A Great 4th of July Weekend

Reliving last year's 4th of July...

Do you want to have a better 4th of July next year? Tired of beaches jammed with screaming kids and obnoxious tourists? Why not...Go to the mountains!? We spent our 4th with friends in Sapphire Valley/Cashiers NC. Luckily, Dave's family owns a home there so we invited 11 friends to join us. However, anyone can rent a nice home, cabin, or stay at a B&B in the area.

Our first day there we went to Turtleback Falls. It's this rock that looks like a turtle shell and is smoothed down with algae on it that makes it super slick! You slide down the rock/waterfalls and plunge into a nice cool pool of water. Then there is a rope to pull yourself back up to the rock to slide again! It took me awhile to be convinced to go.. but I finally did it and it was worth it! BUT I couldn't climb back up because I've got some noodly arms SO I just took the long road and got my feet dirty back on the trail, oh well! Anyways, you hike to the falls and from there and back, it's a 3 mile hike. It's quite the work out and feels like you have walked 6 miles once you reach the parking lot to go back home, haha! But it was nice to have a workout on vacation because then you don't feel quite so bad drinking more cocktails than usual!

Turtleback Falls

The next day we rented a pontoon boat and went tubing on Lake Glenville. It was nice weather and split between us the cost was only $30/per person. We were on the boat from 1-5. We had picked up BBQ from On the Side BBQ which is in Cashiers and is connected to the Farmers Market. We got there right when they opened and by 1 o'clock there was a large line of people waiting to pick up or order! Everyone enjoyed the BBQ and most especially, the baked potato salad! This salad was SO creamy, I think it might have had some sour cream and maybe even some cream cheese in the mix!

Lake Glenville

This is one of the houses on Lake Glenville. They are all pretty amazing and blend in nicely to the woodsy atmosphere. This was the largest that we saw! It could have easily been a hotel!

The tubes were a big hit although they would have been better on a faster boat but with one person on each tube, they still got good speed!

And here is me enjoying the boat. My friend Eleanor does this pose quite often and so I did this one for her! haha!