The Plan: It was Nancy's birthday. So a bunch of us went out, and ate, and some people sang karaoke, and then we drank, and Nancy and I managed to convince (coerce) Norah to come on our Big Camping Trip. We were going to leave on Friday morning and drive out to the mountains. We had no reservations, but we looked at the Boone KOA online, and they had cabins. So we could camp, without actually roughing it. Or, I mean, it would be roughing it if you consider having to hike to the public bathroom/shower roughing it.
Friday
Except the Boone KOA was full. Nice man who was, er, manning the campground: "And I take it you don't have reservations? ... That's what I was afraid of." He gave us the number to another campground. They had a cabin available for Saturday night, but not Friday. (What is that?)
So, we decided to hit the outlet mall in Blowing Rock. (What? It was a girls weekend. And girls? Shop.) Then it started to rain, so we headed back to Boone to find a place to stay for the night. We stopped at the Holiday Inn Express, only to find it full. The nice person at the front desk informed us that every room in Boone was taken, and maybe if we headed toward Wilkesboro or Banner Elk, we could find something. But this nice person did not take into account Greene's Motel.
Where there was, in fact, a vacancy. Nancy had a fit of apoplexy when she heard how much it was going to be for the nice smoking room which was all that was available. It appeared that Greene's Motel was undergoing some renovations. Obviously, the outside walls had just been painted.
The "do not disturb" sign had not yet been brought up to date -- but it did offer a nice choice:
Once we had checked in, it was time for dinner. We had an area hotel map which we'd swiped from the Holiday Inn and decided on the Parthenon Greek Cafe. Now, you should know that none of us are really that good with directions, and if I'm the best navigator, we're in bad shape. So after we passed it two or three times, we finally parked at the Parthenon. We were the only people there, which was a little awkward, but still okay, and then the server mentioned that the place was closing in 20 minutes, so we wouldn't be able to get any Greek fare, but hey, we could get fries or chicken tenders. We left. The owner followed us to the car, which was slightly unnerving, but then he said we could go to the "sister restaurant," Mr. Originals, which was still serving. And he had called, and we could get free dessert. We got directions ("it's at that intersection, you know the one...") and off we went to Mr. Originals. Which was ... not open. The chairs were up on the tables and the lone occupant was somebody sweeping the floor. We left. We gave up trying to find local fare and went to Applebees. Nancy and I got in a fight over who was more pathetic in terms of (not) getting over men.
After our little dining adventure, we spent an uneventful night in the standard-issue hotel room, where we were careful not to let our bare feet touch the floor.
Saturday
We were up bright and early (that's a funny joke) and ready to see the mountains! After we got some food.
We went to Mel's/Troy's Diner, and then checked into our new and improved accommodations (improved even though the bathroom was a hike across the campground).
Finally, we headed off toward Grandfather Mountain. Where it misted, and then rained, and then misted, and then rained, and rained, and rained. Being intrepid travelers, we did not let that stop us. In fact, Norah and I were thrilled to be there.
We had our very own Blair Witch moment:
But came out unscathed. I should mention that Nancy is always telling me I smile too much in pictures, because I do this big, cheesy picture grin, but I think this photo is a good example of why sometimes that is, in fact, the best option.
There was nature.
There was a mile-high swinging bridge.
Nancy became a tree-hugger.
After coming down from the mountain, we headed over to the General Store to buy stuff. Now, granted, I don't know what general stores were like in their heyday, but I don't think they encouraged you to pick a basket and fill it with many sorts of candy. But this one did, and we filled it, and 2.56 pounds of candy later, we were on our way. (Heh.)
After that, it was on to dinner, at a local establishment this time: Joe's Cafe, which featured Italian food, including their last canoli. And might I add, Norah does not like to share her canoli.
Then it was back to camp.
Where we made a fire! All by ourselves! We rock.
We did not, however, have graham crackers, marshmallows or Hershey's candy bars (although we probably had enough to substitute for that, at least) to make s'mores. (Sad clown!) We had alcohol, though. And we played cards. Norah is a card shark and offered to teach us poker, which I knew how to play when I was 8 years old but then forgot, but we were not quite up for it, so we played ... Go Fish. And talked. The most interesting topic, I think, was: what's the worst thing you've ever done? And Nancy's was lame, and Norah's was lame, and mine was ... bad. And I'm sorry about it, but I don't regret it, and I'd probably do it again. Bad! Anyway.
Sunday
We saw caves. Which had gift shops. The gift shops included stern warnings.
And then we saw waterfalls.
After a scenic trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway, it was time to go home.
