Spring Break in the mountains

We were lucky enough this year that Jason's block leave fell over Spring Break. For you non-Army types, Block Leave is a time period (2 weeks in this case) where the entire unit can be on leave at the same time. Pre-9/11, this used to happen in the summer and over Christmas. Nowadays, it falls shortly before a deployment so everyone can get in a vacation and some down time. So, for Spring Break/Block Leave, we went to one of our favorite places on Earth....the mountains near Bryson City, NC. This is our 3rd visit in less than a year, so you can tell we love it. Although I am a true beach girl, Jason is slowly turning me into a mountain girl. We rented a cabin through Watershed Cabins and met Papa & Gan (Jason's mom and dad) there on Monday. Jason and I ran at the Tsali Trails (single track trails for mountain biking and horseback riding, and awesome for running). We were able to run for 3 days straight and got in 22 miles! Not as many miles as we hoped for, but pretty good nonetheless! In the afternoons, we explored the area, heading into Bryson City for lunch and some shopping, hit the NOC in hopes of seeing some rafting and kayaking (no such luck...little too early in the season) and explored a new favorite town, Sylva, NC where we had maybe the best pizza we've ever had at Mill & Main. It was a wonderful, relaxing week. We had beautiful, cool weather, and thankfully the storms came at night and did not affect our daytime plans. Jason and I escaped with no running injuries and the girls had a blast. When asked about their favorite part, they of course yell, "The Hot Tub!!!" They are so easy to please... So here are a few shots from our wonderful week.

 Hot tub fun!

 At Deep Creek

 NOC

 The Nantahala River

Daddy's Girls