a day in Todd

Elizabeth, Finn and I took a little day trip this morning up to the NC mountains to a little town named Todd. With a main street that leads back to the 1950s, Todd is picturesque and full of small town charm, and Elizabeth's grandparents own a house and a small piece of history here. I haven't been here since Elizabeth was small and when her grandparents kindly invited us up for a day trip, I jumped at the chance to visit them and this beautiful corner of NC again. Todd is a lovely, quaint town full of old railroad cars, the longest continually running general store in NC, and is wrapped by the New River and the predictable businesses that flourish on it's banks.

Finn first spotted the railroad cars, of course. He's been proudly bragging all day, "I got to drive a real train!"

I think the most popular spot in Todd, and likely the place that I've spent the most time, is in the New River. Although the river was moving a little more swiftly than usual, with the torrential rains NC experienced earlier in the week, it was as shallow, lush and beautiful as ever.

Elizabeth and Finn frolicked in the lawn of the homestead of her Nana's family

And slid through the section of river that wraps behind the house.

Meanwhile, I admired the dragonflies, butterflies, birds and flowers that graced the banks nearby.

We truly had a lovely time exploring this magical place and visiting family here.

Elizabeth hunted for rocks. (We're going to have to build additional space just for her rock collection soon.)

We gobbled delicious pastries at the Todd Mercantile.

And when Papaw mentioned a secret hiding in the shed,

Finn could barely contain his excitement over the old tractor he found there.

He was even privileged to inspect the engine!

Elizabeth largely explored the creek and it's banks in her own quiet way.

What a lovely day we had in Todd! Maybe Paul can commute an extra 2 hours each day so we can move here? Or maybe we can just revel in the beauty on the rare and wonderful chances we get to visit...