Camping in Cherokee

We had a little time after our Hawaii trip last May before Dan started his job again, so we decided to venture up to the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina before we'd be moving. We went up to Cherokee, North Carolina. We stopped in the famous Asheville, NC on the way up and enjoyed walking through downtown and giving Jude a little break from the car. 

And here begins our camping adventures... which of course started out with some fishing, which became our dinner!

We stayed at the KOA, quite an experience. It had a lot of fun "amenities" but we decided it's aimed more for families with older children or young couples without children. It's not the most baby-friendly spot. Our neighbors (2 inches from us) were a big group of guys drinking and playing music on their boom box and they blasted a Disney movie on a projector screen until late. Not really our cup of tea while camping. But the big blob, the jumbo chess, and the playgrounds were fun! ;) We swam in the stream the first day and it was the best, even though it was freezing. We had a ton of fun swimming once I showed Dan how it was done and jumped in first!!

We found a great spot with the local Native Americans and a fantabulous rope swing. At first I said I didn't want to do it and I would just watch since the water was... freezing. But it didn't take long for me to change my mind and swim across that freezing cold river and jump in! It was the most invigorating little swim. Nothing feels better! Jude found a little lagoon tucked in the rocks and logs and he played in there for hours. As happy as a clam.

We found a trout pond on the way home where they had a pond stocked with twenty-inch, 4-5 pound trout so people who didn't fish great could have the experience to catch a fish without fail! It was hilarious to watch this adorable black man catch his first fish. He was ecstatic. So was I until the back woods designated fish-killer smacked the fish in the head full-force with a mallet. Jude was pretty entertained during the whole thing.