Oh man, was it good to get away this past weekend! I feel so refreshed. I have to be honest, I did not want to come back into the world after a weekend of no worries except whether it might rain and we would be stuck in our tent all day. Being outdoors and having no cares or worries was wonderful! No cell phones or iPods to be constantly checking for the latest news and updates. But so it goes and we are back home safe and sound.
Thursday we drove after school to Greenville, SC. It was such a cute little town! We loved the downtown area. We ate at a smokehouse "Smoke on the Water" along the river and listened to a live blues band while we ate. Tammy was allowed to and we had a really fun time as a family. Of course, Tammy loved the handouts of pulled pork and beef brisket. After dinner, we strolled along the river park and listened to the myriad of live bands that were out playing. It was really fun. What wasn't fun was Tammy deciding to poop along the park when we weren't prepared with a poop bag. Good thing we had leftovers or we really would have been screwed.
Friday we slept in because it was rainy and we weren't in that big of a hurry to get on the trail. We had breakfast and packed up and drove the hour to the state park. We stayed at the Best Western because they are dog friendly. So they came. Little did we know that pet friendly meant sleeping in a smoking room! Yuck! We blasted the a/c just so we would have fresh air! This was Tammy's first experience in a hotel and she was a little freaked out by it. Every time someone was outside our room or a car fired up she would let out a low growl. Anyway, Friday we started on the trail. It was a 4-mile hike to our campsite but we stopped along the way to do a 1.7 mile very strenuous hike to see Rainbow Falls. The ranger classified it as very because it is a 1,000 ft elevation gain in that mile of hiking. I don't think it deserves the very part but it was pretty strenuous. We passed 3 falls along the way and at the second one, I was done. I couldn't go up anymore. But 15 minutes later we arrived at a spectacular waterfall. 150 foot drop but you couldn't see the top because of the fog so it was really pretty. And then, Jeff decided to cross below the raging cascade with Tammy in his arms. I nearly had a heart attack. I screamed but Jeff refused to come back. He told me when he did come back that there was a trail but all I could see was a raging river where I was standing.
Friday night was supposed to be Tamale Pie. Well, stupid me I assumed that Jeff has made this many times before he knows how to make it. Well he didn't. I told him repeatedly how I thought it should be done but he made a mess of it. And then he burnt it. So the meal was this nasty burnt bean soup. We buried a lot of it. Saturday we did a 10-mile day hike to see one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River. That was a bust because when we got there, all we could see was clouds. :( But at least it was a fairly easy hike, not very strenuous. We were still beat when we got back to camp and Tammy and I chilled on the Thermarest outside for the remainder of the afternoon.
Saturday night was a new backpacking recipe, chicken with peaches and walnuts. Well we didn't have peaches so we subbed in apricots. Mistake. It was too apricotty. And it just wasn't very good. We were hungry so we ate it anyway but that meal won't be repeated in the future. Sunday we got up early (6:30) and hiked out. Easter Sunday and all, we needed to get back home to be with Jeff's family. We wanted to do a little hike (1.1 miles) to see another waterfall but it would have been another strenuous hike and we didn't really have time. So we hopped in the car and drove back to Durham to eat our Easter ham and deviled eggs. :)
Tonight I am making Chicken Tikka, an indian dish with a sweet potato salad. It looks good, I hope it tastes as good!
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