May 2-15: Boone, NC

It was a short 1 hour drive to get us to our campground in NC. We planted ourselves at Grandfather Campground in Banner Elk for our two week stay. We had a great view of Grandfather Mountain!

Our first family activity was to get a group tattoo. We all got “Rule #32” which is a rule in the Zombieland movies. It means enjoy the little things. Zombieland was Makenzie’s first rated R movie that she watched with Shannon. A very memorable experience!

This is Addie’s first tattoo. She did great. She even said she would get more!

After getting our tattoos, we met up with Gavin and enjoyed a traditional first night dinner in Boone at Basil’s restaurant.

The next day was another sign that Addie is growing up – she got all four of her wisdom teeth removed.

She handled the pain like a rock star, was great about keeping ice on her face and had very little swelling.

Ashley’s sister Brandy came to visit for the night. It was great to see her.

This was a big transition time for our family. It started with packing Mak and Gavin up from their apartments and helping them move their stuff to their new apartment at Daniel Island, Charleston, SC. They both start work there in June!

After returning from Charleston, we then emptied our storage unit in Boone and moved our keepsakes to our garage at the apartment in Asheville and met up with Don and Mel.

We enjoyed some quality time together and, of course, there might have been a little “day drinking” involved at a new mezcal/tequila bar 🙂

It was Don’s birthday so we celebrated by all of us getting a tattoo. We did mention the tequila and mezcal, right? lol!
Our new tattoos say “Skol” in Viking rune, which translates “to good health.” Many people say “skol” instead of “cheers”.

We completed a few appointments in town before enjoying sunset on the rooftop at Hemingways.

We even found a new hangout spot with fun tropical drinks.

Our time in Asheville ended on a tasty note, as we enjoyed lunch and one last beer at our go to brewery – Hillman. It was a necessary stop as we needed to stock up on some cans for our travels.

Back in Boone, we met up with Makenzie, Ella, and their friends at Appalachian Mountain Brewery. Addie saw some of her friends too. Here she is with Maddisen Robinson.

And the next day, Addie hung out with her friend Kelsey who she has known since kindergarten. Hard to believe they are 18 now!

Ashley, Makenzie and Ella had a girls day at Westglo Spa in early celebration of Mak and Ella’s birthdays.

It was a relaxing time that gave us a good time to connect.

And then, all of a sudden, the day had come and Ella was graduating from college!!

We gathered before the ceremony at an airbnb we rented for a couple of days to use a party house.

We were so fortunate to have Grandad and Nana (Max and Julia) come to town to celebrate with us.

Gavin and his mom, Erin, joined us too! It was great to finally meet Erin.

Jack came by for a bit.

Mel was with us, but unfortunately Don had to work.

Henry (grampy) and Lisa also came to support and honor Ella on her big day. He is such a ham!

The weather was perfect.

Even Chance got in on the celebrating.

On Friday May 11 at 5pm, it was official. Ella walked the stage, received her diploma and graduated!

Yeah!! Way to go Ella!!

Ella graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry, a minor in Biology, a minor in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, and a minor in Fermentation Sciences. We are so very proud of Ella.

The after party was just the five of us plus Aunt Mel, of course!

The next day it was Gavin’s turn to graduate.

It was a wonderful experience getting to celebrate this accomplishment with Gavin and his mom, Erin.

Don finally made it to town to join in on the celebrations. We got to celebrate Mother’s Day all together at Appalachian Mountain Brewery.

Mel and her dogs stayed with us one extra night on the RV.

Toby had no trouble making himself right at home.

It was great having this extra day with Mel after all the festivities.

Our time in NC came to an end and we were all going our separate ways. Mak and Gavin headed to their new apartment on Daniel Island, SC.

Ella with no immediate plans has until July 31st to determine where she wants to go next. She would like to move to Oregon’s wine country and get a job in one of the many wineries.

For Shannon, Ashley, Addie and the dogs it is time to head west and begin our next great adventure. To this point we have seen about 1/5 of the country. There is so much more to explore. We have plans to go to many National Parks all around the country. The United States is calling and here we come!