Buzz Fest Part III

Where were we?

So, after dinner, we walked to the Banner Elk Elementary School Playground for the group shot. We always talk some poor, unsuspecting stranger into taking our group shot. And then hand them atleast 20 cameras. This time we were good and didn't do that. :) We just took a couple and Naj e-mailed it to us...however, i can't find it now. Ha! I will find it tomorrow and it will go HERE:


So, after dinner, some of the crew invited us to their cabin for a bit. When they rented the cabin online, it said "On Beech Mountain." Like THIS Beach Mountain - complete with ski slopes and quaint shops and restaurants. Little did they know - it was on the BACKSIDE of Beech Mountain - straight through redneck zombieville and everything! (That's what I call those windy, dark, backroads sprinkled with random trailers and modular homes... That's probably not very nice of me, huh?) I don't know who took that video of us but that's me and Ashley trying to get up the mountain to the cabin. (haha. Kidding. I don't know who those fools are...)

Anyway, when you say "it's 10 miles" up windy mountain roads, that means 45 minutes atleast! It was a pretty drive up - right at dusk - and it just SHOCKS me that people live here. And have grown up here and lived here all their lives. Like the kids who were born and raised in New York City. The mountain kids have the same mystery to me. I mean, HOW do school busses get up here? In the winter? How to they deal with not being able to run to wal-mart real quick? How do they deal with their driveways that go STRAIGHT UP the side of the mountain? These were my deep thoughts as we drove up to the cabin.

This drive was also when Clara made Ashley play her CD of bible school songs at top volume.

So instead of it being like our Banner Elk Cruising of the past: listening to 2 Live Crew "Ain't nuttin but a hoochie mama!" We were all singing this at the top of our lungs:

"I am a C. I am a C-H. I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N! I have C-H-R-I-S-T in my H-E-A-R-T and I will L-I-V-E- E-T-E-R-N-A-L-L-Y!!!!"

Like I said, A LOT changes in just a few short years...

The cabin was awesome!! Several people went in together to rent the 500 bedroom place - and it came complete with a wrap-around deck and jacuzzi. I bet the view from that porch in the daytime is amazing...

There was a rumor going around that the jacuzzi got a bit wild after the kids went to bed...but I don't recall where I heard that one.... I think her last name rhymes with Bacon.... but anyway, I was back home and asleep in the bed by 10pm. What would I know?? :)

Here are Lisa and Vinnie, toasting their brand new engagement!!













The next morning, we all met for Breakfast at the Banner Elk Cafe. This is the most astounding change to me since graduation in 1999. This little hole in the wall cafe is now a BEAUTIFUL lodge with the most amazing outdoor dining area I have ever seen. If any fellow LMCers have not been back to see this, you will be pleasantly shocked.

Ashley's husband, Larry, joined us for breakfast and stayed the night. (They only live 45 minutes away in Morgantown, so Banner Elk is "right down the road." Do you KNOW how jealous I was of them on travel home day?)

Here is part of the group - joined my our friends, the dead animals on the wall.



And here are some of the kids, enjoying the spiral staircase.



After breakfast, I made Stella and Clara pose under the Elk in the middle of downtown.




At some point - I can't remember which day it was - Ashley and I took a drive up Sugar Mountain to look at our old house... We rented this LOVELY (sarcasm) slope side house the summer of 1995...and SHOO, it was an adventure in MANY ways... The stories of that summer deserve a blog of it's own!





Courtney - this one is for you:







Anyway, back to Sunday. After breakfast, we walked through a craft festival that was going on...where I bought some local wine and a cute little angel picture frame thingee for my parents anniversary. Here is Larry and Ashley in their dream living room. :) I love all of the rustic mountain lodge furnishings...







When I have my mountain mansion one day, it will be furnished this way. Just FYI.

After the craft show, we rode around town and took the LONG way to Boone, through Valle Crusis - by the Mast General Store.

When we were in Boone, I decided that my nose hairs could not take it anymore and I bought a new carseat. It wasn't a waste because I bought one that will convert into the booster she will be in until 80 lbs... It was worth it to me! (Side note: Toby has put the offending car seat in this Jeep where it gets a lot of fresh air.)

We went back to Banner Elk and ate dinner at Sorrento's where I got my Tortellini dish that I loved so much all those years ago.. It did not disappoint! Sorrento's is another major memory for me...It's bittersweet being there now. So much has changed.... in a good way! But it still is kind of emotional...I do miss those days and my friends from back then that I was not able to keep in touch with for one reason or another....

After dinner, we went back to our house. SOME of the group went to Boone to do the new(?) ZipLine. I bet it was amazing but I think I can safely put that on my list of "Things I will never do in a million years." Those who agreed with my list came to hang out at our house while waiting for the others to get back.

I am sure we bored the crap out of Vinnie and Larry as the girls (Me, Ashley, Courtney, and Amy) did some Christmas shopping in my Thirty-one catalog. We couldn't help it! :)

So that was our last night. We got up early on Monday and hit the road for Richmond. I was anticipating heavy traffic and I was holding my breath the ENTIRE way down the mountain for fear of my daughter hurling in her NEW carseat (wouldn't that have been fabulous?) but it ended up being a great travel day. We made it home in record time - and I did not speed.

And we did NOT watch movies or drink chocolate milk. I learned my lesson on that one.

Anyway, thank you SnowBE's for a wonderful Labor Day weekend. I hope we do Buzz Fest in Banner Elk from now on.

It just seems RIGHT.