Linville Caverns

On the way home from Grandfather Mountain on Sunday, we passed by Linville Caverns and decided to stop. For $6 each (Suzi was free) we got a guided tour. Suzi rode through in the Ergo and squealed excitedly as we worked our way through the cave.

Daddy and Suzi waiting outside

Before we went in, she decided she wanted me to carry her.


The fish in the stream are blind because they spend most of their lives in total darkness.

Kilt Rock t-shirt

It was cold in the cave and the air was crisp--a nice change from the games where it was hot and someone was smoking a cigarette every ten yards! The guide told us a story of two Civil War soldiers who deserted and hid in the cave (the stream was much higher at that time). They made it past a sandbar near the entrance and built a fire, but when the smoke escaped through the fissures in the ceiling they were discovered and arrested.

We were entertained by rock formations loosely resembling corn on the cob, a bride and groom, a pickle, a ham, bats and many others. It was tough to get pictures because the flash was so obnoxious in the dark I felt guilty doing it during the tour.

My favorite part was when the guide turned out all the lights. It was a pure, velvety darkness, even darker than the country dark I experienced when my family used to spend the night at the farm in St. Matthews. According to the guide, the only place you can find darkness this pure is in a cave or at the bottom of the ocean. Many years ago (not sure how long exactly), two boys ventured into the cave carrying only one lantern which was lit with a flame. When the boy carrying it tripped and the light went out, they were plunged into black darkness. Amazingly, they found their way out by following the flow of the stream.

There is also a "bottomless pool" in the cavern (no one has ever been able to reach the bottom), which is covered by a metal grate you can walk on. Looking between your feet down into the pool is an interesting feeling. The passage to it is sweaty-palms narrow, but we made it.

They have panning at the caverns (in which you sift through a bucket of sediment and try to find valuable stones), but it's closed on Sundays. Suzi probably wouldn't have had the patience for it anyway. I was impressed she made it through the 20 minutes or so in the caverns without getting antsy.

At the end of the tour we bought a mortar & pestle from the gift shop and then had to run back in and get another one. I called my mom while breastfeeding Suzi in the parking lot and she wanted one too! (There are times you just need a good mortar & pestle, but the presence of electric grinders has made them somewhat difficult to find. One time I needed chocolate graham cracker crumbs and ended up having to grind them in a bowl using a beer bottle. I'm sure it would also be good for grinding up other more important things.)

Cosleeping and new carriers!

The other day I got an email from a friend saying she was selling several choice baby carriers for a super-low price. (In case it has escaped your attention, I love babywearing. Carriers are now like shoes were to me in college.) We got an Ergo, which was previously cost-prohibitive; I'd never even thought of buying one. She also sold us an Ellaroo Podaegi, which Ellaroo no longer makes and is nearly impossible to find. Right now Suzi is breastfeeding in the Ergo as I blog. (Did you know you can breastfeed in an Ergo? I didn't!) If I can breastfeed Suzi hands-free I can get all kinds of things done. I could probably mow the lawn if I wanted to (but I'll leave that to Jordy).


I haven't had a chance to do much with the Podaegi, but did achieve a front carry with straps. Suzi wasn't in the mood to try a bunch of new things.


Grandma and Grandpa kept Suzi last night while Jordan and I attended Julie's class on Nighttime Parenting. The most important thing we learned was to trust our instincts. Julie told us that every behavior is undoable, but should be changed gently. So for instance, not like this. I once loved Supernanny but now that I actually have a child I'm seeing that many of her techniques wouldn't work for me. (However, I do love that she forbids parents to hit their children and that she talks to kids as though they are people.)

I feel so much better now about our nighttime situation despite ugly remarks from a few people. What I've most often heard is that cosleeping is for the good of the parents, not the baby. Heh, no. It would have been simple for us to let Suzi scream her head off and hyperventilate through the night until, finally, her spirit was broken. My maternal instinct said no. Some babies are able to sleep in a crib fairly happily; Suzi is just not one of them. She sleeps in our bed and that works for us.