My entire family spent all of last weekend together in the High Country. This is epic for several reasons: one of my sisters lives in Thailand, my brother just got back from Mexico, and my other sister was in the middle of exams. As all of the kids get older, its so much harder to find a time when everyone is available. 

We took full advantage of April Dollar Days at Grandfather Mountain in Banner Elk, along with the rest of the high country, it seems. My sister Kathryn was definitely freaking out as we drove up the narrow winding road to the top of the mountain. 

It was a most beautiful day to enjoy the sunshine and scenery. 

I can't deny that I loved the zoo. We saw bears, otters, deer, and mountain lions. Speaking of mountain lions, did you know that they are the same thing as cougars, pumas, and panthers? I always thought they were different animals – turns out different regions just have different names for them. Who knew?

My absolute favorite part of Grandfather Mountain was the sprinkle-covered marshmallow pop I found at the fudge shop. Sprinkles and marshmallows – two of my favorite things – why didn't I ever think to combine them before?! I love sprinkles so much that I used to get small cups full of them from the dessert bar at Cracker Barrel when I was a kid. Seriously. 

Everyone pretty much agreed that Grandfather Mountain was a fun family activity for $7, but we definitely wouldn't have paid the $105 full price to go ($15 per adult). That is a bit outrageous. I will clarify that in order to get the $1/person admission you have to have someone in the car with an ID from Mitchell, Avery, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, or Wilkes County. 

Next year Matt and I would like to go hiking on the profile trail during Dollar Days.