I was kidnapped over the weekend.
Yes folks, taken from my home by suprise and the culprits were none other than my dear mother and grandmother. We stayed at the wonderful
Parkview Lodge and I loved it and highly recommend it to ANYONE that is headed up that way. I can assure you all that I will always stay there. They are pet friendly, and allow up to 3 pets per room. They have rooms and cabins with a free continental breakfast (try the pumpkin bread! Scrumptious!) and the hosts are wonderful people. They have a large selection of fine wines and beer, and a ridiculously cute little white dog that loves to play with the guests and a sweet Golden Retriever who enjoys sleeping in. It is an all around family atmosphere that gives you the impression of being very welcome and at home.
All in all, it was a rather productive weekend aside from the fact that we got lost on the Blue Ridge Parkway (FYI: once you get on there, unless you can find an exit that you know, you are STUCK). We went to
Linville Caverns first and Howard, our tour guide, was just as cute as he could be and was hysterically funny! I found myself giggling more than once at his cave humor.
Then we went and got on the
Blue Ridge Parkway where we were stuck until we got to
Blowing Rock, NC. Aside from the frustration of being stuck, it was a beautiful drive and some of the trees were even holding snow. Blowing Rock was beautiful and we went to
Doc's Rocks where I mined for my fortune. I did not find my fortune, but I did find some nice sized rubies, emeralds, and saphires. The staff was very knowledgeable and their resident dogs (Rowdy and Pheobe) were quite friendly and abundantly cute! There is also an in house coffee shop and I can personally vouch for their white hot chocolate. Yum! Doc's Rocks is definitely somewhere that I will be revisiting and is worth the drive up to Blowing Rock all on it's own.
We also visited a few little fruit stands in Blowing Rock, had some Italian Food, and in just a short drive found ourselves in
Boone, NC. We went and visited
Appalachian State University, which was a gorgeous campus settled into a gorgeous valley. Apparently we are good luck, because App State whooped up on Georgia Southern while we were watching the game and eating some delicious Sushi at
Makoto's Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. We were also able to see
Grandfather Mountain, which is quite a sight if you've never seen it! It really does look like a grumpy old man asleep on the side of the mountain! See the face?
We were also able to visit
Mast General Store, which is a great shopping experience for anyone who enjoys candy, outdoors, house wares, apparel, and home made jellies, jams, butters, and preserves. I got some scuppernong Jelly, Huckleberry Jelly and Strawberry Butter and let me assure you... legendary! I also bought a great flannel PJ set for the hubby, a few pairs of regular PJ pants, and a pair of long johns with the fanny flap on them. Yes readers, that happened and I will never forget how hard he laughed when he opened them. I haven't been able to coax him into them yet, but it's only a matter of time. :)
All in all, it was a great weekend and I cannot wait to come back up with my husband. Hopefully we can come up soon and get snowed in a cabin. Romantic weekend anyone?
