Chimney Rock

After spending a few days at the start of the kids' spring break up in Durham--exploring its lovely downtown, taking in a show, and checking out the campuses of Duke, UNC, and NC State (neither Jonathan nor I are NC natives like our kids, so we figured now that Ella is a high school sophomore it was time to start getting to know NC universities)--we decided to continue the idea of seeing a little more of our own state for our vacation.  We headed to the mountains for a day at Chimney Rock State Park to see the iconic North Carolina monolith, hike some trails, and take in the views of Lake Lure and Hickory Nut Gorge.  A bonus for this adventure was definitely that sweet Olive was able to join us and, also, this is a sight Ella and Jack hadn't even heard of here in NC.  You know I love my research before trips, so I did make us all watch The Last of the Mohicans before going, although, I might've been the only one to really pay attention.

No elevator for us (not an option when you bring a dog and I'm sure we wouldn't have taken it anyway) so we trekked up the Outcroppings Trail (known as the "Ultimate Stairmaster") which includes 494 steps up to the Chimney.  After taking in the views on top of the Chimney (I'll admit, I found being up there quite daunting), we continued up via the Exclamation Point trail to make it to the highest peak in the park (2,480 feet above sea level, and one of the views from The Last of the Mohicans), exploring the Opera Box and seeing Devil's Head on the way. 

Not ready for our day to end, we continued our hike on the Skyline Trail which went up and down hill, over a creek, and finally to the top of a waterfall.  We hiked all the way back to the bottom of Chimney Rock the way we came in.  My calves were literally quivering by the time we made it down to the bottom of the stairs--and I wasn't the only one!

Instagrammin' in April

April is one of my favorite months--the flowers are blooming, I get usually get to go on a few trips, and, of course, it's my birthday month!

sweet olive | belinda bencic at an unseasonably cold volvo open wta tournament (it snowed on our drive down to charleston!) | danielle collins | us and danielle collins | us and bethanie mattek-sands!!! | caroline wozniacki | big stadium match--i love the volvo open! | spring break trip to durham, nc | checked out duke campus while we were there. | and took in a durham bulls game | bulls win! | got to see the bull eyes light up and nose smoke. | also explored the beautiful unc chapel hill campus. | blooming for spring | unc was ella's favorite campus visit. | final campus stop was at nc state | real reason for our durham visit, and a surprise for the kids--michael carbonaro live show (from the carbonaro effect) | another spring break adventure--chimney rock (a first for the kids) | and sweet olive got to join for this part.

Instagrammin' in March

March brought us the start of high school track season for Ella (Ella ran the 3200M event all season), the Fill the Bowl event for both Ella and Jack this year, and Ella's birthday!  Ella turned 15 on March 21st and got her learner's permit the very next week.

Instagrammin' in February

A highlight for February was a girls weekend in Asheville to see Fed Cup play.  Ella and I had enjoyed watching Fed Cup play last February so much that we decided we needed to stay for both days of play this year.  This year's Team USA included Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin, and Danielle Collins and the Fed Cup match was against Team Australia (Ashleigh Barty played 3 of the 5 matches!).  It was also a huge surprise to us that Billie Jean King, leading the opening ceremonies each day as well as being honored for her Fed Cup team play, as well as Gladys Knight were both part there.  We drove up to Asheville Saturday morning, enjoying a delicious brunch at The Market Place (same as last year) before heading to watch the day's first match.  A few of my tennis friends joined us for the weekend, too--Yvette, Brandy, and Ellen.  We stayed at the Aloft hotel in downtown Asheville and it was great to be able to walk around downtown (and already have hotel parking near the U.S. Cellular Center where Fed Cup took place) and come and go as we pleased.  After enjoying the Aloft rooftop patio views, we ventured out to Wicked Weed for a few beers (root beer for Ella) and dinner, lucky to snag a table there.  On Sunday, we enjoyed lunch at White Duck Taco before the day's Fed Cup matches.  I hope Ella and I can find many other excuses for getaways together--tennis is always a good one and I love that she shares my joy in watching women's professional tennis live.

Other highlights in February: good light on Olive; a heart spotted on one of our walks; and, Ella and Jack both received Superiors for their judged piano performances at the NC Music Federation Festival.

Happy New Year!

We wouldn't miss our annual New Year's Eve party with great friends the Hulls, Browns, Shaws, and Broadways so we specifically planned our trip to make it back from the UK in time.  It truly is the best way to kick off each new year.  We celebrated the start of 2019 at the Shaws' house and, even with the jet lag, made it to the ball drop.  I am so thankful to have these wonderful families in our lives and love that our kids have known each of them either all or nearly all of their lives.  We hit the jackpot with this crew.  Here's to 2019!

 

UK Christmas: December 28, Edinburgh

December 28^th was the last full day of our United Kingdom Christmas trip and our only full day to explore Edinburgh.  After a full English breakfast at the hotel, we were out early to meet our walking tour at the Mercat Cross on High Street (the Royal Mile), next to St. Giles Cathedral (the flagship of the Church of Scotland and the crown-like steeple silhouette you’ll see in many photos).  The small-group tour given by an Edinburgh local took us up and down High Street—only down until “World’s End” where the wall around the castle ended, and not all the way down to Holyrood Palace—through historic Closes and courtyards off of the Royal Mile, and finally ended with a tour inside the gates of Edinburgh Castle.  We enjoyed the intermix of history and humor of our tour, all given with a lilting Scottish accent.      

After our tour ended, we only had time to explore the outside grounds of the castle, which was plenty for us, as the lines were long to view the inside exhibits and we also had a reservation at The Witchery for a late lunch.  Our meal at The Witchery was a lovely, extravagant 3-course affair that nearly took a few hours.  By the time we finished, it was almost dusk outside, so we wasted no time to walk down to the curving and beautifully colorful Victoria Street to see it before dark.  From there we explored Greyfriars Cemetery (looking for the Harry Potter name inspirations), back up to the Royal Mile, finally making it past High Street (past World’s End) and on to Canongate.  It was only about 4pm by then, but the sun had set so we got our first glimpses of Canongate Kirk (church where the royal family worships when they’re in town), the Scottish Parliament building, and finally the Palace of Holyroodhouse all in the dark. 

We had a 4:30am pickup time the next morning to make our flight from Edinburgh to London where we would connect to a direct flight back to Charlotte, so we were back at the hotel by 6pm.  Honestly, it was dark so early in the day it always felt much later each night.  I did not nearly get my fill of Edinburgh, though, so do hope we come back in the summer one day soon for the longer daylight days and hopefully some long hikes up Arthur’s Seat and then on to the Highlands.  But for now, it was another epic Christmas trip for the Williamses in the books!

UK Christmas: December 27, Edinburgh

After five nights in London, we were up early on the 27^th hauling our luggage to the tube station headed for Kings Cross Station.  We boarded an early train (after checking out Platform 9 ¾ for one last time) for Edinburgh, Scotland.  The UK Rail ride was in itself part of the whole adventure.  We drank our fill of hot tea and ate the delicious satsumas (yummy oranges) brought to us after every stop of the train.  We enjoyed the views of the English countryside, miles and miles of rolling hills and farmland and always dotted with a walker in his or her wellies with a dog or two off-leash (Olive would love the English countryside).  Our train ride took us through York, past Durham with a nice sweeping view of the castle and cathedral (but after Bill Bryson’s glowing reviews of the city, I hope to stop and see more of Durham one day), through Newcastle, along the Northumberland coast, on a viaduct crossing the River Tweed and through Berwick-Upon-Tweed before crossing the border in to Scotland.  The coastline views were stunning for this part of our trip—our look at Bass Rock, a volcanic island at the entrance of the Firth of Forth, had me searching for its name in my CityMaps2Go app.  The terrain vastly changed the further we got in to Scotland, as well, turning more rugged and rocky.  Winter was a wonderful time to explore the big cities of England and Scotland, but one summer I will certainly be back to enjoy the valleys and glens on foot.

From Waverley Station in Edinburgh, we walked our luggage through the streets of New Town and on to our beautiful hotel, The Glasshouse which was built behind the façade of the 172-year-old Lady Glenorchy Church.  With only a day and a half in Edinburgh, we wasted no time (other than grabbing a few cups of THE best mulled wine, and hot cocoa for the kids, free in the lobby) before getting back out to explore this city.  What a change of pace Edinburgh was from London—back to the cobbled streets and walkable charm of European cities I’m more used to exploring.  However, unlike other European towns, the topography of the land affected the development of the Old Town over the centuries was very unique, but more on that later.  We started our exploration of Edinburgh by hiking up Calton Hill in New Town to enjoy a view of all of Edinburgh and Arthur’s Seat in the glorious golden hour before sunset (we lucked out with beautiful, sunny weather for our entire stay in Scotland).  Hiking up to Calton Hill and exploring the grounds was definitely a highlight of our trip and really made me wish we’d built in one more day on our trip to have time to hike Arthur’s Seat (next time!). 

After sunset, we walked back through New Town, by Waverley Station, through Princes Street Garden (where a Christmas market had been set up), and up, up, up to the Royal Mile in Old Town.  We explored about half of the “Scottish mile” of this famed street, lined with souvenir shops, pubs, and historic sights.  We then wandered down to the other side of the Royal Mile to the Cowgate area to have dinner, quickly learning that even though we had reservations at BrewDog for dinner, breweries in Scotland are not family affairs.  So, we wandered further down Cowgate and found another restaurant I’d seen in my research, The Holyrood 9A, and enjoyed our local beer and burgers there instead (no one would try the Haggis Bon Bons starter with me). 

After dinner, we were back up on the Royal Mile to make it to our reserved 6:30pm tour at The Real Mary King’s Close.  The Royal Mile runs from Edinburgh Castle at the top of a volcanic plug downhill (west to east) to Holyrood Palace at the bottom of Arthur’s Seat.  Volcanic and glacial erosion led to the “Crag and Tail” shape of the Royal Mile, which basically means the road is a raised strip of land from the top of the hill to the bottom.  In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, residents wanted to remain within the walls of Edinburgh proper, so they basically built from the Royal Mile street down, structures that were anywhere from 6- to 12-stories high.  On the Royal Mile these structures looked like only a few stories high, but from the lower streets on each side you could see the many, many stories.  Narrow alleyways were built off of the Royal Mile to access dwellings and these alleyways were called “Closes” and often named after a prominent resident.  We were told they are called “Closes” because at night each alleyway would be locked off to visitors, or closed, to ensure residents’ safety.  Most of these historical Closes were demolished or redeveloped over time, but the Royal Exchange was built on top of Mary King’s Close and left the lower floors intact as a foundation for the new building.  And I am so thankful for this time capsule of this unique style of living 500 years ago.  Our tour, given by a character actor playing a 16^th-century maid of a prominent resident, was honestly one of my favorite experiences while in Edinburgh.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed while on the tour so I have nothing to show for it, but exploring the labyrinthine hallways connecting room after room, hearing stories of what life was like for residents, historical events occurring during occupation of the Closes (including the plague), as well as the gag-invoking custom of “Gardy-Loo!”, really brought the history to life.  The tour was definitely a highlight of our trip—really because without seeing a Close, it really was hard to imagine what life was like back when Edinburgh was called Auld Reekie and residents lived in such close quarters—and their gift shop was one of the best, with local crafts, that we encountered.

After our tour, we headed in the direction of our hotel back in New Town, but stopped at Princes Street Gardens for the Christmas Market.  After much deliberation, the kids chose a ride on the Star Flyer that swings you around and around, 60 meters high in the air directly adjacent to the Sir Walter Scott Monument.  Definitely an experience, but one that I know at least Jack doesn’t care to repeat.  We had an early-morning walking tour booked for the next day, so we headed back to our hotel for an early night.