We decided to go to place that had a lot of waterfalls to see :D Dad and Mom Martin knew it was something I really wanted to do before my next birthday so we made sure we to go to a place that had some :D So very thoughtful of them! We decided that we were going to Dupont State Forest Park. It is about 5 hours from Raleigh.
We got up pretty early on Monday (Mom Martin got Carter out of his crate and walked him and fed him while we got ready :D SO NICE!) and I think we left about 10? Cant remember exactly. Anyway, it was nice to chat and talk on the ride there. I started getting car sick so I took some motion sickness medicine and it knocked me out again. I hate sleeping so much in the car :( We also stopped at Bojangles and then took it to a rest area so we could have a picnic! Also, so Carter could stretch :D
After we ate we took Carter for a walk. He got to meet his first cow! :D The cow moved towards him and he RAN behind John. LOL. He kept trying to sniff the cow and then he would run from it. silly pup. After that we got back in the car and headed on. We had gotten Carter a big bone to chew on to help keep him busy since he wasnt going to have a lot of room in the car. It worked out well. He ended up sleeping most of the time and then chewed on it some. SUCH a good dog!
Before we got to the campsite we made a quick stop at the first waterfall!!! It was called Looking Glass Falls and was just beautiful. God is such an artist! We got a bunch of pictures of course! :D
SO PRETTY! (even if the water was dirty from the storm)
YAY!! FIRST WATERFALL EVER!
Looking Glass Falls and Mom and Dad Martin!
Once we got there we met the ranger and then grabbed some of our stuff and went to our campsite. Of course it had just rained. The ranger said they had gotten about an inch of rain in about a 20 minute span of time just before we got there. of course. and that's A LOT of rain! Everything was wet and the trees held a lot of rain so it still felt like it was somewhat raining while we were setting up, even though it wasnt actually raining.Our campsite was down a steep hill, so we tried to make as few trips as possible. it was a KILLER hill! haha. We tied Carter up to a tree while we set everything up, otherwise he would have been in our way. We put up the two tents (ours was huge! thanks Kristen and AJ!) and set up a tailgating tent over the picnic table and put the rest of the stuff under it so it wouldnt get wet. After we got set up, we went for a walk to check out the camp. We ended up going to play horseshoes! FUN:D I dont remember who won though. haha. That was also the only place in the campsite that had Wifi. It was really nice to not have to worry about emails or phone calls or anything! Great break from technology and it was much needed.
Our eating area and Mama Martin!
Our HUGE tent!
Mom and Dad Martin's tent
It started to get dark not long after so we headed back and made dinner. We made chicken fajitas! We were camping in style ;D We had SO much stuff, but it made camping very comfortable. haha The site we stayed at also had some of the cleanest bathrooms ever for a campsite! Anyway, the fajitas were delicious :D After that we cleaned up and then played some cards. It was very nice and relaxing :D Then we went to bed. It was pretty early for us, but we were all pretty tired and there's not much to do when it's pitch black out. haha. Carter got half of the tent. hahaThe next morning we got up and got ready and made omelets! YUM. We slept in a little bit, but that was good because the first half of the night I woke up every time I heard a noise because I wasnt used to the outdoor noises. haha. After breakfast and getting ready we headed out to go hiking. We had to drive to Dupont State Forest Park. There isnt a campsite at that park to stay, so that's why we stayed where we did.
Ready to hike!
Anyway, we parked and all got out and started the hike. After we hadnt hiked too far, we got to see the first set of waterfalls. They were called Triple Falls. GORGEOUS!
Triple Falls :D
Mom and Dad Martin
We ended up hiking past those and up to the next falls, which was called High Falls. Hiking! pit stop:D
It was all up hill for the most part (makes sense because we were on a mountain trying to get to the waterfalls, but boy was it a lot of work!) Carter was a champ the whole time! When we got to the top of the High Falls, there is a bridge that overlooks it. Before the bridge there was a place to walk up to the water before it "falls". Carter drank a bunch and got in and played. He chased some butterflies and other bugs. It was fun seeing him in the water. He definitely needed it because it was HOT out!High Falls
Carter at the High Falls :D
Bridge at the top of High Falls
Playing in the water :D
After that we headed back to where we started from! I think it was about 3 miles total. It felt like most of it was uphill. haha. GREAT exercise!! On the way back to the car, there was one steep hill down and Carter started to go down it and couldnt stop. haha. We were yelling for him to stop until we realized he couldnt. When he finally did stop he turned around with the BIGGEST eyes. It was SO funny!!
Tired after 3 miles! haha we were both panting!
When we got back to the car we looked for a place to eat lunch and couldnt really find one anywhere close. So we ate out of the back of the truck. lol.
After lunch we hiked or really walked to the last waterfall we saw. It was a very popular swimming hole too and since John and I brought our suits we decided to swim! This waterfall was called Hooker Falls. It was a short waterfall, but beautiful like the rest! We got in to swim and got Carter to come in. He hated it and clawed to get out. lol Dad Martin, John and I swam while Carter hung out with his grandma. John convinced me to swim up to the waterfall and get behind it. There was also a rock that was smooth so you slide out under the waterfall. We did it twice. It was AWESOME!!! The water was freezing, but refreshing! SO MUCH FUN and such a cool experience!!
Hooker Falls
YAY! After we came out from under it :D
Our family! Carter was mad at us for putting him in the water. lol
After that it started to thunder and we knew in a matter of minutes it would be raining. We hurried back to the car and JUST made it! We drove back to the campsite and relaxed some. We fed Carter some food even though it wasnt his dinner time because he NEVER gets THAT much exercise and we figured he needed it. Anyway, John and Dad Martin started getting firewood together and Mom Martin and I started cutting up everything for dinner. We were going to have hobo dinners. YUM! :D While all this was going on we let Carter off his leash and let him explore. He was so good and LOVED the outdoors! John and his dad got the fire started and after it calmed down some we put the hobo dinners on the fire. (A hobo dinner is like onions, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, some type of beefs, and really whatever else you want to put in it. Then you wrap it up in tin foil and put it on the fire!) The dinner took forever to cook, so we just sat around the fire and hung out. The boys took turns showering. We fed Carter and he explored some. After dinner Carter kept going up to the tent and trying to look in. The second time we were like, maybe he is tired and wants to go to bed. and he did. He got right in and fell right to sleep! He has NEVER done that! We thought it was hilarious he asked to go to bed early. haha.Building our fire
Carter taking it all in. haha
Keeping the fire going :D
Passed out after he went to bed. lol
We made s'mores after that! YUMMY! We put peanut butter on ours. This will happen every time from now on if possible. It made them SO much better! haha. After that we watched the fire die and packed up some. We had to leave kind of early because we had plans for dinner and stuff with my family Wed night. We did as much as we could before we went to bed and decided to get up pretty real early because we knew it would take a long time to pack up (we took everything in the world camping with us. lol).
We got up about 6:30. We were going to do 7, but Carter got up and had to potty so I just went ahead and got up. He went 3 times! Then within the next 30 minutes he went 3 more times! I didnt know a dog could hold that much poo in him! haha. Anyway, we broke down the camp and hauled everything back to the car. Then we showered and went into town. John's parents wanted to check out the little shops since they were looking for new art for their walls. The town was called Brevard and was a neat little town! We saw a bunch of art and then John and I broke off and went into the toy store. haha. It was the COOLEST toy store ever! We had a lot of fun in it:D
Playing with the toys!bahahaha his wolf puppet was attacking him....
Yes, that's John racing a little kid. haha
After we left we got lunch at Zaxby's, YUMMY!! and then headed home! We also stopped by the house in Ashville that Julie was going to be moving in to soon. It was cute!When we got back we had to reput up the tents and lay everything out to dry. Camping is a lot of work!
Camping was AWESOME. It was SO relaxing and we had such a good time with his parents! I forgot to mention that Tuesday was Mom and Dad Martin's anniversary! He suprised her with a gift basket! Yes, the camp offered those! SO CUTE! :D We definitely plan to go camping more often once we move back to Raleigh! :D
Happy Anniversary!!
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