Dispatches from the Blue Ridge: Part II

Yesterday we were back in Blowing Rock and Boone, enjoying appetizers and beer at The Six Pence Pub and Macado's. The former's atmosphere is more refined and the latter's more relaxed. The quality is good at both places and neither is over-priced; however, because their prices match their atmospheres, Macado's packs more bang for your buck.

In between the two towns we drove up to the lodge at Appalachian Ski Mountain (pictured below) where it was 11 degrees and howling winds were blowing snow all over the place. At Sarah's request I took her to the bathroom, where AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds" was playing on the speakers. After bopping her head to the beat for a few seconds, she told me: "They should sing a song about frostbite."

The cabin in which we're staying is just on the Ashe County side of the line dividing Ashe and Watauga counties, and today we opted to stay in Ashe. The northwesternmost county in North Carolina, it is bordered by Virginia to the north and Tennessee to the west, and is home to more than 700 family-owned Christmas tree farms. It is an impressive fact that Christmas trees from Ashe County have been placed in the White House seven times in the last 25 years. Here is Sarah at Smith's Choose & Cut Farm:

We spent much of the afternoon in downtown West Jefferson. Though it is not as picturesque as the downtowns of Boone and Blowing Rock, its shops and eateries are comparable and it serves up good views of Mount Jefferson and Paddy Mountain. You would be using your tourist dollars well to spend them here.

We were especially pleased with Bohemia Coffee Shop. I thought their sugar free vanilla coffee was superb, Erika raved about their mocha latte, and Sarah almost finished an entire cup of hot chocolate for the first time ever. Bohemia offers free tastings of wines made by local vintners, and the the amount they pour is considerable. I liked the New River Fiddler Red so much I purchased a bottle to take home.

Speaking of New River, it is far more than the name of this winery. The New River is a long waterway that, despite its name, is said to be the oldest in North America. It starts in North Carolina and flows northward to West Virginia, where it tumbles through a steep gorge and empties into the Monongahela River (which flows on to Pennsylvania and is one of the "three rivers" made famous by Pittsburgh). Both the North Fork and South Fork of the New River can be found in Ashe County, where their surprisingly calm waters make for excellent canoeing. Here is a picture of the South Fork just a few miles from the cabin:

It stopped snowing this afternoon but is supposed to start again sometime tomorrow, and the temperatures are in the teens as I type this. Soon enough, I will write some more.

Dispatches from the Blue Ridge: Part I

We are in northwestern North Carolina, close to the mountain towns I have always called "The Three B's": Boone, Blowing Rock, and Banner Elk. We are staying in a ridgeline cabin that is so good I will devote a post specifically to it once our trip is done.

There has been snow on the ground in these parts for more than two weeks, and in the three days since we arrived temperatures have not made it above freezing. Such conditions may not sound appealing to Northerners, but they do to Floridian children...and even if the parents of those children aren't cold-lovers like me, they will find the wintry landscape beautiful and enjoy playing in the white stuff with their kids.

Boone, home to Appalachian State University, is the U.S.A.'s highest town east of the Mississippi River with a population of more than 10,000. Yesterday we poked around a number of shops in its town center, including Mast General Store (which is the ultimate general store) and Footsloggers (which has high quality outdoor gear). Then we dined at a sandwich restaurant called Our Daily Bread, where I enjoyed the Gouda Heavens and every person in our party raved about the food. The kids kept wanting to stray from the sidewalks to step in the snow.

Today we drove to Blowing Rock, which is about 7 miles on the other side of Boone and has an even more immaculate downtown. Snow started falling on the drive over and was soon showering down, although the flakes were small and weren't always visible in pictures. I photographed a downtown park that looked peaceful but felt piercingly cold when the wind swept across. Needless to say, the hot chocolate across the street at Kilwin's hit the spot!

By the time we made it back to Boone for a 5:00 dinner at the Dan'l Boone Inn, the snowflakes were big and they were falling fast and often horizontal. We watched them come down while eating at a round table by a window, and snowplows were on the roads before we left.

The Dan'l Boone features family style eating that Erika aptly described as "a buffet but they bring it to you." It is not cheap in the way McDonald's is cheap -- but it is not expensive, and they charge different prices for kids and adults, and you will definitely get more than your money's worth. It is down-home-like-grandma-cooked-it and the mashed potatoes will make you drool thinking about them. Here is one of the Dan'l Boone's window boxes:

We've been back at the cabin for hours. It is 15 degrees right now and continuing to snow. I just came in from the back deck, where the porch lights illuminated white flakes falling through the clouds of my breath. I can not wait to play with Sarah tomorrow.