Girls' Day Out

Today was Girls' Day Out with cousin Sally and friend Bev.

First stop: Boone (NC), for the relocated "Over Yonder" restaurant. I miss its previous location in Valle Crucis: an old wooden house whose cozy rooms made for an intimate dining experience, especially if you scored a seating near the fireplace! But the debris piles and washed out bridges left by Hurricane Helene resulted in a drastic drop in visitors to Valle Crucis, causing serious financial impact to Over Yonder ... as is the case with so many businesses all over the High Country. Relocating to Boone, a much larger town that attracts many more tourists year round and is a college (Appalachian State University) town to boot, was the logical financial decision. The new location has its charms; it's somewhat reminiscent of a ski lodge. And the food is great: very imaginative culinary creations made for some hard choices.

Lunch having been finished, we did make the trip back to Valle Crucis, whose main attraction is and has been since 1882, the Mast General Store. Its old post office still functions as a post office and you can buy a cup of coffee for a nickel. For each of us it was the first trip post-Helene.

The other two did some Christmas shopping; I, meanwhile, enjoyed poking around; seems like I can always find something charming or curious there! The candy selection is amazing; it's surprising to find that candy from the Penny Candy days is still made, and you can find those Penny Candies and much more, at Mast.

I pass on the candy (never have been much into sweets) but cannot resist the socks. My sock drawer is full almost to bursting with socks, most of which were purchased at Mast General Store.

Eventually we tore ourselves away, in order to make it to the Snowy Mountain Christmas Shop in Newland before it closed for the day. 

It strikes me, as I recount today's activity, that certain "touristy" businesses are just as attractive to locals as to visitors. Sally and Bev are lifelong residents of Western Carolina; I have visited the area since I was a little girl, and moved here five years ago. I can be at any of a number of tourist attractions - the aforementioned Mast General and Christmas store, along with Biltmore Estate, Grandfather Mountain, the Blue Ridge Parkway, to name but a few - in an hour or less, yet I never tire of visiting these places.