Waterfall Pictures

One of mine and my mom's favorite things to do is drive up to the mountains and take pictures of the waterfalls.  I have only been in the fall.  With three small children (not safe for them around the falls) it is hard for me to find time to get away.

The first year I went with my mom I did all my research on the internet and I found one fall that everyone said was beautiful and a must see.  It was in someone's backyard and it said that they didn't mind people coming by to see it.  I followed the directions but they weren't quit right.  Then my mom saw a pond that she wanted to get some pictures of so we stopped.

While we were there we noticed several cars had pulled in and driven farther back onto the property.  Wouldn't you know it - we had stopped in the front yard of the house with the waterfall.  We noticed an elderly couple sitting on there porch enjoying the wonderful weather.

Could you imagine how nice it would be to take your morning coffee and sit by a waterfall!  It was so peaceful out here.  I would have to put this one on my list of favorites.

Next, we traveled on up to White Waterfall.  It is the tallest waterfall in NC.  I was surprised at how far away the lookout was.  I will have to do more research on this one to find out where the "spot" is for getting better pictures.

 It was a very nice day.  We found a little treasure and got a few good pictures of the falls.

The next year we went to Pearson Falls.  The drive is not as far and the falls are just as beautiful.  Pearson Falls is in Polk County, home to my favorite County Extension Director, John Vining.  I miss seeing him at CED meetings.  We changed districts several years ago and he has only been in Gaston a handful of times since then.  Here's a shout out to you John.  Hope you and your family are doing well!

 We were not able to take pictures this past fall (2013).  My mom volunteers for the Susan G. Komen race, she collects the donations at the start of the race because she is not able to do the run.  She fell walking to the check in area and broke her arm.  Just a few inches below her shoulder.  Needless to say, she was in A LOT of pain for a long time.  In fact, it is now May, seven months after her fall and she still has pain and doesn't have full mobility in her arm.  Susan G. Komen did nothing to help her out.  She contacted them and told them what happened and that her therapy would not be covered by Medicare, they said their insurance company would contact her and she has never heard back from them.  I can't believe that a foundation that makes millions of dollars for the health and care of women who have breast cancer, care so little for their volunteers.  Especially one that is a two time breast cancer survivor.  Nuff said.

Boon Hall Plantation - Charleston, SC

I had a harder time selecting pictures to share from my trip then I thought I would.  I get lost looking at all of them.  Of course I have to go through them all, select the ones I like the best and then re-size them for the internet.  The problem is I like a lot of them but I also don't want to bore anyone with my pictures.

The view as you drive into the estate is beautiful.  It is a driveway lined with huge Live Oaks.

Our tour guide told us that these trees live 500-600 years and the ones that line this driveway are about 250 years old.  I started thinking about that.  What that means is in the early 1800's the landscaper who designed this knew enough to space the trees so they would create this beautiful tunnel as it were and not crowd the trees out.  My best guess would be that you could park at least 4 cars between each tree.  I find that amazing.  You have to have vision to design this.  

As you approach the house - this is the site you are met with:

I love the way the tree lined drive frames the house.  I find that I am again amazed at the thought that went into the design and landscaping.  

We arrived early and school had already started in South Carolina so there were not a lot of people the day we visited.  We learned that this was not only a working plantation but a brickyard.  They handmade bricks here for decades.  We were told that most of the bricks used for the buildings in Charleston from the late 1800's to early 1900's came from here.

The brick-house is being supported by a lot of beams.  They cannot allow it to fall down because it is a Historical Landmark.

The slave houses are the original ones from the 1700's.  I'm sure they didn't have the nice lawn and trees surrounding them like they do today.  I like how they have these set up.  There is a recording in each house telling you the history of slaves in the South.  This really was a sad time for American history.  I'm glad we rose above this barbaric practice.  How if we can only learn how to heal from this and really move forward.

They even had a butterfly garden out behind the Butterfly Cafe.

It was a very enjoyable day.  I would definitely recommend visiting this plantation if you get the chance.

Sunflower Field

One day while just driving around town my mom ran across a sunflower field.  She called me and asked if I wanted to grab my camera and go take pictures with her, of course I said yes.  I'm not sure what this farmer grows the sunflowers for but they sure do make for some pretty pictures!  These are two of my favorite ones.

I love taking sunflower pictures!