It had been since Cailee was just a few months old that we had last made the trip to Asheville to see Aunt Beth – it was long overdue and we were, of course, anxious for her to meet lil Connor. We decided to break up the drive there Friday night – even though its only 3 and 1/2 hours – in order to make the most of our two days.

I made the mistake of reserving the room through hotwire in Hickory and blindly selected what I thought was going to be a good deal (ie. nice hotel for cheap price) – however, we got a bit more (or less) than we bargained for. This particular establishment turned out to the be the pitstop for the road construction crews, truckers and the likes + all the “lady” friends that they attract. We were very close to finding an alternative, noticing the clientele wasn’t exactly kid friendly the minute we pulled in, but decided, ultimately, to brave it. Now, had we seen the bloody handprint on the bathroom door Friday night – there would have been no decision, we would have left. Unfortunately, that souvenir was not noticed til just before checkout.

On a good note, we actually had a good night’s sleep with the two kids in the room (I was a little nervous about how that might work) and got to Asheville by 11:30 Saturday morning. Connor slept from 10:30 til 5:30 and then til 9 and Cailee slept from 10:30 til about 9 – so we all got to sleep in – even amidst the craziness.

It was great seeing Beth, her and Connor clicked right away and Cailee loved seeing her Aunt Beth, Annie (Beth’s dog), the park right down the street (check out her mad basketball skills), and the new toy store, within walking distance of where we were staying (*funny story there – we went to the toy store during the day, then that night, Cailee decided she wanted to walk again – it was about dusk, she was in her pj’s and no shoes – but her and I walked all the way back to the toy store – it was probably a good half mile – then when we got back, she wanted Daddy to take her again – but this time it was closed, so they got ice cream and danced at an outdoor music concert. It was fun, but its a good thing we don’t have a toy store that close – then again, maybe we wouldn’t need a playroom – she could just play with their toys).

JJ and I thoroughly enjoyed the change of scenery, the lack of humidity and the quietness of the cicada-less woods, and of course, catching up with Beth on all the happenin’s of Asheville.

PS. Beth, I have a bunch more photos, you can see them here