Fun Adventures Going Off the Grid

 I am one of those people who love the movie, Dirty Dancing.  In my day, this was the big movie of our generation.  The music, the dancing, and of course the actors (Patrick Swayze will always be that young sexy Johnny) were all fantastic - and it's one of those movies that I could watch over and over again, without ever getting tired of it. So, you can imagine my excitement, when I realized that the resort where they filmed part of the movie was practically down the road from where I now live!! I was thrilled!! It's called Mountain Lake Lodge, and it was chosen to be the backdrop of the movies because it somewhat resembles the Catskills of New York.  There was another filming location in Lake Lure, North Carolina too, and I do plan to check out that location sometime as well.   Mountain Lake Lodge is located deep in the mountains of Giles County, Virginia.  Off of 460 where I live, you vear off of a winding road that eventually takes you to the t...

The start of a new school year always gets me excited.  It's a fresh start.  It's a chance to hit the "reset" button.  This year for us, was a biggie.  Kindergarten.  My oldest was heading to her first real classroom (even though she's been in a daycare setting since she was 9 months old) this was real school.  With a real teacher, and real classmates.  Exciting! However I wasn't feeling it this year, and quite frankly, I was a little depressed. Normally, the end of summer can't come fast enough.  The kids are bored.  My husband is at his limits and everyone is ready to get back to a routine.  We've been on vacation, we got our fair share of sunburns, we've done the pool thing, now we're all bored.  Let's get back to school.  Back to a regular schedule, with early wake-up times and early bedtimes.  Family sit-down dinners with bath time and lights out at 7:30.  But this time, when the beginning of school came around,...