So, I mentioned two posts ago that I would update you on our mountain trip (which happened like a month ago). I took very few pictures, so many words will have to do. :)
I don't even remember the day but sometime in November we went up to Dickie Bros. to get some apples. And when I say "some" apples I mean multiple bushels. :) We got some Fuji's (positively the best apple ever), Granny Smith's (Mom's fave), and some Stayman, Red Delicious, Pink Lady (Hannah's fave) and something else for applesauce.
We then stopped to take our annual family pictures by this beautiful stone fence not far away. We had no idea whose fence we were using in our pictures, but, hey, it was pretty and everyone wanted to get the pictures done. Long story short we took all our annual photos except for the family one when this guy rolls up on an ATV. Ends up, after Daddy talks to him and explains our presence, that he was the owner of that beautiful stone fence we were using. :) His name was Mr. Coffey and he invited us to come see his "man cave" after our picture (by his fence) was taken. (I was very relieved he was fine with us using his fence in our pictures...I'm just not as spontaneous as, say, Daddy - and the rest of my family. :)
We took a few family pictures (tripods are such a wonderful thing!) and then went to Mr. Coffey's "man cave". Inside the "man cave" were black bear furs, deer heads, and an assortment of stuffed animals (fox, mink, beaver, raccoon, etc.). He also had guns displayed all over the walls, in gun racks everywhere and a few massive bee hives. In the back room he had all his ammo (tons of boxes) and fishing stuff. We all loved listening to his hunting stories. He even invited any or all of us to go bear hunting with him this winter. Don't know if that'll happen, just kind of neat that he invited us. :) After showing us his man cave he showed us all his hunting dogs and then even took us inside his house!! His house was gorgeous!! It's one of those adorable, old farmhouses that has been there for over 100 years. There were cute nooks and crannies everywhere, a tiny staircase...it was just an amazing house. Would love to live in a house like his one day...I felt like I was in a different time zone walking around in there. :)
Oh - one amazing thing about his house...he loves Civil War History (as do I) and he had a complete room dedicated to the CW. He had slave tags, handcuffs, a chain and ball (to keep slaves from running away), as well as lots of other artifacts and paraphernalia. Most of the stuff he had was real and used during the Civil War era (so amazing and creepy at the same time!!!).
After his house tour, we thanked him for his kindness, gave him our contact info, thanked him again, and then left for Crabtree Falls.
Dickie Bros. Orchard (and Mr. Coffey's house) is only a few miles away from Crabtree Falls. Crabtree Falls is a massive series of beautiful waterfalls (it's a 2 mile hike up to the top) right off the road. The trail is very easy to follow (it has guardrails and everything) and it's not very strenuous, so it's the perfect hiking spot for a large family. Too bad we spent so long talking with Mr. Coffey that it was practically dark when we arrived. :)
It was around 4 P.M. and we still hadn't eaten lunch so we ate our little picnic lunch at the bottom of the Falls. So we all huddled together (it was freezing...) in massive coats and blankets to eat our cold pasta salad and veggies. Ahh....good memories. :)
Crabtree is normally crawling with tourists and people like us, but that day there was virtually no one there. I think there were 2 cars. One left while we were eating "lunch" (they stared at us the whole way out...I can't imagine how funny we must've looked!) and we came across the others when hiking the trail.
I was freezing to death during (and after!) lunch but I didn't want to go sit in the car without getting a picture of the Falls, so I overcame! Plus, I knew that doing something (like hiking...instead of shaking from the cold) would help warm me up. Lexi came with me (and eventually Seth) and we started up the pathway.
See how red Seth's cheeks are? That's from the cold. :)
Caleb was climbing on some rocks somewhere on the mountain, so we eventually caught up with him. (He was wearing his camo suit so it took some effort to find him. :) We only went .5 miles up the mountain because I didn't want to go too much farther and have to descend in the dark (plus I had what I went for...warmth and a waterfall picture!). The sun had already set by that time, so we turned around and started making our way down. Daddy caught up with us and helped us down the trails in the gathering darkness. We made it to the van safely and were glad to get to the cozy van. :)
That was our "day in the mountains". Oh I forgot to mention that we also stopped to pick up our chicken feed in Stuarts Draft, so that, and the stop at the orchard and Mr. Coffey's house, pushed everything back. Next time we'll hopefully have time to hike the whole trail...preferably in some warmer weather. :)
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While I'm here I might as well tell you that we have a new blog. :) We decided to start over (with updated pictures on the "About Us" page...check them out!) so we have lots of storage space...at least enough for the next few years. I'm going to resize all the images I upload now through BlogStomp so that should prolong our storage space too.
So, I'm sure you're wanting to know what our new blog address is. :) It is www.wassenbergfamily.blogspot.com. Yes, I said farewell to our blog name "Solid Rock Ranch Updates". First of all, we don't own a real ranch (would love to, but we don't) and secondly that title was way too long and confusing to remember. We'd tell people our blog address and they'd have to get a pen and paper to write it down! (I even considered getting business cards for the purpose of just handing out our blog address!) "Wassenberg Family" is much simpler, easier to remember, and a bit shorter....all around better for now!
Well, enough yapping...there's one post up on our new blog already. So head over there, check it out, and let me know what you think!!
Kimber :)
P.S. - This blog will be staying "live" for now...no worries....but all new updates will be on The Wassenberg Family. :)
