A Trip to the Mountains

This weekend Robert and I went on a long-awaited trip to the Mountains of North Carolina.  Robert's dad's side of the family lives in southern Alabama - Home of the University of South Alabama.  USA has had a Division I football team for about five years, and several months ago Ray found out that they would come to NC to play Appalachian State in October.  This was the weekend of the game, and Friday after work Robert and I loaded up and headed out to the mountains to meet Ray and Terri and Ray's cousin Kathy and her husband Jerry.

We got in a little before 9:00 on Friday and enjoyed catching up for a couple of hours.  Robert and I both noted that this was our first time to do much with Kathy and Jerry outside of a big family holiday, and it was a lot of fun to get to chat with them and be with them for a weekend.

On Saturday morning we enjoyed getting around slowly and eating breakfast together before hitting the road to drive an hour to Boone.  We made a pit stop at a cute boutique and then landed at Mast General Store.  I could have stayed there all day!  They had a cute little bluegrass band playing and so many things to admire.

Picture courtesy of the store's History page

We got some lunch at Come Back Shack, and it was delicious.  I got the California burger which had spinach, avocado, Swiss cheese, tomato, and mayo, and I also had a baked potato.  It was hopping so I think we must have found a favorite for locals. :) Next we headed to App State and found a spot to park and pulled up the Alabama game online.  Those of you who know me know football isn't my favorite sport in the world, but sitting the car was rather comical with a blanket on the windshield to keep out the sunlight, our own Internet hotspot, and gourmet cheese and crackers.  I had brought my crochet project and my current book of choice - Someday, Someday, Maybe - I also managed to get a foot massage from Robert while we waited so that's always a win.  

We had nice seats at the game, and USA pulled out a big win.  Robert and I knew it would be colder in Boone than where we leave, but holy cow was it cold!  I had brought a jacket and a blanket, but I wasn't prepared for the low 40s and whipping wind that was present for the first two quarters.  The wind died down for the second half which made it seem a bit warmer.  Two hot chocolates didn't hurt either.

We wrapped up our weekend away with a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  I hadn't been to Cracker Barrel in years, and it was delicious.  Also, I wanted to buy everything in the store.  Robert and I enjoyed the ride home jamming out and chatting.  And we made it back it time for the NFL games and a long Sunday afternoon nap.  I'll let you guess who did what.