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Thanks everyone! Love that our kids can never say that there's nothing to do now. Lol. We truly are blessed to be in an area that keeps them engaged in the outdoors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by evensen007
Awesome pics and adventures Vince! Looks like you're taking advantage of the area to the fullest. Did you build those composting racks? One thing I'd really like to do after we move in to the house is buy a few basic tools (table saw, *** saw, planar) and start teaching myself some basic wood working.
Keep the updates coming. Love it!
Yes we did! We bought the bins from our distributer and the racks needed to be built by hand. Getting ready to add a bunch more in the next week. The staff at Lowes is starting to know us by name already. Lol.
During our move I was contemplating selling off our tools and saw to make things easier but I'm glad we didn't now. And yes, new tools (and new projects) are a must when moving into a new house! You better get ready!
Quote:
Originally Posted by theoldnorthstate
Vince, I was born in Lake Lure and grew up in Black Mountain. I always felt that I grew up in God's playground. Your pictures bring back memories of what my life was like as a young one or as my Mom would say "yung'un"
Lol! We had the same "yung'un" conversation at work today. Although I grew up in northern Maryland and had a pretty fun childhood, I'm envious of you growing up here. It must of been a blast having so much to do outdoors.
I haven't been posting much in this forum due to, uh, well, never mind. But it has been a great pleasure to follow Vince's adventures. I am impressed on a number of levels, not the least of which is the great family spirit demonstrated in the photos. Your family is blessed to have such a wonderful patriarch!
I would like to thank you for the incredible photos. Especially the wooded paths and the creeks. That's exactly what I would be looking for. In fact, one of the shots made me wish I could just wade in and stand in the middle of the deeper part of the creek and feel the cool water flowing by.
Have you found anyone who is doing hydro-harvest in the area?
That was really interesting about the registration expenses related to motor vehicles. Have you run into any other unexpected expenses related to the move?
I haven't been posting much in this forum due to, uh, well, never mind. But it has been a great pleasure to follow Vince's adventures. I am impressed on a number of levels, not the least of which is the great family spirit demonstrated in the photos. Your family is blessed to have such a wonderful patriarch!
I would like to thank you for the incredible photos. Especially the wooded paths and the creeks. That's exactly what I would be looking for. In fact, one of the shots made me wish I could just wade in and stand in the middle of the deeper part of the creek and feel the cool water flowing by.
Have you found anyone who is doing hydro-harvest in the area?
That was really interesting about the registration expenses related to motor vehicles. Have you run into any other unexpected expenses related to the move?
Live long and prosper!
Thanks kmarc for the kind words. We too love the endless wooded trails and swimming holes here!
Both my wife and I grew up in so-so family environments (ok ... super dysfunctional families. Lol). After meeting in the late 80's we swore to one day change the direction of things when we started our own family. Seeing our kids smile and appreciate life is knowing that our plan is now taking shape.
We haven't met any hydro harvest operations just yet but there are some amazing operations in the area. Root Bottom Farm in Marshall seems to be doing some awesome things with their setup as are many others. We hope to do the same once we find the right plot ourselves.
As far as unexpected expenses, things have been pretty smooth sailing since registering our vehicle. We're loving that milk here is $1.19 per gallon, eggs $0.33 per dozen and chicken $0.89 per pound. Having three kids the savings on milk and eggs alone was worth the move! Lol.
So far so good though and thanks for following our adventures! We enjoy sharing the things that we do as a family and the new places that we find. Cheers!
Just wanted to post an update. Have had a lot of fun over the last couple of weeks. Our vineyard gig has gradually come to an end and our kids have gone back to school. They love, love, love their new schools and so do we. Such a great staff and great parents. After nearly a week of tryouts our son made North Buncombe High School's JV soccer team! ... AND their varsity team too! So very proud of him and all of his hard work.
When not chasing them around, we've been out exploring some the area and getting to try some of the local eateries. Had a great time yesterday at Weaverville's "Art in Autumn" street festival. Such a cool local event. Also looking to keep our business (www.Wormaculture.com) moving forward so my wife and I can continue to work together. Things have been going very well with it and by springtime we should be ready to go full time. Fingers crossed.
Also planning to up my photography game over the next few weeks as I love taking pictures and video. Thinking of purchasing a Sony a6300 or a6000 mirrorless camera and a few lenses by the end of the month. Don't want to miss capturing any of the upcoming fall colors in the area! To all of the photography enthusiasts here ... are there any better choices (under $800 or so) that I should consider? Please let me know before I pull the trigger.
Anyway, life here in Weaverville has been great! The kids, wife and myself (even our dog) have all been so much happier and relaxed. See ya'll soon!
Crazy kids, Art In Autumn and some soccer action ...
Mountain biking and hiking at the Biltmore Estate on our new Cannondales. Trying to keep up with the kids ...
Our newest neighbors "The Turkey Mob" and a little hiking at Craven Gap off the BRP.
Our kids first time picking fresh apples was so much fun! My wife and I hadn't picked a fresh apple either since leaving Maryland nearly 25 years ago. So good and the folks at Stepps orchard near Hendersonville are the absolute best!
Some incredible food at Sunny Point Cafe, Soba and Blue Mountain Pizza ...
Had a great time today hiking and biking at Bent Creek. Such friendly people, beautiful weather and awesome scenery!
Last edited by VinceTheExplorer; 09-17-2017 at 09:19 PM..
Nice stuff.. for landscape photos a good story tripod is something you will want. And for fall color a polarizing filter will help with color pop and to take sheen of damp leaves
Just wanted to post an update. Have had a lot of fun over the last couple of weeks. Our vineyard gig has gradually come to an end and our kids have gone back to school. They love, love, love their new schools and so do we. Such a great staff and great parents. After nearly a week of tryouts our son made North Buncombe High School's JV soccer team! ... AND their varsity team too! So very proud of him and all of his hard work.
When not chasing them around, we've been out exploring some the area and getting to try some of the local eateries. Had a great time yesterday at Weaverville's "Art in Autumn" street festival. Such a cool local event. Also looking to keep our business (www.Wormaculture.com) moving forward so my wife and I can continue to work together. Things have been going very well with it and by springtime we should be ready to go full time. Fingers crossed.
Also planning to up my photography game over the next few weeks as I love taking pictures and video. Thinking of purchasing a Sony a6300 or a6000 mirrorless camera and a few lenses by the end of the month. Don't want to miss capturing any of the upcoming fall colors in the area! To all of the photography enthusiasts here ... are there any better choices (under $800 or so) that I should consider? Please let me know before I pull the trigger.
Anyway, life here in Weaverville has been great! The kids, wife and myself (even our dog) have all been so much happier and relaxed. See ya'll soon!
Vince, it's so funny reading your updates because I feel like there's a glitch in the matrix and our 2 world's programs are being crossed.
My wife and I MNT bike and hike at Biltmore and bent Creek often. Stepps was the first Apple Orchard we visited 2 years ago when I moved up. (I also love GrandDad's right down the street from there). We eat at Sunny Point for breakfast every couple of weeks. ANNNND, I have a Sony a6000 with a few lenses as my go-to camera. Tell me we're not living in a simulation? hah
You will LOVE the a6000/6300. I tried about 6 different lenses before I settled on the combination I have now: a Rokinon 12mm fixed manual focus F2.0 lense, and the Sony G series 18-105 F4 with auto-focus and OSS. If you want to discuss more, we can. Let's just say I took advantage of Amazon's liberal return policy and made SURE I found the lenses I wanted to keep. Among the lenses I returned (shockingly) were the Carl Zeiss 16-70mm and the Sony 10-18mm. I spent a full month shooting and testing and I am not regretful at all with where I landed. I also have a cheap Amazon branded 5ft Tripod and an assortment of ND filters to do long exposures on waterfalls during the daylight. The G series 18-105 has undetectable image quality from the Zeiss 16-70 and you also get that nice 105 range. Bokeh is excellent on portraits, even at a distance. The Rokinon 12mm fixed is amazing for all landscape and astro-photography. Yes, it has no zoom and no OSS but at 12mm wide, you don't need it. Image quality is sharp as a tack, and focus is set and forget since it's mainly a landscape lens set at infinity. The F2.0 shines for astro photog and I think this is the best kept secret in lenses for the Sony.
Glad to see you're doing well and still loving this life. I am too!
I hear good things about the Rokinon wide.. I shoot Canon gear mostly L-Series lens with heavy DSLRs so a CF tripod is a must for me... plus my hands are not as steady as a decade ago
Off to BC for two weeks to photograph Grizzlies and Fall color. My last big trip before diving into the house build and directing funds to that.
Looking forward to photographing WNC next year. WE should do an outing !!
Vince, it's so funny reading your updates because I feel like there's a glitch in the matrix and our 2 world's programs are being crossed.
My wife and I MNT bike and hike at Biltmore and bent Creek often. Stepps was the first Apple Orchard we visited 2 years ago when I moved up. (I also love GrandDad's right down the street from there). We eat at Sunny Point for breakfast every couple of weeks. ANNNND, I have a Sony a6000 with a few lenses as my go-to camera. Tell me we're not living in a simulation? hah
You will LOVE the a6000/6300. I tried about 6 different lenses before I settled on the combination I have now: a Rokinon 12mm fixed manual focus F2.0 lense, and the Sony G series 18-105 F4 with auto-focus and OSS. If you want to discuss more, we can. Let's just say I took advantage of Amazon's liberal return policy and made SURE I found the lenses I wanted to keep. Among the lenses I returned (shockingly) were the Carl Zeiss 16-70mm and the Sony 10-18mm. I spent a full month shooting and testing and I am not regretful at all with where I landed. I also have a cheap Amazon branded 5ft Tripod and an assortment of ND filters to do long exposures on waterfalls during the daylight. The G series 18-105 has undetectable image quality from the Zeiss 16-70 and you also get that nice 105 range. Bokeh is excellent on portraits, even at a distance. The Rokinon 12mm fixed is amazing for all landscape and astro-photography. Yes, it has no zoom and no OSS but at 12mm wide, you don't need it. Image quality is sharp as a tack, and focus is set and forget since it's mainly a landscape lens set at infinity. The F2.0 shines for astro photog and I think this is the best kept secret in lenses for the Sony.
Glad to see you're doing well and still loving this life. I am too!
Chris
That's so funny Chris! Such a small world here in WNC I guess. We may want to get our DNA's cross tested against each other. Lol!
I pulled the trigger yesterday and ordered the 6000. Didn't see the need to spend nearly twice as much for 4K video, some additional AF points and the weather resistance of the 6300. Other than a kit lens (18-50), a polarizing filter (suggested by LookingFromLI) and strap and case, didn't pick up anything else as I first want to get used to the feel and operation of the camera. Your suggestions for lenses is spot on though, and the G series 18-105 will most likely end up being my daily user once I finally order it. Hopefully going to score some deals on gear as the holidays are fast approaching and like you, Amazon is my friend.
Pretty stoked to be moving up from being a cell phone camera warrior to my first real setup. Have a pretty good understanding of shutter speeds, ISO and the like so I'm looking forward to putting it all together and seeing what happens. It's also great that we live in such a photogenic area and have an unlimited number of test subjects! It's going to be fun to say the least.
Anyway, thanks for chiming in and pointing me in the right direction! Hopefully the damage to my wifes Amazon card will be kept to a minimum.
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