Working the ropes

Wonderworks in Orlando has a ropes challenge course that is guaranteed to make a grown woman cry. In my defense the thing is 3 stories high, 36 feet off the ground!

And for the record...I did work the ropes for all of about 5 minutes before the fear of hanging myself on those same ropes became too overwhelming.

Sebastian Inlet State Park

Sebastian Inlet has quite the reputation for surfing so we nabbed the surfboards and made the trek. Thank goodness the boy looks after his mommas weak heart and took one look at the waves and said "no thank you". Jon declined getting his surfboard wet as well but did make a journey with the boogie board. No pics of that but yes he took on some big air and the leash broke too!


One second you are standing in ankle deep surf, the next you were swept off your feet, this was some strong surf!

WNC Nature Center

Nibbles the ground hog, he was sooooo cute!

We have visited a fair amount of Nature Centers but this nature center in West North Carolina was really a miniature zoo of NC indigenous animals that was very well done.

Oconaluftee Indian Village (Cherokee N.C.)

Loved this living history museum of life in a Cherokee village in the mid 1750's.

The seven-sided Council House where the seven clans of the Cherokee Nation gathered.
Blue, Long Hair, Bird, Paint, Deer, Wild Potato and Wolf. We sat with the Deer clan

There were some beautiful weavings to admire but these belts really caught my attention. They had been woven from bison hair and according to our guide this was the first time in over 150 years that a Cherokee had used the material. He introduced us to the woman who had made them and she spoke with us on how she had taught herself this long and almost lost art.

Cherokee pottery is all thrown by hand, no wheels here! This industrious woman is finishing an elegant little pot; hard to see from the photo but she is rubbing it all over with a stone to give it a shiny finish which will also waterproof the pot as well.