veraWell, I made it to Boone and back in one piece.

It was heavenly. I did get to leave right after work on Friday. Besides the fact that I think I hit every single redlight between here and there, I made it in just a little over 2 hours. I couldn't have asked for better driving weather. It was in the low 70's all the way up the mountain. With the window down and Ashlee Simpson blaring on the radio (bad I know) I loved the time to look around and see what had and had not changed.

The road up there (321) has undergone some major renovation. They are widening the road since so many people go up and down the mountain on a daily basis. While having 2 lanes for the majority of the ride was nice and certainly speed up travel time, I couldn't help but notice that it is ruining the landscape of the drive itself. So many trees and mountainous (is that a word?) rock moved for the sake of progress. They say it is making to roads safer. Maybe it is, but it still detracts from the beauty that is the Blue Ridge Moutains.

By the time I got up there, it was quite chilly. I actually had to roll the windows up! Haven't been able to say that in a long time. Ruth's parents house is up on the mountain and I have to say it is a beautiful home. All log cabin-y with lots of homey decor. One of the windows has a tree branch over it for decoration. I shouldn't expect anything different though. Ruth is an Interior Designer after all.

I said hello to the Dew-parents and they prepared to leave. After they left I called DH to let him know that I made it on one piece. Ruth and I sat and talked for a little while and then we took the tour of Boone. She showed me all our old stomping grounds as well as the new stuff. It all has changed so much. I couldn't believe it was the same campus that I went to. I almost prefer the campus of yester-year to what there is now. Too much brick all over for my taste. But I guess that it progress huh? We drove around to some of the new apartments in town. We even went into one that was still under contruction. I just knew we were going to get arrested for Trespassing. Ruth is crazy like that!

Around 8:30 pm we decided to stop somewhere for dinner. I chose Macados since we don't have one at home and it was somewhere that we ate often. All I can say is YUM! It's a great place to eat if you ever have the opportunity. Then we went back to her house and sat around and talked and watched What Not To Wear. I guess we were both worn out becasue we both fell asleep on the couch.

Saturday I woke up around 8 am and decided to take advantage of Ruth's big tub with the jets and took a bath. Then I sat out on one of the decks and talked to DH and the kids for a little while. DH has gotten DS to sorta eat from a spoon by himself. Now, if you hold the spoon in front of him he will grab it and put it in his mouth. I guess it is progress huh? After talking to DH, I sat in the living room and read until Ruth woke up. We waited for her friend Laura to get there and then we left for a day of shopping. First we ate at Mel's Diner though. Then we were off to Valle Crucis and the famous Mast General Store. I had never been to the one in Valle Crucis so it was neat to get to go. I bought a cotton woven rug for the kitchen and an entire case of Big Red soda! I was so excited to find it...they don't make it anywhere around here. (It's a childhood, Ohio thing). While driving back we stumbled upon an AMish store so we petted the horse and looked around a bit. It was really cool. One of the many reasons I love the area. Things seem so much simpler there.

We headed to downtown Boone so that I could get a tshirt for the kids. The place was a madhouse! Between summer campers, summer schoolers, and parents doing the "visting" thing you could barely walk. And boy has downtown changed. There are soooo many arty-fartsy high end stores now. For example, where the Farmer's Exchange Hardware used to be is now a retail outlet of local artist and high end things such as those Vera Bradley quilted bags. I kinda like them but I don't understand the appeal really. I certainly don't think that they are worth $60 for a simple purse. They did have a discontinued section at 60% off, so I am kinda kicking myself for not getting one just to say I have one. Oh well. Maybe next time. And then again there is always Ebay!

After beating the crowds in Boone, we went to Blowing Rock to hit a few stores there. I now remember why I never went there. There isn't any parking and way too many people during the summer. I did get a bunch of candy and a jack-in-the-box for DD. After that we went back to Boone and ate dinner. Then back to Ruth's to chit-chat. We were going to go back out, but decided to just stay in and hang out. It was really nice. We went to bed about 11:30 pm.

Sunday, I woke up and got ready to go at 8 am. I said goodbye to Ruth and Laura and headed home. I have to say that it felt bitter-sweet. A part of me wonders if I will ever be back. I was really sad that I had to leave. I missed my babies and couldn't wait to see them but it left me feeling a little sad all the same. It's like leaving home. No matter where I go, Boone is where home truly is for me.