Table Rock State Park, in Forest, S.C.

This morning we decided that we would go on an adventure after church, and check out Table Rock State Park. So after the (fabulous) service, the five of us, and Lori, our trusty GPS navigator, headed to the northwestern corner of South Carolina. We had no idea where we were going, but Lori did, and she has never steered us wrong. (Except that one time in Charlotte, NC, but I don't think that was entirely her fault.) After driving about 45 minutes, we reached our destination. Table Rock is a beautiful place on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We spent the afternoon exploring the hiking trails, and swimming in the waterfalls. We managed to escape to the car right as an afternoon cloudburst past through, scared all the people away, and left the park empty when the sun came out 30 minutes later. The kids had so much fun at a waterfall area, and Luis even took them to stand behind that waterfall. They thought that was just plain awesome. Lily wanted so badly to be with her Dada and brothers in the water, but her cast is still on for 3 more days. Luis did carry her in a bit, so she was happy. She is most definitely a "Daddy's girl", and not afraid to show it. One fun thing I learned is how much Luis enjoys hiking. We have never really had a chance to hike, since Arizona was too hot, and the Lowcountry has snakes, alligators, and gnats. I will say I think I prefer gnats to the monstrous mountain mosquitoes that I saw today-they were a scary sight. One bite from them, and you're blood is drained! We stopped in a nature observatory where they had local wildlife in display...mainly snakes...which the boys thought were super cool (me, not so much). The lady working there told me that the bears stay up in the higher elevations...but I had a hard time believing her, since there were "bear-proof" trash cans everywhere...anyway, it was a great, off the cuff outing, and a place I know we will definitely visit many times. Here's some pictures from today.