It has been a while, but life is pretty busy around here. We have officially wrapped up summer with this trip to North Carolina. It was a blast! We went with Will and Melissa Cannon and their family who we have known since Emma Grace and Christopher were babies. We actually have a picture of the their girls and EG and Christopher together with pacifiers in their mouths. It is fun to look back at now that they are all getting older. Needless to say Melissa and I have been friends for that long as well and so it was easy to all go together and fun to spend time together out of town.
We stayed in cabins in Whittier, North Carolina called Sunset Farms. It was perfect nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains and not to far from the river which is the reason we were there. Lots of memories were made to include driving in crazy Atlanta traffic on the way up which was a Friday afternoon, to experiencing the Nantahala River (some for the first time).
EG and Carley went down in a double ducky which is a smaller boat with room for two paddlers. 
Christopher went down in a double ducky as well but spent most of the time solo. Tanner and Tatum got in with him at different times but were quick to get back in the raft because the water was freezing! The raft was full of all the adults, Tanner, Tatum, Kate and Ava James. We all managed it down the river without falling out until we got to the last rapid which is also the most challenging. EG and Carley were brave and went down in their ducky first. They were so brave that they threw their paddles above their heads like they were riding a roller coaster and when the big rapids hit they went under and out of the boat. It was great! Of course they were rescued with ropes and pulled safely to the shore. One of the first things you learn when paddling is to never take your paddle out of the water. It throws your balance off. It did make for a great show as we watched from the side and took pictures though. Fun times!When we were done at the river, we came back to our cabins and the kids took a dip in the hot tub to warm up. We relaxed there for while and then got ready to go eat. We found by accident while looking for another restaurant, a brewery in downtown Sylva (about 20 min from Whittier) called Sapphire Brewery. It was perfect for us. They had live music and outside seating. The food was good and it was a great ending to a fun day.
Sunday morning we packed up and headed home but the fun was not over. We stopped for lunch at a highly recommended restaurant on the way home called The Dillard House in Franklin, North Carolina and got there right when it was opening. We walked in with no wait. There is no looking through a menu to figure out what you want to order, the waiters just started bringing out food and setting it on the table.
There was fried chicken, baked chicken, ham, country fried steak with gravy, and probably about 10 different vegetables. There was peach short cake with fresh peaches for dessert. We all enjoyed it and were more than satisfied. I highly encourage you to try it if you are ever in that area.