Mountains

We travel a lot. It's our favorite way to spend our time and money. Most of our trips are so fun, but every once in a while we run into one that is totally cursed. This was one of those trips. The Overview We picked up Ann, Randy, and our niece Lila at the airport and headed straight for Asheville. We stayed one night there, then travelled to Beech Mountain to ski, relax, and show Ann and Randy the NC mountains. We love it up there! The Things I'd Rather Forget -Lila vomited in our very packed (people and stuff) car on the drive to Asheville. -Maddie started up with ashtma while in Asheville. We ended up in the ER in Boone later in the trip. -We didn't have snow tires on our car, so bought chains in Asheville (couldn't find them pre-trip in Raleigh). Our rental was on top of a steep road with slick packed ice/snow. After a lot of stress, Jason and Randy jimmy-rigged the chains on using bungee cords. -On our anniversary, after a long and sleepless night, we decided we needed to take Maddie in to the ER. After we got down the hill, we took the chains off the tires. It was 6:00 am and barely light, and 16 degrees. I failed to unhook the chain first, and it caught on a wheel bed. One hour and endless stress later, Jason had to remove the tire completely, unhook the chain, and put it back on. All without gloves or a heavy coat. I came away from the experience in awe of his ability to stay calm and cool under pressure. -It was WAY too cold to ski, which was the whole point of going up to Beech Mountain in the first place. Ugh. The Happy Memories -It was fun spending time with Lila and Ann and Randy. We always love being with them. -Amazing homemade sourdough bread from the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. -Hot chocolate in the Biltmore with the kids while waiting for Ann and Randy to tour the house. -How incredibly good the kids were the entire time. -Walking on a frozen pond on the Blue Ridge Parkway. -Watching the kids have a blast sledding in Beech Mountain.