It was Boone or bust! Sam and I took our longest road trip ever last week to Boone, NC. All in all it actually went pretty well, surprisingly enough! Thank God for Chick “Delay” and the Golden Arches along 85! It was a long six hour drive to get to there, for sure. Known as the High Country in northwestern NC, Boone is perched in the Appalachian Mountains on the fringe of the Blue Ridge Parkway. As we drove into town, we kept driving up and up and up into the mountains to the outdoorsy college town named for Daniel Boone.
We went to visit a very old and dear friend of mine, Jessica, and her house full of three boys, four if you count her husband. But who’s counting? We’ve been friends for twenty years now, downright wild when you stop and think about it, so I try not to do so.
While we were in the area, we also set out to experience the infamous Tweetsie Railroad, a huge Wild West amusement park with a historic steam engine, carnival rides galore, “live” cowboys and Indians acting out skits, as well as a ski lift and reliable (!) buses to get around. Check it out for yourself at www.Tweetsie.com. I’ll be honest — I really don’t like amusement parks at all. Tweetsie, though, was amazing and well worth the price of admission, even for me.
You name it Sam and I rode it — the Tweetsie Tornado, the Mouse Mine train, the boat ride, the airplane ride, driving a toy Cadillac, riding the ski lift, etc. And of course he got his face painted, pirate style. C’mon, the Wild West could use a pirate or two to spice things up between the predictable cowboys and Indians. Plus there was tons of rides, shops and food that we never got a chance to check out.
Next time we’ll definitely hit the ferris wheel, the merry-go-round, and hit a magic show. Beware – if you do decide to make the trek, remember that they close for the winter right after their Halloween “Ghost Ride” extravaganza. And let me know, I may want to hitch a ride – Sam too.
LibbY