Fall is definitely in the air here in Asheville, NC! This mailbox made me smile and made me present to the fact that we are a long way from home y’all! This area has been on my list to visit for a while, so it was exciting that we were able to get to North Carolina on this RV trip at the perfect time to see Fall in all its glory.

Our first stop when arriving in Asheville, was Sliding Rock in the Pisgah National Forest!

This was not a warm day, nor was this water anywhere close to being warm. But, my family members embrace any time to get wet and wild in nature. This spot was amazing!

It was so fun to watch the kids go up and down this natural waterslide until their poor bodies were too cold to go on. Here’s Sliding Rock from the top…

All of the tourists bundled up in their fall attire enjoyed watching my crew as they were the only ones crazy enough to do Sliding Rock at this time! I, of course, had to take photos and couldn’t partake in the fun (glad for the excuse.) In the summertime, the lines are long for this, so if you get a chance to come in the fall, do it!

During the weekdays in October, admission is free. If you come on the weekend or anytime in summer the cost is $2 per person to enter the recreation area.

After Sliding Rock, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway back to our campground.  This was pretty much our view along the famous Parkway. Crazy fog but a fun experience nonetheless. We did end up on the Parkway at various other times and it is as gorgeous as everyone says! Glad we were driving our car and not the RV for this adventure though.

Chimney Rock State Park was our next day’s destination and I was highly impressed with all that we found to do here! We did several of the hiking trails, including the main one up to Chimney Rock itself.

There is a $15 adult and $7 “child” admission but it is totally worth it! I wanted to upgrade to an annual pass actually because I loved it here so much. Then the reality hit that we are a long way from home and most likely won’t get here again. It was wishful thinking anyway….

The view of Lake Lure below is worth the hike up!  You can even take an elevator to the top if you aren’t up for the climb. It is very doable though and there are pretty views all the way. There is also a cafe and shop at the top where you can sit and relax to reward yourself after.

Apple picking at a local orchard was high on the kids’ list, so we headed to Justus Orchard to do just that.

The last time the boys picked apples was when they were in kindergarten and we were living in Minnesota.

This was the view of leaving our Asheville West KOA. So gorgeous! I know I will make my way back to Asheville, NC hopefully sooner than later. For now, it’s off to Cherokee and the Great Smoky Mountains we go!

We (I) are (am) wearing down a bit. I actually questioned out loud if we should possibly start making our way home quicker than we had planned to. The kids are starting to complain and bicker and it’s wearing us (me) down. I think everyone misses their friends, sports, and routine and it’s starting to show. Really it’s quite a feat that it’s taken us 4 months to start feeling this. Four months is a whole lot of non-stop together time, no matter how great you get along!

Have you ever gone to Europe and after a while you don’t care if you step foot in another church because you’re over it, as beautiful as it may be. That is where we were starting to find ourselves I think. We did Boston. Then New York. Then Philadelphia and Washington DC and everything in between. That is a lot to take in within a few weeks. It was all awesome, but it’s time to slow it back down a bit, so we welcome the quieter South that lies ahead. (And no, we’re not heading home….)

Our Washington DC highlights were:

There is so much to do and see in Washington DC that it’s near impossible to fit it all in, even with the five days we had here. Our favorite outing was Biking the Sites with Bike and Roll. It’s always a bonus when we can be active and learning at the same time! The National Mall and all of the Monuments and Memorials are as gorgeous as you would imagine.

One day, we spent time at the Library of Congress and touring the Capitol building- which are across the street from one another.

We set up a private tour of the Capitol with an intern from our Congressman David Schweickert’s office.

Go to the National Archives to check out the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution & the Bill of Rights. Always fun for the kids to watch Disney’s National Treasure movie before coming here too!

Ford’s Theatre is a must-see as the kids were really intrigued to see where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

The White House. Need I say more?

We stayed at this Capitol KOA for six nights and loved the location. It is close to DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis. We were able to easily drive to the metro station that we could take into Washington DC every day.  There are two KOA’s that you can choose from when you want to go into the city. This one was perfect for our touring needs.

 The other KOA is a further hike in Fredericksburg, VA, and is KOA’s campground of the year for 2014. We had originally thought we’d compare the travel into DC from here as well, but we had burnt ourselves out so we didn’t move from this campground for the two days that we were here. No sightseeing allowed! Time for some downtime at the campground to regroup and relax.

Look at our beautiful spot! I think this could be our favorite site of the trip. It was exactly what we needed to relax after all of our city touring!

The kids have a new found love for fishing, which this trip allowed. They really hadn’t had the opportunity to experience doing this before we hit the road. It’s fun to watch them embrace a new outdoor hobby and as long as I don’t have to touch the bait or fish, I’m good with it!