Having had such a good time in New York City, we decided to do another together-trip. This time, we headed for the Blue Ridge Mountains near Meg.
Before she and Steve had their house, when we visited we often stayed at the Cabins at Lazy Acres. For this trip, we took over both cabins and the lodge. Phyllis took one cabin. Russ, Stela, and I took the other. Pam and Meg took the lodge along with two of their childhood friends, Beth and Val.
Russ, Stela, and I needed two days to get there. We had a nice road trip. Traffic was heavy, of course, but no bad backups happened and we spent the night in Pembroke NC. It is a University town with about 5 BBQ restaurants. We ate outside at Papa Bill's. Watch the video on the website for a laugh or two. It is drive-up, walk-up, and carry-out only. There were 6 drive-up windows and cars lined up at all of them.
The picnic tables called to us and were a nice break from being in the car. There was a screened-in room where walk-ups, like us could get into air conditioning. We preferred the outdoor table, where Stela could be with us. Southern BBQ should always be like that!
Once in Lexington, we gathered mostly in the kitchen of the lodge. It is beautiful, as are all of the rooms. Stela was allowed on the porch, gated so she had the run of it without possibility of running too far away.
We all brought food and wine. Abundance was an understatement. We laughed and cried and ate and ate and ate.
Our final evening was filled with more food and laughter, many photos, and a soul-calming sunset. A leisurely brunch and short visit with our host Amanda, we were each back to our realities . . . buoyed by being together for a time!
