8-24-17 Hickory Nut Falls and kicking around Lake Lure:

I decided to take pity on Ken today and not make him drive for hours on end.  Instead, we went into the town of Lake Lure and had breakfast, then went up to Chimney Rock Park to hike to Hickory Nut Falls.
The main street of Lake Lure. 

 There was a $13/person fee to enter Chimney Rock Park.  We read that the hike to the falls was an easy walk about 1.5 miles round trip.  I believe the trail has an elevation of about 324'.  For most people, that is an easy walk.  For us, hard enough!  At least there was plenty for me to stop and take pictures of.  Like this wildflower.

 A view of Chimney Rock as we were heading to the trail to the falls.

8-22-17  To Lake Lure for 3 nights:


One of the many times I was looking on the Wyndham site trying to get my VIP discount for the girls and my trip or for Faith and her friends weekend to Lake Lure, I noticed some days available for this week.  So I went ahead and booked 3 nights and asked Ken if he wanted to go.  He didn't say yes, but he didn't say no, either.  So on the 22nd we took off for a mini vacation.
It was a nice day for a 3 hour ride.
Here is one of the lakes we passed along the way---I think it's Hartwell Lake on the Georgia/S. Carolina border.

 We shot up I-85 for quite awhile.

7-23-17 boat ride on Lake Lure:

Our girls' weekend is about to come to an end.  But not before we do one more touristy thing.  Since we stayed at Lake Lure, it seemed only fitting that we got out on the lake.  So we packed up and checked out of our Wyndham unit. 

 and headed into the little town of Lake Lure.  Got to the tour boat office right about 10am, bought our tickets for an 11am cruise, then headed into town for a quick breakfast.  Thought we'd go to Medina's again, but there was a 30 minute wait for a seat.  So we went back across the street to the coffee shop and got a quick breakfast there.  As we were leaving, I noticed this guy.  That's the pup we need!

7-21-17  Girls weekend to Lake Lure, SC:

What do you do with a $500 Gift certificate for The Biltmore?  Plan a girls weekend!!!   At first we thought we'd stay at the Biltmore, but after checking hotel prices on property, we decided to stay at a Wyndham resort and go to the Biltmore for the day.   Closest Wyndham to both Faith and us is the Wyndham at Fairfield Mountains in Lake Lure, North Carolina, so that's where we stayed.  It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive for Angie and me, and about 2 1/2 hours for Faith.  But it was a nice ride through some really pretty country.
Angie and I buzzed up I-85 to I-26.  This had us a little concerned until we finally noticed there was a ramp to I-26. 

What much of the ride looked like.

Close to Lake Lure we came across this subdivision.  I got a kick out of the doughnut shaped bushes.

Finally near the Wyndham.  This is part of the golf course there.

I had hoped to get a VIP upgrade to a 2 bedroom unit, but with the new Wyndham "Voyager" system, upgrades and availability in general are not very generous.  We were able to book a 1 bedroom suite and never got anything bigger.   Some of the 2 bedroom units were made up of a 1 bedroom suite and the adjoining 1 bedroom deluxe.  The 1 bedroom deluxe next to our suite seemed to be available, so I wonder why it was never available to book?!