Annual Fall Trip

Every year, Kelly and I (and anyone else that is handy) go on an fall trip up the mountain to Boone and Blowing Rock. We take 221 north through Avery County tree farm country to Watauga County, where the towns of Boone and Blowing Rock are. We love to see the fall foliage on the mountains and feel the crisp air of autumn. This year we took Gatlin with us. He was a good little traveler and seemed to enjoy the day too. We stopped at Boone Walmart to get a few things and as we were leaving the parking lot we came upon the campaign bus of Elizabeth Dole. She was there with Richard Burr campaigning. That was exciting as it was just before the election. We were then to Blowing Rock, about 8 miles away. It was a beautiful fall day there. Such a quaint town with lots of shops and places to eat. We ate at the Knights Cafe. They have really good food and we usually eat there when we visit. Then we took Gatlin to the city park in the center of Blowing Rock. This park has been a traditional place for us to visit since Kelly, himself, was a little boy. Many of our little ones have had fun in this park through the years. Gatlin had fun on the slides, but was a bit reluctant on the swings. He also saw his first snow while we were there. We got in our car and traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway to Linville and then onto 221 to Marion. It was a lovely and fun day for all three of us.