Ladies' Weekend

What better way to celebrate Labor Day weekend than to take a break from anything that involves labor and stress? That was exactly my goal when I planned a trip to North Carolina with three of my close friends from Austin months ago. Granted, since that time, I've found myself remarkably devoid of all things stressful or laborious, but I still appreciated the weekend away! And I know my friends, who are in the middle of the busy season at their work, loved the relaxation and beautiful setting (not to mention that their Blackberries hardly got reception in the mountains!)

We set out from Austin on an early morning flight, having given ourselves plenty of time, but arrived at the airport to the longest security line that any of us had ever seen. Apparently, one of the two main security checkpoints was not able to raise their gate that morning, and therefore we all had to suffer. Not cool at 6:00 a.m.! After over an hour in line, we ran to our gate and narrowly made our flight. Once on board, we relaxed and settled in for a great weekend to come.

First stop in Asheville was the Biltmore Estate, built by wealthy George Vanderbilt and known as the largest residence in the United States. We toured through the massive house, marveled at the gardens and drove through acres upon acres of land as we exited.

The girls on their inaugural visit to the Biltmore



Picturesque gardens



After a quick stop at 12 Bones for a late lunch, we set out for Cashiers, final destination: Mountaintop. Other than some mild confusion courtesy of my bad sense of direction and a touch of car sickness as we wound around the mountain roads, the drive was very entertaining. We arrived and headed straight to dinner at the club, where we were seated and immediately served complimentary cocktails, under the guise that this was 'Ladies' Weekend.' While this was a very sweet gesture, clearly the male bartender mistook us for a bunch of girly girls and made some awful Midori drinks. Each of us politely took turns pouring most of our drinks out under the table (we were outside) when no one was looking! We're pretty sure that there is now florescent green grass growing in those spots...

The following day, we awoke with the excitement that only the start of college football season can bring! Neither Florida nor Texas played particularly well, but school colors were donned, cheering commenced, beers were consumed and everyone walked away with a victory. Not a bad day!

Day three of our vacation meant that it was time to get off of our butts and explore nature. How could we resist when we were in such a beautiful setting? We set out for Yellow Mountain, the highest peak around from what we were told. We drove down a suspiciously narrow road that we were not sure we were supposed to be driving on, parked and began our hike. It was breath taking from the top and we all made it back in one piece. Success!

Up we go



View from the top of the Ranger's lookout



Taking a breather...from these pictures, I was really glowing this day



As a reward for exerting ourselves physically, we went out to dinner at lovely restaurant down the mountain. The food was good and the company was of course second to none, but the service left a lot to be desired. Perhaps the waiter was intimidated by four loud, outspoken girls, but he certainly didn't go out of his way to enhance our dining experience. In fact, he hardly even asked us for our order! Very strange behavior for someone who is working for tips, don't you think? After dinner, we headed home and made a desperate attempt to secure some dessert from the club, to no avail. We begged both the guard at the front gate and the valet guys for cookies, and we're 99% sure that they all thought we were smoking crack. It made our night!

Prom picture before heading to dinner



Our last full day of our North Carolina vacation was full of activity. We kicked things off with some exercise up and down the mountain hills (impressed?) and then set out for a boat ride at the lake club. The weather could not have been more beautiful and the scenery was amazing. Common theme, I know!

Morning cocktails on the boat



Self portrait



Natural beauty abounds



We spent our last night thanking our hosts (my parents) by cooking dinner for them. What else would we make but a Tex Mex fiesta? Allison manned the grill, Emy was on queso duty and Mandy ran point on everything else (especially the clean-up detail). Dinner was delicious, but paled in comparison to the gorgeous sunset afterward. All in all, the trip was a resounding success, and we all returned to Austin rested and happy, albeit in the middle of Tropical Storm Hermine. It was a great Ladies' Weekend indeed!

Giant pumpkin patch



The chefs



The hosts



Is this even real?