The Great Escape

My parents were gracious enough to sit on our urchins for the weekend while we escaped to Asheville to have a belated 10th anniversary celebration/last hooray before baby.


Since our last childless getaway was nearly 2 years ago (right before Matthew's birth), I'd have been perfectly happy at the Super 8.


Instead, however, we stayed at this wonderful B&B, blocks away from bustlin' downtown.



There was an inviting front porch to savor afternoon drinks or early morning coffee.

There were beautiful fountains scattered amongst the gardens not to mention a most fabulous breakfast, even if it wasn't served until 9 am (in my life with small children, that's snack time!).

It was so enjoyable to not have to have a plan. The only item on the to-do list was to find a pair of dress shoes for Doug's hard to fit feet which we managed to accomplish in one stop.

I can't remember when I've enjoyed being outdoors in August so much. There was no humidity and the high was about 80; it was perfect. We wandered about town, perusing interesting shops, dining outdoors, and most of all, people watching.

There were numerous dogs in strollers, and even one older lady sporting a visor printed, "Mulligan's Mother" with a large, furry white dog in tow. We got to see a man dressed as a nun riding an extrordinarily tall bicycle. We watched an interesting juggler who tossed knives and flaming torches. We talked with random strangers, and exchanged reviews of restaurants and happenings.

A lady in a fancy children's shop tried to push a kangaroo care shirt in which small babies, especially preemies, are worn inside the mother's shirt for the benefits of skin-to-skin contact. I'm sure this is a helpful practice (particularly with preemies), but I had to laugh at the thought of the boys' reaction. I could just see them saying, "Why are you stickin' the baby in your shirt, Momma?"

And no visit is complete without a stop at Mast General Store. I had to have a Cheerwine and we got candy for the boys. Andrew & Stephen were thrilled with their whistle pops. Matthew got a twisty lollipop which he insisted on holding by the top and licking the stick.

We tried numerous times to show him the correct way of holding & licking, but he would shout, "no" and go back to his warped way of "eating."

Matthew was especially taken with Papa, and it doesn't appear that anyone really missed us....hmmm, maybe we should take advantage of this?!