Vacation recommendations

I guess I know why everyone vacations during the summer: the kids are out of school. Since our children are too young for school, our favorite time to use Mr. Incredible’s vacation days is in the fall. Prices, including gas prices, are generally lower after Labor Day, and the weather is usually not so oppressively hot.

One of our favorite trips is to visit the mountains of North Carolina. We haven’t yet made the trip during the peak of the leaf season, but I hear that the colors are brilliant and gorgeous beyond belief. A partial listing of attractions we have seen must include Linville Caverns, Linville Falls (breathtakingly beautiful!), Grandfather Mountain and the Mile-High Swinging Bridge, Biltmore Estate, Chimney Rock, and Tweetsie Railroad. During the winter, we like to go skiing at Sugar Mountain or Ski Beech, both located near Boone, NC. Lodges are available to rent or to buy (look through the listings for North Carolina mountain real estate), and lovely bed-and-breakfasts are strategically situated throughout the mountains. If you are looking for both natural and man-made attractions, you need look no further than the mountains of NC.

One last piece of advice: when you map out your vacation, don’t neglect to plan a trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You won’t regret it!