Mountain Getaway

I haven't updated my blog in forever, in part due to being busy and in part due to feeling like I have nothing interesting to say.

Mike and I just got back from a wonderful getaway in North Carolina. I had been wanting to try out a bed and breakfast, so I found one with good reviews and we booked a two-night stay. It was a fantastic experience! We stayed at the Oak Hill on Love Lane Bed & Breakfast in Waynesville, NC. The innkeepers - Shell and Deb - made us feel like old friends from the moment we walked in the door. The house had an understated elegance to it and was beautifully appointed. It was a Victorian house, but definitely not "frou-frou, stuffy, antiquey" feeling.

One of the amenties was the luxury linens and latex mattresses on the bed. My parents have them on a couple beds in their house and they are amazing. Incredibly comfortable and supportive. Oh, and crazy expensive. Something to save your pennies for!

The first afternoon we were there we explored the little town of Waynesville. The downtown area was small and quaint, but had some fun little shops to visit. Our first purchase was a new hat for each of us, because it was COLD. We knew it was going to be chilly, but weren't expecting the vast temperature difference we encountered. We ate dinner at a restaurant called Sweet Onion and it was delicious. I had sunburst trout and Mike had fried chicken. I love trout and it's about the only fish I will eat, so I usually take advantage when I see it on a menu.

Wednesday morning we went downstairs to a breakfast fit for a king (it was a communal breakfast with others staying at the house). I ate about 4x what I normally eat for breakfast; it was that good. Deb made each of us fruit cups with creme anglaise sauce, followed by the main course - bread pain perdu. In English, it translated to pumpkin bread pudding with a pecan praline topping, finished with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

--I'll wait while you get a napkin to wipe up the drool--



It was fantastic!! Seriously one of the best breakfasts I've ever had. To top it all off, we also each received a cinnamon muffin to go.

Mike and I decided to explore Asheville, and started off by taking a trolley tour. There are two trolley outfits in town - the red-painted trolleys and the white-painted trolleys. The white trolleys are the original outfit and go more places, so we chose that option.

(Funny side story: we told my mom about the trolley at lunch today, except didn't clarify well and simply said, "We took the white trolley." The horrified look on her face was priceless!)

Anyway, the trolley tour was money well spent. It went all over downtown Asheville and the neighborhoods immediately surrounding it, and provided a great overview of the area. It was really interesting and informative.

The trolley tour took about 2 hours, and ended a little before 2:30. We thought that was perfect timing -- figuring we would head downtown for lunch and not have a long wait for a popular spot - Tupelo Honey Cafe. I was really looking forward to eating there.

We were so wrong. The wait at 2:30 p.m. was 1.5 hours minimum. I was incredibly disappointed, but thought we'd try a place Shell recommended instead. That wait was also 1.5 hours. It became obvious very quickly that anywhere we went was going to have a huge wait.

And then I had a meltdown.

No, literally, a meltdown. It was epic and in hindsight very embarrassing. I have a very definite line between "hungry, rational Monica" and "ravenous, completely irrational Monica." I am very aware of this and most of the time I can see it coming and prevent it. Wednesday was not one of those days. After our huge breakfast, it hit me out of nowhere. I went from fine to meltdown in about 2.5 seconds.

We ended up eating at Subway. I know. We're in a city known for food and we end up at the second crappiest sub place. I may or may not have pouted my way through my sandwich.

After lunch (and regaining rational thinking and apologizing profusely to my poor husband), we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. We stopped at a yummy chocolate shop, and went in an out multiple other shops. We also spent a few minutes down at the historic Biltmore Village, which now has mostly high-end chain shops.

We wanted to try a restaurant in Biltmore Village for dinner, but couldn't get a reservation. It didn't really occur to me that we would have a hard time getting a reservation -- but then again, I wasn't thinking about it being the holiday season. All's well that ends well, though. We were eager to try another restaurant in Waynesville that wasn't open Tuesday evening, so we made a reservation there instead. The restaurant was called the Frog's Leap Public House, and it was fabulous. We both ordered the grilled meatloaf with smoked mac and cheese. I had never had grilled meatloaf before, but it was really good. Definitely something for my dad to try on his new Green Egg!

This morning we enjoyed another yummy breakfast made by Deb before checking out to head home. Santa finally delivered my mom's Christmas present, so we drove through Greenville on the way home to drop it off. We met my mom at Cracker Barrel for lunch. I've only eaten at a Cracker Barrel a couple of times, but went with my Grandma back in October and got these marinated grilled chicken tenders that were fantastic. Very mild and tasty. They are literally called "grilled chicken tenders" on the menu and I highly recommend them.

All in all, we had a great few days of relaxation and many meals of excellent food. I am so very thankful that my IBS seems to be staying in remission and that I am able to enjoy foods that even 6 months ago I wouldn't have been able to touch. Grilled meatloaf? Bread pudding for breakfast? I think food becomes even more delicious when you can eat it an truly enjoy it, not worrying (too much) that you'll be running off to the bathroom in 5 minutes.