Boone trip

We took a little trip last month to Boone, NC, to see Delaney. We stayed in this house, along with Tim's parents and his sisters Sam and Karen, and loved it. It's right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We did some sightseeing around the town and school, a little bit of hiking, celebrated Tim's birthday, and watched Delaney perform with the Appalachian State marching band. Tim, Tim Sr, and his sisters went to the football game too.

We arrived at the house that first day just as the sun was starting to set, and it was so dreamy inside and out. Most of my pictures are terrible; you should see the VRBO listing. This cute little porch was the first sight to greet us.

We went out to lunch a couple times, but with the area as crazy as it is (it's a tourist attraction both for the school and just leaf-peeping in the mountains), the best meals were the ones we shared at the big table in the house. Lucky for us, Tim enjoys cooking. And we all enjoy not having to creep up and down the busy streets looking for a parking spot, or have to wait a long time in a restaurant with some fidgety little kids.

We really didn't know what to expect, going into a whole Saturday spent hanging around App State on a football game day. But it turned out to be my favorite day of the trip. We had a big area to spread out in, and the boys could run around without us having to worry. I took my Birkenstocks off and put my feet in the grass, and took in the atmosphere of a college campus on a fall day. Delaney and the rest of the Marching Mountaineers made their way over from practice, and her section (clarinets) did its own practice right in the same spot we'd been parked in for hours. Then they moved to the field with the others to put on the same show they would later do at halftime. It was fantastic! Delaney is having the best time, I can tell, and I'm so happy for her.

Sam's t-shirt says, "I'm here for the band." She was in her college marching band too. 

After the band performance, I left with Carolyn and the boys. We had a quick Chick-Fil-A dinner back at the house, and then got ready and left for Mass. It was a busy end to an already long day, but the boys were mostly good for us. I think all the barefoot outside time that day had mellowed me out pretty well too.

We saw this on the way back to the house. 

 Tim and his dad and sisters went to the game, and here are some pictures they took.

As for me, instead of a football game, this was my view at the end of the day, and it wasn't too bad. 

Tim and I agreed that with all the hustle and bustle of our days in Boone, we could have used an extra couple days to just hang out at the house and enjoy nature more. The crowds and the traffic were so thick in Boone and Blowing Rock. Maybe next year we can do this same weekend, but make it a little longer. We'll see.

The view from the deck on Sunday morning; it went from warm and sunny to cold and rainy just like that.