Brevard, NC & Raleigh, NC

After a quick stop in Denver post Moab, for another gear swap (dropping off the SUP and other summer items and getting a few more cold weather pieces) we made a quick dash to Atlanta to get our dog back!! We cannot thank Uncles Ken and Tony enough for taking care of our dog for the last 10 months. We had no idea where we were going when we started our state-side journey, and knowing Izzy was in the best of hands really lowered our stress levels. And boy, were we excited to see her and thankful she was just as happy to see us too! We filled the van with some of her stuff and set off to Brevard, NC to catch some more fall colors.

Our friends Reid and Whit were able to drive across the country and join us for our 2 week stint in Brevard and have a full on south east adventure. It was so fun having people join us for part of our journey! We found a sweet (old grandma’s house) AirBnb that had plenty of room for all of us. We set up a little coworking space in the dining room and still had separate “offices” to work from. Izzy worked hard watching the squirrels in the front yard and taking naps.

Reid and Whit were doing a “40,000 vertical feet in 40 days” challenge and I was doing another “100 miles” challenges, so thanks to our Tour Guide Tom, we were able to surpass our goals! This involved a lot of biking, some runs around town for me and some early morning hikes up Looking Glass Rock for Whit and Reid. Including mandatory rest days because of the rain, we had plenty of time to enjoy the fall colors.

Since this is Tom’s old biking stomping grounds (basically where he learned to mountain bike) he was very excited to show us around. We started with a ride at Black Mountain in Pisgah Nation Forest where we had some ascending up dirt roads and single track downhills. There were a lot of roots! Especially down our first trail, Sycamore Cove (Tom did warn us, but I still wasn’t prepared). I learned I do not like slippy, angled roots with a slight drop on one side of the trail. But Whit and I powered through, followed Tom and made it down. Our second lap was down Black Mountain and thankfully had less leaves and roots to deal with, but there were some techy rocks that challenged us, but we made it through no problem!

It’s pretty cool being able to bike at a certain level all across the country now.

Tom and I joined some of is OG biking buddies for a long day in Dupont. I wasn’t quite prepared for what that ride meant, but there was a lot of pedaling, even on the downhills it seemed! We had a full 18 mile tour of Dupont, which was awesome, but entailed a ton of cross country biking = non stop pedaling with very little downhill reward. The highlights for me was the view from the top of the old airstrip and the descent from here and the final sweet downhill of Ridge Line which was flowy and bermy and all my favorite things. We were still getting used to being dog parents and poor little Izzy was dog tired after this (pun intended 😉 and tore her paws a little. But thankfully her schedule for the next few days entailed rest and recovery days.

Whit and I took a lady day to play in Asheville and try on wedding dresses! It was great to be able to share this moment with another human and a female (sorry Tom, you’re not invited). Whit was also my IT person for facetiming with my family during the fashion show. We put on our fancy clothes, had brunch in town, got pedicures afterwards and went to some cute small town shops in West Asheville. It was still COVIDville but a small sense of normalcy and girl time, which I didn’t realize how much I needed.

Since we had a rest day, that meant we had to make up for miles and vert the next day (also playing the weather game and banking some before the rain came in). Tom took his first rest day in about a week so Reid, Whit and I set off for a 13 mile hike with 5,000′ to the top of Blue Ridge Parkway where Tom and Izzy met us to bring us back down. It was a total win all around, but unfortunately we were in a rain forest and didn’t get much of a view in the few times the trees parted as we ascended. It’s weird doing a hike just for the sake of walking and not for the views. But the fog did make for some eerie photos which was kind of cool.

We had a ton of family dinners and watched a whole lot of Alone during the rainy days.

Our time in Brevard was ending, so we paid a visit to the Hub (really cool bike shop that serves local beer, has a coffee hut, patio and food truck.. basically everything you need) took Reid and Whit through Dupont since they couldn’t join us before and drove to Mount Mitchell which is the highest peak in North Carolina to hit our goals. Unfortunately there wasn’t the ability for a reverse shuttle this time, so it was a full ascend and the looong descend back for all of us. Although Izzy didn’t mind. At the end of 12 miles and 3,700′ we all surpassed our goals!! Tom took one for the team and hiked up with a bottle of champagne in his pack to surprise Reid and Whit with their accomplishment.

The day started really cold and cloudy, but we were all determined to get it done. So with the saying “be bold start cold” we hit the soggy trail and made our way. About 2/3 of the way through we popped up above the clouds and the saw the sun! It’s always a glorious moment when that happens. The views from the top were really cool being above the clouds (and only being 6,600′ above sea level). None of us were expecting that so it made the hike so worth it. We found a great little camping spot by the trailhead that night and had a little family van camp, which always makes for a good camping night.

To maximize our time together (thankfully we’re still friends after spending a very immersed 2 weeks together) we made our way to downtown Asheville, grabbed brunch to go, ate in the van (since there wasn’t outdoor seating available) and checked out the little shops. Izzy also got a new and improved harness (needless to say, she’s not a fan) but boy, it makes running with her so much better! It was bitter sweet saying bye to Reid and Whit, but onto the next adventure to see Tom’s parent’s in Raleigh!

Raleigh, NC

We spent a few weeks with Tom’s parents in Raleigh, it was so nice being able to see family during this crazy time. After the non-stop weeks between Fruita and Brevard, a slower pace was welcomed. We went to Falls Lake for a little trail running and off-leash dog adventure. Tom’s even took his parents walking here, which they’d never been to before! Nothing like discovering something new just around the corner from where you live.

Most days the weather was perfect (minus a few rainy days), although it was still SO humid in November! I can’t get used to it. But we had a little family afternoon at the tennis courts in the sun. I haven’t played tennis in about 15 years, Tom used to play competitively and his dad plays with some buddies. It was so much fun! Thankfully the guys took it easy on us gals, but I think we still impressed them with our rough skills. If we can’t get out of the city and still want to get a good little work out, tennis is something I will keep in mind.

Tom’s parents pulled out all the stops for us and celebrated every holiday, birthday and engagement all in 2 weeks! It was such a fun way to spend an untraditional year. Since it was our first time seeing them since getting engaged, we had a celebration dinner where they dressed the table with the wine glasses they received for their wedding! It was such a special way to toast us. We not only celebrated our engagement, but a few days later Tom’s sister got engaged too!! So much love to cheers to.

Another night we celebrated Tom’s upcoming birthday since we wouldn’t be with his parents when it actually happens. His parents surprised him with the best gift of bike cleaning solution and kit. Only Tom would be excited about that haha. But I’m excited too because now I get a clean bike!

One of our last nights with them we celebrated Thanksmas – Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was such a fun thing to do! I’m keeping this in mind when we can’t be with family for both holidays in the future and celebrate both at once. For me, doing holidays with the Hoppe’s is a treat because they still do some of their Polish traditions and dishes.. like having a shot of vodka during dinner and 12 dishes for the 12 nights of Christmas. We don’t have cultural traditions in my family, so I really enjoy these with Tom’s family.

Since I’ve been VERY into Christmas this year (I think that goes for most people in 2020) Tom’s parents gave me (kind of us, but mostly me) the best Christmas gifts of hand painted Polish ornaments! They’re so beautiful and I love that they have a story. We’re also able to decorate the van with our very own little rosemary Christmas tree Tom’s mom gave us. It definitely makes the van more festive.