We officially have the best baby ever. The happy family made it back from baby's first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house in one piece without having to stop once in the 2 hour journey for diaper changes, feedings, or screaming fits. Whew!
First of all, holy crap do you need to bring a lot of stuff when you go away for a weekend with a baby! It took forever to pack for the 3 of us. Thank goodness we left the dogs home. The drive went well, as I mentioned. I think 2 hours is her limit though because she started stirring just as we got close to our destination. I spent the last 15 minutes of the trip telling her "we're almost there, hang on a few more minutes" as if reasoning with an infant is going to get me anywhere. Well maybe it did because it worked. So many adventures and firsts this weekend, but I'll try to hit the highlights.
Adventure #1: Baby Goes to Downtown Hendersonville and Jump Off Rock!
Our first lunch out with baby. She got a little hungry so I fed her in the car after we ordered and got back in time for a fabulous lunch at Mean Mr. Mustard. We strolled around town and stopped for some "real" coffee. No offense to Grandma and Grandpa's decaf, but taking care of our energizer bunny baby requires full octane. After taking in the sights of H-ville, we drove up to Jump Off Rock -- what a view!
Baby Taking in the View at Jump Off Rock
Adventure #2: Baby Goes to Blue Ridge Parkway!
What a WONDERFUL day we had on the Parkway. The weather was perfect - a cool 57 degrees compared to 80+ in Hendersonville. The visibility was fantastic and if it weren't for the dozens of motorcycles vrooming around it would have been very peaceful. We had baby's first picnic - picture below. As you can see, she couldn't really enjoy the view from the makeshift tent we made over her carseat, but that precious baby skin hasn't been exposed to sunlight and I am not going to the pediatrician for a sunburn and getting the worst mother of the year award. She enjoyed dining al fresco. Mommy didn't feel too weird whipping out a boob on the parkway, oddly enough. That whole earth-mother-one-with-nature vibe was in the air. I did cover up with a blanket for a little privacy. Only potentially creepy onlooker was a guy with two loudly barking full size black poodles hopping into a convertible BMW. Kurt was ready to gut the poodles with his swiss army knife if they got too close - he thought they looked hungry. But fortunately, no blood was shed.
That's the baby under the blanket/tent that Kurt is tending to..
We continued down the parkway until it got foggy and a little rainy, as it tends to do up there. We turned around after stopping at the highest elevation overlook and witnessed some idiot redneck parents helping their little toddlers climb on an UNSTABLE ROCK SLIDE right next to the road. Seriously, what is the matter with people! I may not exactly be Bear Gryllis but I know enough not to climb on loose boulders. Again, no blood was shed or children crushed thank God. People really should have to take an IQ test before procreating.
Adventure #3: Baby Goes to Biltmore!
Our weekend of nonstop excitement continued with a family outing to the Biltmore Estate. Grandma and Grandpa joined us too. It was a beautiful day that got off to a rousing start when baby decided it was lunchtime before we even got close to the house. Since dining in nature worked so well yesterday, we figured we'd just plop down under a tree and do our thing again. After finding a tree that wasn't covered with bees, we sat in the grass and tried to get her nursing. First we had a little toddler boy wander over to say Hi. Hello. Go away now little boy. Then we discovered that baby does not like to nurse without Boppy. Kurt ran back to the car to get the Boppy pillow. Meanwhile, baby is screaming. People are staring. Awesome. Finally, we satisfy vampire baby's needs and we can roll on down to the house. Grandma and Grandpa scored free tickets (thank you!) so we didn't feel obligated to tour the house. We just wanted to see the Flower Carpet and gardens. Flower Carpet was pretty. Then, after spending $30 on 2 hot dogs, 2 hot pretzels and 2 beers, we attempted to stroll the gardens but quickly realized it was too hot, there were too many stairs, and baby was too fed up to continue communing with nature. It was worth the trip though just to get this cute photo:
It was a great long weekend - Mommy and Daddy even had our first alone time at the Cummings Cove pool and hot tub! Whoohoo! I think we left Sarah Beth with Grandma and Grandpa for over an hour. We also got to show her off to lots of Grandma and Grandpa's friends who are all in agreement how cute she is. We've got lots of cute pictures from our adventures. I'll post some more soon!
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