stay tuned for the recap of Saturday and Sunday!

Have you ever used airbnb?  I wasn't sure what to expect but I would definitely use the service again.  It's a great way to save some money, especially if you know you are barely going to be in the room, which was the case for this visit.

From the Land of Ma'am: Hosting Kyria

As I said last week, I had the opportunity to host Kyria over President's Day weekend.  Her visit got off to a bit of a rocky start as one of her flights was cancelled. Delta was able to re-book her on another flight, but then her bag got lost - but she rolled with the punches like a champ.  It helps that we are similar sizes and wear the same size shoes so I was able to borrow some clothes to her!

On Friday night, we stayed in and I made lentil enchiladas and a southwestern black bean salad, both of which turned out great.  I would highly recommend either recipe!  After dinner, we played a couple of games of cribbage which is one of my all-time favorite card games.

Saturday morning I was hoping that we could do an outdoor run, but the sidewalks were still snow-covered thanks to the 8" of snow we received last week, so we both put in our time on the dreadmill before hitting the road for Asheville.

I was a little nervous about the drive to Asheville as part of the drive is on a winding, steepish road but luckily the driving conditions were perfect.  Our first stop when we got to Asheville was the Biltmore.  I had a free pass so Kyria got in for free which was nice as the admission fee is $49 this time of year.  It was fun to explore the property with Kyria and the views in this area never disappoint!

After the Biltmore, we headed into downtown Asheville.  The first place we went to was a gourmet potato chip place that came highly recommended by a friend and it did not disappoint!  The chips are all made-to-order and so good.  We shared one order which was a perfect appetizer for dinner. We had a lot of choices, but went with "The Parisian" which had rosemary, thyme, goat cheese, truffle spritz and sea salt.  They were SO good.  I will definitely be back so I can try some other kinds!

Next we had dinner at Tupelo Honey which is one of my favorite places in Asheville.  It's this cute southern place that happens to have a great gluten free menu.  I had a basic grilled cheese and tomato soup, which was really good, and treated myself to this fun drink which is lemonade with rosemary.  I know it sounds like a weird combination, but it is so good!

After dinner, we were pretty full, but a visit to Asheville is not complete without a stop at French Broad Chocolate.  They have the best drinks and treats to choose from.  We both had hot chocolate made with dark chocolate ganache and each bought a treat that we saved for later (a chocolate-coconut brownie for Kyria and a GF peanut butter cookie for me).

We were officially stuffed after that so headed back to the hotel and called it a night.  On Sunday morning we headed back into Asheville.  I went to mass while Kyria checked out the city on foot, and then we had a delicious brunch which I failed to take a photo of!

I was hoping to take Kyria on a hike on a trail off the famous Blue Ridge Parkway, but unfortunately the parkway was closed due to the snow and ice we received last week, so instead we went to Crowder's Mountain State Park, which is about 30 minutes from Charlotte.  I hadn't been here before, so it was fun to check out a new place.  We hiked to the summit which had a pretty view.

After hiking for about 4-5 miles (I think?) we headed back to Charlotte.  We had worked up an appetite so I took Kyria to my favorite Charlotte restaurant, Cabo Fish Taco.  I love the fish tacos at this place and the atmosphere is vibrant and casual so it's my kind of place.  I had a tuna taco and a mahi mahi taco and both were excellent!

After dinner, we headed back to my place to read, relax, and watch the Olympics.  On Monday morning we woke up to sunshine and mild temps (36 degrees F) so we headed out for a run.  Kyria is training for a 50k and the Boston marathon, so she needed to get some miles in, but we ran together for about 1.5 miles before I split off and headed back.  I have slowly been working on increasing my run/walk intervals and I am now able to run for 3 miles straight without any walking breaks!  That's a pretty big accomplishment for me after not running for almost 10 months!

All in all it was a really fun weekend!  I love the Asheville area so it's always fun for me to introduce others to my favorite places there.  Kyria and I travel really well together as we have similar interests and similar travel preferences (active days, earlier bedtimes, earlier mornings).  Now that I've hosted her, it's my turn to head out to visit her and I am hoping to do that this fall in conjunction with a running rendezvous with some other friends!

When you have visitors, is there one particular restaurant you like to take them to?  Cabo Fish Taco is my #1 pick for sure!