Four-day weekend

We both have a four-day weekend (mine is Thurs-Sun; Gina's is Sat-Tues) so we went to the mountains. We drove to Cosby Creek Campground in the Smokey's very near the North Carolina border. First we hiked up to a waterfall (I had to run fast to get into this timed picture...which is why Gina has laughed herself blurry):



As it was getting close to dark, we lit a fire (partly using firewood Gina had gathered and partly firewood I had purchased) and started the BBQ (marinated chicken legs and hamburgers, corn, potato, zucchini, yellow squash). Here we are by the fire (with my Negra Modelo):



Having nothing better to do, we went to sleep at 8:30...so we got a fairly early start, though it was a little bit hard to move in the morning because it was so cold (in the 30s). We drove by Davenport Gap to meet up with the 40, heading towards the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the way, a bevy of wild turkeys crossed the road; we also saw a dead black bear on the side of the 40. Here is a very blurry photo of one of the turkeys. (I swear, it's a turkey!):



Here's a photo of Big Creek just downriver of a hydroelectric plant (hence the steam):



Here are some additional photos of the Blue Ridge Parkway:









Finally, we stopped for a couple of hours at Asheville before heading home. Here's a photo of Gina sipping my pumpkin-flavored latte:



Just to complete the weekend, here are a few photos of Maomao from Thursday. First, you can see Maomao causing us to lose our family honor (he's terrified of the little grey kitten Oliver and was keeping out of reach up on the ledge...I wonder what will happen once Oliver gets big enough to jump up on that ledge!). Also a picture of Maomao in a funny position on my blue mushroom chair. Finally, Maomao on the roof and the window ledge at the back of the apartment: