Watch out - it snows in NC!

I spent most of this week in the beautiful state of North Carolina. The first part of the week was spent in Asheville and Winston-Salem and the last part in Lake Lure. My week started and ended with snow, which I was not expecting in mid-December.

Monday, I left Augusta for Asheville and it was a chilly but bright 40 degrees. I expected the temperature to drop as I drove into the mountains and when I entered Asheville it had gone to 25. It was also dark and I started seeing little specks of white in the air - SNOW! Wow, my first snow of the year. It was so tiny though, I never thought it would stick. About 10 minutes later I was proven wrong, and the novelty was over. I had to meet a group for dinner at 6 and I was running out of time and going the wrong way. I picked the wrong street in the Garmin and was driving up a scary road carved into the mountain. I called the B&B and they got me on track and I finally skidded into the driveway at 5:55.

The B&B is worth mentioning further. I don't have much experience with B&B's, I've really only stayed at hotels or privately owned condos or cabins, but I kind of think I'm a B&B person. I stayed at the Sweet Biscuit Inn and it was sooo cute. It was all around charming, from the couple that owns it, Robert and Angela, who personally greet you, help you in, and serve you homemade biscuits and muffins in the morning, to the simple eclectic decor and the old, probably original features in the house - I had a claw footed tub in my bathroom and my room was heated by a radiator (I had never even seen one of those before)! If you are in Asheville, I definitely recommend it. They have a website: www.sweetbiscuitinn.com

Then Friday, with Blake accompanying me this time, we headed to Lake Lure, NC for the a Christmas weekend with the Hoxsie's. This is the third year that we have gone to a cabin in the mountains to have Christmas together and it is always super fun. We find a cabin large enough to sleep all of us together (14), with a full kitchen, and some fun things to do (pool tables, hot tubs, games, etc.) - and then we just hole up for the weekend. We enjoy good home-cooked food, great views, and quality time together to make lots of memories. This year we stayed at the Dancing Falls cabin, named so because it was built in the resort/golf course where "Dirty Dancing" was filmed.


Another highlight that has become tradition is our Dirty Santa gift swap. Before I go further, I have to say that Aunt Lydia, who was in charge this year, did a great job! She found and booked the cabin, organized the meals (which were awesome), and put together some really great gifts! The gifts are a mixture of snacks, pranks, and truly desirable/functional items. Whatever you get, it is going to be good!


We had really great weather Saturday. It was warm enough to walk around outside without a coat, but we knew that Sunday was going to get ugly. I got up at 5:30 Sunday morning for a potty break and saw huge clumps of white falling outside. I was too distracted to go back to sleep, so I stayed up for an hour to watch it. The snow was so heavy you could hear it when it landed. It was beautiful in the morning! The only downside was that we have to leave pretty early. I have learned this week my car isn't the greatest in snow. But thank goodness, we stayed on the road and made it out.


I had been looking forward to this weekend for a long time, and now I'm kind of bummed that it's over - but there's always next year!