Grandma Adventure

To celebrate retirement, I rented a cabin in the NC mountains and invited the three younger grandkids to go on a grandma adventure.  (My DD felt "left out" so I invited her as well... and her DH was able to join us for part of the stay.)  

I've missed out on so much of their lives because I was still working and the eldest is going off to college in two weeks.  So, I was determined that at least some of the grandkids would remember a special time with their grandmother after she retired.   

The cabin was lovely and perfect for multi-generations (read:  bedrooms on different levels and plenty of bathrooms).  The deck was wonderful as was the 20 degree cooler temps.

Early mornings on the deck with a cuppa tea or coffee were a joy!  The rockers were so relaxing...

There are lots of things to do in the West Jefferson, NC area...  such as hiking to the top of Mt. Jefferson.

The gem mining was a much bigger success than I imagined... we had to pry the kids away at closing.  After we got back to the cabin, the kids spent time looking up the various gems they found online...  "Can we go again tomorrow?"

I don't have photos from tubing on the river but the grandgirl with the GoPro promised to send me some.   We had dinner out one night in West Jefferson...

...however, there was plenty of time to hang out at the cabin.

And then there were the views...

The grandkids are already talking about another grandma adventure to the mountains next summer...  to include more gem mining and white-water rafting.

...guess I need to start planning?  

PS - When I got up on the last morning, the temp outside was 57 degrees.  At noon, it was 67... but when I got home, it was 91 + very humid.