When You Didn't Think You Could Sweat Anymore

First things first, some good ol' Bojangles.

Gotta. Wanna. Needa. Getta. Have A. Bojangles!

Or at least their fries with extra Bojangles seasoning.

Then one of the best places in all of NC:

The cutest gelato (Italian ice cream: 100000x better than American ice cream & extremely rich) shop you have ever seen.

The inside just screams happiness:

Well more like sings happiness. Not to mention the amazing Swedish woman who owns it. It's one of those shops where the owner knows all of her regular customers by name and whenever a family walks in, she seems to have known them for years. She is friends with everyone and everyone loves her. She doesn't have a website; her business comes all through word of mouth. I found it through a friend of mine and have passed it along to my friends. Next time you're in WS I hope you pay a visit, I promise you'll love it.

Sorry I got off on a tangent, my apologies my dear readers. But yes I went to Cafe Gelato with Kris and got pineapple and lemon. Perfect for a hot NC day.

Don't be fooled by how small it looks. It's more than you think and about as much as you can handle unless you're making a meal out of it.

And dearest Kris here looking gorgeous as ever.

Together her and I always have adventures. You can never be bored with Kris, that is for sure.

Next we found the Reynolda Gardens. I had heard of them many times before, but neither of us had been and we made a detour to discover what we were missing.

It was a beautiful site to behold despite the 100 degree weather with humidity to match.

And after a long day of exploring we decided to make dinner together (one of our favorite activities) On the menu? Salmon with a cinnamon glaze, along slices of green bell pepper, rice, red pepper humus and flat bread crisps.

And a cranberry/pomegranate juice to go along side.
Looks delicious doesn't it?

And it was!

Needless to say I had a great time with Kris as per usual.

What can I say? We bonded almost instantaneously and have been friends ever since.

Not pictured: Canoeing down the New River with my family.

It was an adventure of zigzagging down the river, picking up about a dozen spider passengers and then flinging them out of our canoe. Stopping to play in the river, getting waist deep in the water and then realizing you did not bring an extra set of clothes to change into later. And having your brother stand up in the canoe and paddle like you're on a gondola. Not to mention canoeing backwards (literally the canoe got flipped around a few times and so we would ride backwards until we got tired of it). But my favorite part by far was singing "The Call" by Regina Spektor A Capella with my brothers.

Also not pictured: Lunch at this cute little diner called Sweet and Savory. (Okay actually I do have a picture of it, but you can view it here later). But yes it was delicious and we were all impressed with it.

After having full bellies we made a quick stop to the cheese factory and store (which Albert was happy about). Where my dad got some nice sharp cheddar I believe and Albert got a cheese knife. See here. He is happy. =]

To end our travels we took a nice drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was cloudy, but beautiful nonetheless.

I love our blue mountains, they make me feel right at home.

On a side note I have a terrible obsession and addiction...

Not to soda, but to collecting bottle caps! What can I say? When I see a glass soda bottle and see a cap I do not currently own as a pair of earrings, I suddenly must have them! I now have 26 pairs of bottle cap earrings. Told you I am addicted....=]

Sorry, but Bojangles fries are just too heavenly that I must talk about them again.

Oh Southern food, why must you taste so good?

Speaking of good food, WS is home of Krispy Kreme, therefore; what kind of person would I be if I did not take advantage of such savory goodness while I was in NC?

I hope you're drooling right now because I am. Don't worry, I downed 6 of them on the spot with no questions asked and Schmidty laughing at me for being a fatty. 3 hot off the belt, the sprinkly one, a raspberry jelly filled one, and that one with chocolate icing and red and white spinkles aka the Cheerwine doughnut. It was delicious in case you were wondering.

Cheerwine + Krispy Kreme doughnut = One of the most brilliant ideas known to man!

This is Schmidty by the way. Aka Jon, Jonathan, Schmidt, Dave, etc.
Yes he is more than a foot taller than me.
Yes I am short and I like being that way.
And that ends my adventures in NC.

Until we meet again,
I big you adieu und Auf Wiedersehen!
Meg