Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Category Archives: On the Water

Mother’s Day Kayaking Adventure

Mother’s Day Kayaking Adventure

“I want to do a family adventure but I don’t want to pack food, clothes, or gear.  I just want to show up and have fun.”  That was my request to the CragDaddy when asked how I wanted to spend my Mother’s Day this year.  Originally we’d planned to go climbing, as that’s pretty much always Plan A this time of year.  But we had trouble finding partners (story of our lives of late), and no one was psyched to get back in the car again after just returning home from the beach. So we opted for Plan B, which ended…Read the rest of this entry →

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A Weekend Escape to the NC High Country

A Weekend Escape to the NC High Country

Although we’d had plans made for the past few weeks already, I was pretty pleased when I saw that our weekend getaway to the NC mountains aligned with Charlotte’s first (of what will hopefully not be TOO many) 100 degree days. This particular escape was one of my favorite types of trips – a hybrid family/climbing/hiking weekend that makes for all sorts of fun and variety. After enjoying a gorgeous Grandfather Mountain view with our morning coffee, the CragDaddy and I headed up to the Linville Gorge for a “crag-date” at Hawksbill Mountain.  (Thank you to Bebe and Papa Joe for…Read the rest of this entry →

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Spider Lilies at Landsford Canal

Spider Lilies at Landsford Canal

  I know it’s a little bit late, but my Mother’s Day was so cool I just had to share!  Ever since I took the kids to Landsford Canal back when Baby Zu was only 3 months old I have been wanting to go back.  Specifically, I’ve been wanting to kayak along the river through all of the spider lilies.  Every year for 6 weeks between May and June, the flowers put on a spectacular show on a small section of the Catawba river.  The quarter-mile stretch of blossoms is not only breathtaking, but it also happens to be the largest…Read the rest of this entry →

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A Weekend of Waterfalls (and Climbing) in the High Country

A Weekend of Waterfalls (and Climbing) in the High Country

We may have had a cool and pleasant spring this year, but summer in the Southeast is shaping up to be H-O-T!  Here lately the thermometer has hit 90 before lunchtime and the humidity has felt downright smothering.  That meant that the only logical place for weekend adventures was the higher elevation areas in the western part of the state, where daytime highs were literally 20 degrees cooler than back home. Our agenda was pretty open-ended.  We really just wanted to escape the heat and get some good family time together.  The past few weeks have been very hectic, and…Read the rest of this entry →

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8 New Things About Sunset Beach (and Sunscreen Giveaway!)

8 New Things About Sunset Beach (and Sunscreen Giveaway!)

This summer marks our family’s 4th beach trip with the Crag-Daddy’s extended family.  One week out of every summer is “come one, come all” at a giant house at Sunset Beach.  Over the years we’ve developed a few traditions about how our family “does” the beach, but this year in particular brought a lot of newness.  Here’s just a few of the “new” highlights we enjoyed… 1.  3 NEW FAMILY MEMBERS:  Last year I, along with BOTH of my sisters-in-law, were pregnant…2 of us in the exhausted, nauseous early weeks, and 1 in the uncomfortable latter stage.  Energy levels were at…Read the rest of this entry →

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN