Thursday, July 14, 2011

crabtree falls + wineberries

gnome at luminhaus
After a perfect day and seven mile hike on Saturday, we woke up at Luminhaus on Sunday ready to do something a little less strenuous.

Another scenic drive...
blue ridge mountainsforks of buffalo
blue ridge mountains
...and we ended up at Crabtree Falls. At 1200' cascading vertical feet, Crabtree Falls is the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi. This was more stair climbing than hiking. (And more eye-rolling at the people who were hiking barefoot (!!!) and getting in the falls, despite signs that 23 people (!!!) have fallen to their deaths here.)
crabtree falls
crabtree falls
crabtree falls
crabtree falls
crabtree falls
crabtree falls
crabtree falls
crabtree falls
On the way home we stopped at the Montebello Fish Hatchery.
fish hatchery
And took a Sunday drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway.
view from the blue ridge parkway
along the blue ridge parkway
Once back at the house, it was time for some beer:
gnome
gnome, growler, me
beer & gnomes
growler
We decided to explore the "backyard" at Luminhaus and took a hike through the six-acre property:
luminhaus
the back yard at luminhaus
The trees were full of colorful birdhouses all stenciled with bird silhouettes.
luminhaus
On the other side of the property was a treehouse designed to look like a really big birdhouse. Larry was so excited to drink beer inside the treehouse...
luminhaus
...until he turned the corner and noticed the size of the door! Evidently the treehouse was designed more for people who drink of out sippy cups than pint glasses!
treehouse at luminhaus
treehouse at luminhaus
Fortunately, there was a deck nearby that was appropriately sized for adults and their beers:
luminhaus
beer on the deck at luminhaus
(Is that a lens cap in your pocket...?)

deck in the woods at luminhaus
After a couple cold ones, I forced Larry to help me pick wineberries. I am a berry fiend, and the woods surrounding Luminhaus were dripping with berries - they were everywhere!
picking wine berries
picking wine berries
wine berries
picking wine berries
picking wine berries
wine berries
picking wine berries
picking wine berries
wine berries
When my bowl was sufficiently full Larry was sick of picking berries and we were both hot and sweaty, we took our my (mine! muhahaha!) bounty back to the house.
luminhaus
Then we spent the rest of the evening cooking dinner and drinking wine and lamenting the fact that it was our last night at Luminhaus.
naughty gnome
gnome at luminhaus

the good life: wine berries & beer
Oh, and we signed the guestbook.
luminhaus
Have I mentioned I could get used to living in place like this?

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