JAM Photography + NC Family & Event Photography: Blowing Rock, NC

On Friday night we left for our mini mountain vacation in Blowing Rock, NC. The combination of snow coming down during what was normally rush-hour traffic time, and the fact that NC is ill-prepared for dealing with snowy roads, meant that our regular 2 1/2-ish hour drive was extended to a 4 1/2 hour drive. But, we made it to our condo at Chetola resort, and met up with our peeps who were already there. After a few drinks and several rounds of Catch Phrase (with a few adapted rules in the end), we headed to bed to rest up for an exciting Saturday.

On Saturday we woke up to a winter wonderland, and it was still coming down. After a yummy breakfast and a bit of lounging, we headed to the outlet stores down the street for some winter wear...especially because Jeffrey had no boots and was scraping his windshield that morning wearing boat shoes! :) The majority of the stores were closed, but Jeffrey found some boots in a shoe store, and Calvin Klein was open, so in we went to find Rob a warm hat, and Christina and I made it out with a $200 winter coat that was on sale for $30. Score! We decided to head to Walmart in Boone before going home, as we'd seen a sled-perfect hill on our way out of Chetola. However, no sleds were found..so Amanda and her clever self grabbed a $9 Disney Princess sleeping bag. Slick and very preschool chic, I must say.

Back to the condo we went, and prepared to head out for some snow fun. There was sledding, in, on, and sometimes without the Princess sleeping bag. The hill was so steep and difficult to climb, at times we saw each other sledding down just by plopping backwards. :) After much fun in the snow, we went back in for hot chocolate and hot baths. We emerged later in the evening for dinner at Makoto's, a delish Japanese hibachi restaurant which insisted on filling our stomachs to the point of near explosion. Delicious. And the night wouldn't have been complete without Jeffrey's attempt to drive the Jeep up what we figured were some stairs, from one parking lot to another, in an effort to avoid turning out of said parking lot and finding the correct one. We were on a mission to get to the grocery for snow cream supplies, but when we finally got there, they were closed! So, back to Walmart again. Only this time, as I slid off of Jordan's lap to head in (we were crunched in the back seat:), I whammed my knee cap right smack on the Jeep door. It's still smarting quite a bit! Oh well, in we went for snow cream materials, and then we were back on the road to Chetola. Said snow cream was made and devoured (even though it was a bit soupy), and we eventually retired for the evening.

Sunday was skii day for the others, but Jordan and I had planned to ice skate instead. We ended up spending more time watching other skiiers and snowboarders while sipping cappuccino, and decided not to skate since it was decidedly warmer on the observation deck where there was no wind. After lunch at the ski resort, we hopped over to Kilwin's for some chocolate for the ride home. Sadly, we were then back on the road.

It was a fantastic weekend, and I cannot wait for another! Here are just a handful of pics from our sledding adventures. I've been wanting to shoot some snow pics for ages!

Great flying snow pic with Christina & Jeffrey!