The Falls Trail loop hike is a relatively easy, family-friendly loop trail on Beech Mountain. You can pick up the trailhead at the Buckeye Recreation Center. If you'd like to visit the Falls on Beech Mountain, check out our Beech Mountain chalet, Slopeside.
This video was captured with a DJI Phantom 2 drone with a GoPro Hero 4+ Black.
I didn't take nearly enough photos at the Carolinas Renaissance Festival. There are so many things to see and do! This woman was a member of a small four-person band that was performing on a tiny stage (really more of an old-timey kiosk) in the middle of it all. They were really good!
This photograph was captured with a very dusty Sony a6300.
With great power comes great responsibility.
The weather on Beech Mountain can turn on a dime. a minute before I took this photo, we were sitting on the deck of 5506' enjoying a beer in the sun. Ten minutes later, everything was appropriately watered and we were back to our sunny afternoon. Any day now and that rain will be replaced with snow!
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
First things first, this isn't from the famous Harry's Bar in Venice known for inventing the Bellini. It is actually from the Neon Piano Bar on Carnival's Ecstasy cruise ship. It acts as a holding room and a great place for a cocktail while waiting for a table in the main dining room. The tiny bar is decorated with neon interpretations from famous bars all over the world.
We stopped by just about every night for a little champagne to start the night off and it was almost always nearly empty. In the real world, that might be a negative but on a cruise ship, a bar with available seats, servers and views is a wonderful thing.
As far as the real Harry's Bar goes, I'll have to dig into my archives and see if I can find any photos from the world famous establishment. I seem to remember it was stuffed with tourists drinking overpriced Bellinis saying something about Hemingway... or was it Fitzgerald? Either way, we had the obligatory Bellini and quickly settled up and headed deeper into Venice in an attempt to lose ourselves literally and figuratively among the winding alleys.
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
In keeping with the festival theme from yesterday, this one is from the Renaissance Festival. There's only one way to bore a princess at the Renaissance Festival and it involves a very slow and dusty beer and soft drink line. She perked up as soon as she got a sip of Sprite. All of the sulking and playing in dirt really paid off!
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
The Waldhorn restaurant just outside of Charlotte puts on a great Oktoberfest. The surrounding woods have trails that keep the kids entertained when they aren't on the dance floor. We always bring a glowstick for each of our kids. They really enjoy the glowsticks but more importantly, it makes it really easy to keep an eye on them as they zip through the woods. In fact, you can easily see Annika and her glowstick in this photograph. It's a bit like a game of Where's Waldo.
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
This is the peak of Beech Mountain. It's situated inside the Land of Oz, making it one of the most picturesque theme parks in the world — not to mention one of the most unique. As afraid as I am of those flying monkeys, I hope the Land of Oz is able to build a new following and regain it's former glory. It seems to be undergoing a resurgence since it was officially shuttered in 1980 and is now open for private tours as well as public events periodically throughout the year.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone.
Chicago's world-famous Marina Towers have put an exclamation point on the city's architecture for the last half a century. As a kid, I was always fascinated with these twin buildings as they towered over the Chicago River.
The Marina Towers — and the array of attached buildings called Marina City — were built during an urban decline in the city as Chicagoans started flooding the suburbs. At 65 stories tall, they were the tallest residential buildings and the tallest reinforced concrete structures in the world. Interestingly, they were built at a cost of $36 million, financed largely by a union of janitors and elevator operators as a last-ditch effort to convince people to stay in the city at night (source: Wikipedia).
Chicago's architects have never stopped innovating and there are functional works of art all over the city but these twin buildings have earned their spot in history for their unique design and construction techniques.
Game Seven! Go Cubs!
