We finally managed to get all 5 kids to be available at the same time! We coordinated flights for Evan’s sons to come from NY, and for Goo to fly down from Tallahassee to fly UP to Charlotte with us. Luckily, we found itineraries that had both flights arriving in Charlotte within 40 minutes of each other.
We rented TWO 4 wheel drive vehicles (there was snow predicted) and caravanned up 321 to Boone. I drove one and Evan drove the other. The ride up the mountain was very enjoyable. (I got the Jackson Browne CDs)
We had a nice time, but the weather was AWFUL! It was cold and snowy. We had a few inches of snow and temperatures as low as 10 degrees! Our board games got a workout!
We drove to Sugar Mountain to go snow tubing. This was a bit of a hairy expedition. There was about 6 inches of snow on the ground, I drove one vehicle and Evan the other. The roads up the mountain were very slick and snow covered. The crowds due to Martin Luther King weekend were heavy. I was quite nervous driving a rented car in these winter conditions.
When we got to Sugar Mountain, there was nary a parking spot in the whole mountain, so we headed for Beech Mtn. We managed to park the cars and went ice skating instead of snow tubing. Oh well.
The next day, we all went to Blowing Rock for lunch and a shopping tour. Evan and his sons wanted to get back to watch a football game, and Mikey went with them. On the ride back to the cabin, after 4 refills on his Sprite, Mikey barfed up his lunch in Evan’s rental car. Oh well. 😉
The next 2 days were pretty miserable because it was so cold and wet. The kids were happy they all had their Macs and electronics with them. We baked alot of cookies and drank quite a bit of hot cocoa. The fire kept us cozy and warm. I would have preferred more outdoor activities, but it was nice being together.