As we get older, we don't just celebrate our birthdays on ONE day... We celebrate for SEVERAL days!!!!!! ha..... Anyhow---my birthday has come and gone, so I'm back to blogging today (will try to catch up on your posts sometime) after a fabulous celebration last week!!!!
Thanks to all of you for your kind words wishing me a Happy Birthday... I got SO many greetings this year (between Blog friends and Facebook friends, along with other family members and friends) that I felt pretty darn special!!!! Thanks again SO much.
Today I will 'highlight' my special week --and then, on future posts, I'll go more into details... On my actual birthday, we stayed home and I enjoyed hearing from all three sons (which makes me so very happy). George took me out to a Mexican dinner that night... It was a wonderful day.
The photo above is a picture of me with some gorgeous flowers, sent to me by one of my sons (Mark). They have been gorgeous all week long ---and Mark knows how much I love flowers. Aren't they beautiful?
This is one of several beautiful gifts from my wonderful hubby (who spoils me EVERY day -not just on my birthday). This is a photo which George took of the Little River Falls (in the Little River Canyon, Alabama). He had it turned into a CANVAS picture for me. I now have 4 beautiful canvas pictures hanging on my wall... FABULOUS.
The next morning (August 6), we headed to Asheville, NC to visit one of our favorite places, Biltmore House and Gardens. For the past few years, the Sunflowers bloom during August (for my birthday of course) at Biltmore ---so we just HAVE to go and see them... This year was no exception. Can you see how much this Birthday Gal loved being in the sunflowers??????
Another part of Biltmore we love to visit in August is the Italian Water Gardens. The waterlilies were AWESOME---probably the best we've seen since beginning our visits there several years ago. Above is a photo of George and me sitting at the Water Gardens. (I'll do an entire blog post showing you all of the gorgeous waterlilies soon...)
After leaving Biltmore, we drove to our cabin at the Springmaid Mountain Resort near Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Above is a photo of the cabin --where we enjoyed two nights. George is standing on the porch! I forgot to take my birdseed with me (which I usually do when visiting cabins) ---but maybe it was just as well since there were three kitties who visited us one day!!!
Springmaid Mountain Resort even had a tiny waterfall JUST for us... How 'bout that?????? ha ha
My 'official' birthday dinner was spent at a FABULOUS restaurant right off of the Blue Ridge Parkway (near Spruce Pine). This restaurant (MOUNTAIN VIEW RESTAURANT) was amazing in every respect. First of all, the food was delicious (both George and I had Chicken Wellington). BUT--better than that, we sat on the porch --and had a fabulous view of the mountains/valleys from the top of that mountain... We HIGHLY recommend this restaurant if you are ever on the parkway in that area..
Here's one more photo of the view from the Mountain View Restaurant.
The next morning (August 7)---- it was raining cats and dogs (and managed to rain most all day long). BUT---knowing George and me, we never let a little rain stop us from having a good time. We wanted to do some hiking (did FIVE+ miles) and we wanted to visit some waterfalls (saw two).... The picture above shows a very wet but happy girl at CRABTREE FALLS .... Did I mention that it was raining hard --and very foggy?????? ha ha .....
Here is a picture of CRABTREE FALLS (70 feet) near Milepost 339.5 near the Little Switzerland area. This is a popular waterfall along the parkway --and it is one which George and I had never visited. SO---we loved seeing it, even in the rain... One nice thing about having alot of rain: the waterfalls were HUGE.....
Our 2nd hike was to the ROARING FORK FALLS (100 foot cascade) off of Highway 80 from the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 344.1). We had been there before several years ago---but this time, there was MUCH more water. Wow--what a beauty.
Here is a picture of George and me (the two drenched rats---ha ha ) taken at Roaring Fork Falls... Another great thing about hiking when it's raining is that there are not many other people around (which we love)... The waterfalls were there JUST for us!!!!
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| PERFECT MOMENT ROSE --in our Yard |
The next day (August 8), we headed home!!!!! It was a great trip --and a tremendous birthday celebration for me. I love traveling, hiking and just having fun with George. BUT---getting home and seeing this gorgeous rose (PERFECT MOMENT) --which was waiting for us to get home, made me smile BIGTIME.... Life is good---live it to its fullest!!!!!
Thanks again to all of you, and especially to George, for helping to make my 71st birthday so very very special!!! I love you ALL!
Hugs,
69 comments:
Glad you enjoyed your birthday!
How in the world do you manage to take photos in the rain, without ruining your camera?
Everything looks so perfect. Love the photo of you with the sunflowers.
Happy birthday to you :)
Looking forward to more about you birthday celebrations very soon. You must have had a wonderful time away and at home with some lovely memories and beautiful gifts.
Happy birthday to you again!! You sure had a good time with George who is always making you a princess everyday! How nice!
The sunflowers looked beautiful with you in matching yellow T shirt!
You both dined in a fabulous restaurant like being on heavens looking down at the beautiful view. I wish to dine there too.
Happy Birthday, friend!
thanks for sharing this news with us.. all the pictures of your birthday celebration looking fantastic......
You barely look 59 and I am so impressed with how your keep your weight down. Guess those 5 mile hikes hellp.
Happy birthday to you!!! all the pictures looks beautiful as always.
nice post...
HI Betsy Welcome back to blogging. You were missed. What a wonderful time both of you had over your birthday period. Great shots even it was raining cats and dogs. Great to see the 'special' flower among the sunflowers looking radiant.
What a wonderful life you have. And I yearn for those rains. And the green. And the waterfalls. Looks like I need to move next door to you. Wouldn't that be a hoot! I'm right behind you in the age brackett. If I have to die, I plan to do it doing something I love.
What a super time. Good food, beautiful country and best of all, a birthday holiday spent with your best friend and mate!!
You two have a cabin?!!! Wow. I think I'd want to spend all summer there.
Looks like a fabulous week!
Your smiles say it all, you had a wonderful bday celebration.
Hurray for you and George.
Have a great week ~ FlowerLady
looks like a fun time. a great way to celebrate your birthday.
my favorite part - the sunflowers.
so fun!! keep celebrating!!
enjoy! ( :
Wow! You really have the celebrating down to an art! Wonderful photos of a wonderful time.
Best,
Bonnie
Hi Betsy,
Seems like you've had a fantastic week, beautiful views. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Eva
Belated birthday greetings. Sounds like you celebrated the whole week long. How fun!
I love the picture of you and George at Roaring Fork Falls. Even though you are drenched you both look so happy. And that is all that counts. Loved all the "view" pictures also. Have a great day.
Looks like you had a fantastic birthday, Betsy, and it couldn't happen to a nicer person. I love the picture of you in the sunflowers!
You really did manage to milk the day Betsy. Well done and George came through as usual. Loved your sunny face among the sunflowers.
What a wonderful view from the restaurant. I would have forgotten to eat. So glad you had such a great time.
Oh to be 71 again:))
my favorite is you in the sunflowers. love it. and that tiny waterfall is so cute, it makes you two look like giants. and the one of you in the raincoat is so cute
Looks and sounds like a delightful time! Wonderful photos too!:>)
Well done living life to its fullest.It is great to hear happy stories. You are well camouflaged in the sunflower patch. The views are breathtaking and the waterfalls magical.
Ahwww.. you look so very happy. I am so glad you had a very nice birthday. You are so full of smiles and that is what is so special about you. The mountain views are spectacular. The waterfalls look amazing, regardless of the weather. I'm the same way, I couldn't care less if it's raining, I'm out there looking for that perfect photo, I won't let it spoil my day. Good for you. Hugs and kisses..♥
Your trips to the many fals you seek out astound me. I love you amongst those sundlowers! That you wear matching outfits reminds me of days gone by when hubby and I did but now we have very distinct separate outfits that we each love to see on the other! Buddy helps choose mine:)
The Perfect rose seems like the Perfect ending to a Perfect birthday week! It looks like you and George had a splendid time on all of your adventures. A special lady like you deserves to enjoy her birthday for an entire week. Happy Birthday and stay sweet!
It looks like you had a most wonderful birthday week Betsy! And so many more lovely memories made. Fantastic!
xo Catherine
You and George did go all out for your birthday, and it looks like a great week of celebration. After all the rain in those last photos, I found myself looking for raindrops on the rose. :)
So glad you had such a wonderful birthday and thanks for sharing the beauty and the fun!! The waterfalls are awesome and such lovely, colorful flowers!! Makes getting a year older worth it, doesn't it!! Hope you have a great week, Betsy!
What a grand way to honor your special day. However, as you said, George spoils you everyday. I enjoyed tagging alone through your lens. Glad you are back safely.
I'm so glad you had a nice birthday and that George spoiled you. (No surprise there!) So, if you make your birthdays from one day to several...what does that say about me? I make mine a week already. LOL. I'll have to step up my game and go for an entire birthday month! The view from the restaurant is amazing. So, you didn't bring home a kitty cat??
XOXO
I am so glad you had such a wonderful 71st birthday, and hope you have many, many more.
I would love sitting down to eat and having that view at that restaurant.
Wow, you had some terrific birthday week. : )
You look right at home there in the sunflowers!!
Wow, such amazing beauty!! So glad you had a wonderful birthday week! I can only imagine how amazing it was to be by those waterfalls... and I agree, hiking in the rain is one of the best times to go :)
Have a blessed day,
Jazzmin
You sure had a fantastic birthday! Way to go!! Love the shot of you in the sunflowers and George at the table with that wonderful view in the background. Great shots of your week! Glad you made it home safe and sound, too. Have a nice day!
You guys are such troopers to hike in the rain!
I'm all for multi-day birthday celebrations. I usually take the whole month. And sometimes 1/2 birthdays too!! :)
I celebrate everyone's birthday for about a week. I sing to them for days around the house. lol You and George are adorable! But, I LOVE the photo of you in the sunflowers, you're beautiful! You should enlarge that photo and give it to George as a gift. :)
So good to have you back!
hugs,
Marie
Crab Tree Falls is awesome!!! And I can't believe you hiked in the pouring rain!! I would be so afraid to slip! LOVE the pictures of you with the flowers and standing in the middle of the sunflower field,,,they let you walk right in it?
Been loving your header every day!
I am so glad to hear you had a wonderful birthday week. I love all the beautiful pictures. Its great that you did not let the rain stop you from enjoying your hike.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ME, BETSEY! SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL TIME.
Susannah
Perfect Moment. What a great rose to greet you after such a wonderful trip! The photo on canvas is such a great idea, and so beautiful. Sounds like you had a wonderful birthday week, rain or shine! Happy 71st!
Such a wonderful birthday celebration with your love.
I enjoyed the scenery too:)
You indeed had a fabulous birthday! I just love when my birthday roles around (Oct) and celebrate for days before and after!
Your birthday dinner with those views are to die for!!! Now that is the way to spend your birthday! I bet you didn't want to leave! I wouldn't! hehe
Wishing you many more wonderful birthdays!!
Hugs to you!
Debbie
Hi Betsy, Glad your birthday was wonderful! Your pictures show how much fun you had. That canvas with photo was such a great present. Have a fine day tomorrow!
Betsy, what a fabulous birthday you had. More great photos and such amazing places you visited. Lovely gift from George, so special, and the flowers from your son were bright and beautiful! Have a wonderful week!
It appears you had a most wonderful time celebrating your birthday! I say stretch out the celebrating as long as you can!
We have been to a B&B in Spruce Pine a couple of years ago when we went to the NC version of the Rhododendron Festival. We returned to TN through Roane Mountain and Elizabethton.
Again - happy birthday!
Hugs,
Nellie
Outstanding! I love both of your smiles!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Betsy, your birthday week looks like a great time. So many beautiful sights and a lovely gift from George! The sunflower shot is my favorite. Enjoy your week ahead!
Your man knows how to throw his young lady a birthday.
Looks like one spoiled birthday girl!
Glad you enjoyed all the celebrating.
Happy belated birthday Betsy,
Looks like you had a wonderful b-day trip. Hate it rained on you all but if you come into N.C. this year you can pretty much bet you will get rained on !!! Haha.
We are still getting rain every day, sometimes a little ,sometimes alot. In the Mills River area they have had over 60 inches so far this year and I bet our area is close behind that. I feel molded !!!
Hope God blesses you with many more happy birthdays
Marilyn
It sounds like you had a fabulous birthday Betsy. George does like to spoil you. I love all the waterfalls but my favorite photo is you in the middle of all those lovely sunflowers.
Let me add my congratulations, if a little late. Those parts of the BRP are in a part we didn't see because of our 100 mile detour!
I can definitely sense the excitement in this post. I can't think of anyone more deserving than you for all this special treatment.
Hugs,Ruth
I would sing for you but I don't want to spoil your birthday! lol
Happy Birthday sweet lady.
I love you and George in yellow - it just makes me feel good.
Love the waterfall and rose.
And are you getting a lot of rain - we are,
Love, sandie
Hi Betsy and George,
Happy Birthday, sweet Betsy!
You look so young and beautiful.
It looks like you really had
a fabulous time on your birthday
with George, and the week you both spent on vacation in those gorgeous places. I love cabins too.
I am glad you have a good time.
Your amazing photos make my day.
I truly enjoy visiting your pages.
You are a super friend, Betsy,
and a super blogger too.
Happy Birthday, Betsy, and for
many more years ahead to celebrate!
Have a blessed time, Betsy!
Warm Hugs from Starry Dawn.
What a wonderful celebration!
Hopefully, you'll accept a late "Happy Birthday" from me since I totally missed the actual day. By we see one thing the same - birthdays are for celebrating ALL the time! Sounds like you are doing just that! And doggone it, another August has passed without my getting over to Biltmore to see those sunflowers! P.S. Moving from one corner of my town to another has put me 1/2 hour closer to YOU. Maybe we can have that cup of coffee soon!
It looks like you had a great and memorable birthday celebration! And visits along the Blue Ridge Parkway can't be beat!
What a fun birthday! You two have the most fun of anyone I know!
My goodness you guys certainly know how to have a birthday celebration. Well congratulations and many many more.
I don't like hiking in the rain but I am glad you don't mind because LOOK at that waterfall. So I guess I would just to enjoy the Falls.
Welcome home! MB
Dear Betsy, what a wonderful way to greet your 71st year. You were surrounded with love and with nature. Wonderful! Peace.
Hi Betsy!
A very Happy Belated Birthday!
I had my Granddaughters for almost three weeks and totally missed your birthday. I can see however that it was very special.
I can almost 'hear' this waterfall. I see George used his special filter on that last shot of the two of you - lovely!
I ever seen anyone like you both, taking adventure hikes at this age and enjoying quite however cold or heavy showering. I admire your courage and passion for wild experience... Wonderful photos and I could image what a day it should have been. My best wishes Betsy and George... keep up the spirit! Cheers
I love to stay at that cabin
wow...that's what I call a great birthday!!
Happy birthday Betsy!!!
Many, many flowers to your life!
Kisses and a big hug
Bia
www.biaviagemambiental.blogspot.com
Happy belated birthday, Betsy! See the celebration goes on and on! I love the setting for your official birthday dinner!
Just when I think your celebrations can't get any better, they always do. My first thought with the sunflowers was, "How did she keep from getting bee stings?" Surely there had to be bees with that many flowers?
The waterfalls are amazing. This rain has definitely made them abundant. Do you all not worry about slipping in the mud when it rains so hard? (Can you tell that I look for dangers since watching our grandson?!!)
looks and sounds like you've had a memorable birthday! i am so happy for you, dear betsy.
btw. i sent my wishes to you on your previous post, and i am happy that i was your first fellow blogger that wished you a happy birthday, at least online!
big hugs!
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