Virginia Creeper

Over Labor Day, two other couples (David and Trina, David and Hollie) came up to the mountains with us for the long weekend. We stayed at Granny's house (which is getting quite the makeover by my stepmother, Brenda, by the way!!) and spent the weekend doing nothing but eat! :) Well, not really, but it felt that way, at least! We spent the day in Boone on Saturday, since 4 of the 6 of us are App grads. We visited old hang-outs, marvelled at all that has changed, and reminisced :)

We actually spent most of the day on Sunday riding the Virginia Creeper bike trail. It is an old railway bed that's been turned into a hiking/biking/horse trail, close to the NC/Virginia border. You can get a shuttle service to drop you off at the head of the trail and then ride down to their shop at the end. The leg we chose is the 17-mile portion from Whitetop, Va to Damascus, Va. And don't be too impressed with us for biking 17 miles... it's almost completely downhill :)

Here are some shots of our group on the trail, as well as some of the scenery. It's a beautiful trail, mostly shaded (nice when it's 90 degrees), and you pass over lots of old railroad trellises and pretty creeks. There are stops along the way, and a cafe at the halfway point. It was a great day, but I think we all questioned our choice as we sat down for dinner that evening- ouch!!! ;)

The girls: Bike dorks :) I mean, really- who looks good in those helmets??Isn't Trina cute? :)
Here's what I wish I'd been riding:
Before we left on Monday, we drove up to the top of Mt. Jefferson, which is the mountain in front of Granny's house. There's an awesome overlook up there, with a huge rock outcropping to climb around on. Here's a fun group shot: