Blowing Rock

So I decided I needed a little time away from my normal life. I hopped in Anne's Sequoia and rode to Blowing Rock. I like it here.

It has a really cute little town with a row of shops and restaurants. It's all decorated for Christmas, and it's pretty empty. We're here in the period between busy summer, gorgeous fall, and crazy Christmas. It's the week before Thanksgiving when nobody travels. The salespeople were thrilled when we walked in their shops. I felt like maybe we were the only customers for the day. And at dinner, at 8:00, our waitress said that indeed, we were her only table for the night.

We took the Blue Ridge Parkway to a little pond where there was a trail head. We hiked the trail that went around the pond, through the woods, under the parkway, and over a rolling pasture. It was beautiful, and it kicked my derriere. There were rhododendrons lining the trail which must be unbelievably gorgeous in the summer. We saw a ton of deer. And we had the mountains as our backdrop.

My little difficult, screamy baby has become the perfect 3-month old. He was the absolute best on the 6-hour car ride. We've taken him to dinner at fancy little restaurants two nights in a row and not a peep. He's napping on the hikes. He's behaving in boutiques. And I couldn't be prouder. I think he is having a nice time, too, being away from his normal life.

I miss the kids and Jason, of course, but it really is great to get away and only be responsible for one other person. One more day and then Saturday I'm back to reality!