Day 7 AM: Downtown Brevard for gem mining, toy store, and park

On Friday morning, our last full day in Brevard, we went downtown. While my brother, mom and dad explored the downtown shops, brewery and had lunch at a nice restaurant, we took the kids "gem mining." Zac had fond memories of doing something like this as a kid, and both our kids like dirt and rocks, so it seemed like a good idea. Luckily, when we got to the Crystal Mountain Gem Mining place, we pretty much had it to ourselves. The way it works is you buy a bucket of sand, then dig through it and sift out all the "gems." The kids loved it.

Simon shows off his loot, then Alice takes her bag to the counter to have the rocks, ahem, gems, identified.

After mining, we had some fun exploring the stuff in the shop.

Next, we headed around the corner to O.P. Taylor's toy store. It was an amazing toy store. We didn't buy anything there, but the kids had fun playing with the toys on display. It would be trouble if we had a toy story like this near us.

After the toy store, we headed back to our van, but stopped at a bakery for a little treat first. Alice picked a chocolate cupcake, Simon picked a gingerbread man, I got a lemon bar, and Zac got a chocolate brownie. Alice made a giant mess.

Our last stop for the morning was Franklin Park, near downtown. I saw pictures of it online and it looked super cool and original. We were not disappointed.

Then, we hurried back to the house to get lunch and head out on our adults-only hike, while the kids napped.

Day 6: Fish Hatchery and Simon the Bobber

On Thursday morning, we went to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education. It was basically a fish hatchery with a few indoor displays and a little walking path. The kids seemed pretty run-down and whiny, so we spent most of the time trying to revive them with snacks. 

 

Simon loved seeing the fish and kept saying he wanted to catch one. They both had fun picking fish food pellets off the pavement and giving them to the fish.

After lunch and naps, we spent the afternoon in the pool and hot tub. Simon made significant progress in the pool today and bobbed around in his floaties unassisted for the first time ever.

 

Day 5: Pool Day!

On Wednesday, my parents and brother went to Asheville to tour the Biltmore estate. We stayed home and played in the pool in the morning and again in the afternoon. Alice made big strides in her swimming. I also was miraculously able to swim the crawl stroke for the first time in 12 years (since my shoulder surgery).

Simon's new favorite thing to do in the pool is use the net to catch his "fish" -- a green leaf my dad carved to look like a fish.

Day 4: Cradle of Forestry

On Tuesday, after a breakfast of muffins, we headed to the Cradle of Forestry.

The kids give a hug to the "moon tree" whose seed traveled to the moon.

Simon finally gets to see a few fish in the historic fish hatchery.

The kids play on some historic road-building equipment.

Simon rings the bell on the locomotive.

Simon loved sitting in this helicopter watching the fire-fighting video.

Just when we were ready to leave, we got hit with a big rainstorm. But the kids knew how to take advantage of the situation. This is why we always keep extra clothes in the van.

By then it was too late to get home in time for naps, so we headed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a drive while the kids napped in the van. It continued to rain on the drive, but we still got some good views.