NC Mountain Vacation
Recently we ventured out into the North Carolina Mountains. Yeah, I’m looking at you, scary winding Blue Ridge Parkway, and it was a blast! Lake Junaluska is such a great spot for a family with littles. We rented a house and explored from there. I highly recommend this! You first have to get over the anxiety of living in someone else’s house with mini tornados running around. It’s not as bad as you think. I’ve always been a hotel girl myself, but I’ve converted now. It’s a great way to save on food during a vacation and plus you don’t have to bathe your kids in a hotel tub (Bleh.)
Lake Junaluska offers all the typical lake outdoors activities: fishing, kayaks, paddle boards. My kids are a little small for that, but it seemed some kids I saw on the lake were having a great time. So, for the littles, they have two playgrounds, a pool, tennis courts if you just want to run them around in a fenced in area (some of us have that kid.) Mine loved the playground. So, for the parents, they have a small coffee shop and all the above to wear out your kid. I did see some people fly fishing for large and small mouth bass. I know because I asked, and then was told to Shhhhhh…apparently fish don’t like chatty people(?). Whatevs.
Everywhere at Lake Junaluska is walking friendly, so load those kids up in the double stroller and you’ll get a mountain workout like never before. I now know about back muscles I never knew existed. We walked the entire lake, many, many times, cue nap time.
The Junaluska retreat center is located close enough to several places for day trips including Asheville, Waynesville, Hendersonville and Cherokee. You could drive the whole Blue Ridge Parkway and back easily, also cue nap time. We checked out a few waterfalls and free (FREE FREE FREE) activities while factoring in nap time. Soco Falls is great because it’s where two waterfalls meet. Just make sure you read the website for the falls and don’t use GPS to get there. GPS in the mountains = no bueno. We also checked out Looking Glass falls (so cold) and Sliding Rock. Sliding Rock is a natural waterslide, $2 to park for the day and you can wear those kids out. I don’t know about y ’all but Mama is on a budget. We finished out the waterfall day with a pontoon boat ride on Lake Junaluska, $5 for adults, kids three and under are free. Soooo, our kids did awful on the boat, but it was a nice little boat tour with some history. There were lots of bribes of candy from the Mast General Store and praying no one jumps off the boat; pretty views though.
One of my favorite activities done sans littles (Thank you MIL) was gem mining. Yeah, I know I’m a nerd, but I can’t help it. I’m just too Shiny…. right, thanks Moana. I recommend this activity for older kids; a toddler would make you so nervous standing next to the giant geode that’s “only $6,000.” I had a ton of fun; I don’t think it matters which gem mine you go to, but we went to the Elijah Mountain Gem Mine, and cracked a geode for $5 with this medieval looking contraption. That geode is now a decoration in my bathroom.
All in all, we had a great time and will be venturing back to the NC Mountains later this summer!
