Hollydays: November 2008

Paul and I went to Target.. which is never a good idea! We always spend way to much money there... It's not just my fault either! However, I love Target.

We found ourselves upgrading one thing... each year, as I continue brainwashing Paul into the whole Christmas thing...

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2007

This was the same tree as '06 just in our new house.

Now, Paul is more into this holiday than me. He opted for the 9ft tree. I was willing to go with the 7 1/2 foot tree. However, not having had a Christmas tree most of his life, he wanted something extra special.

Let me introduce you to Christmas 2008

We are going for a blue and silver theme.

Friskie is slowly destroying the tree.. he wants to climb it. Ugh!

Paul and I decided to go hiking at Crowders Mountain today. (I decided to put off my work until tomorrow... I needed a day off.) We had both heard of Crowders Mountain, but we didn't know it was so close. It is located between Charlotte and the Appalachian Mountains. It is right near Kings Mountain. Kings Mountain is very historic, but it's not a real hiking adventure. The trails are all paved and it's more like a hill than a mountain. However, Crowders Mountain was a lot of fun! We were surprised at how rocking and natural the trails were. So far, Crowders Mountain is not that big of a tourist trap.

After arriving at Crowders Mountain, we decided to take the Pinnacle Trail which was about 2 miles to the Pinnacle and 2 miles back to the car. The trail was very rocky. It really felt like hiking. I liked the fact that there weren't ropes or fences everywhere preventing people from going off the trail. It's no fun if you can't explore a little.

The 2 miles to the top were rough.. it was very steep. However, the view from the top was well worth it. When you reach the end of the trail, there is sign that says "Trail Ends Here", but there is a huge boulder right behind the sign. You are suppose to climb the boulder to get on top of the mountain, so it was a fun rock climbing adventure. The top of Crowders was flat so you got a 360 view from the top. It didn't have trees covering the top like most mountains do, so the view was amazing! There were no fences or gaurd rails to take away from the natural beauty or protect people from falling off, so you have to use common sense. It was neat to see Charlotte off in the distance. It was nice seeing God's Creation from such height. Unlike when you are in the Appalachians, there aren't millions of Mountains to look at, but what looks like a never ending sea of land... That was off in the eastward direction as was Charlotte. In the westward direction, you could see the Appalachian Mountains miles away...

Now.. the stairs here weren't natural, but most of the trail was just rocks... Humans need help going up steep hills.

Here is the end of the trail...

View from the top..

Westward View

Climbing up more of the ridge

360 Degree View....

Depending on how brave you were you could go further on top of the cliff. Paul and I ventured to the end of the cliff top, so we were able to see some awesome sights and enjoy the warm sun.