a document of days

After reluctantly vacating the boulders, we stopped by the hotel, got Salinger settled, cleaned up a bit and headed to Blowing Rock, NC, to have dinner at Canyons. Until 2001, when the restaurant changed hands, Canyons was known as The Emporium. Ryan worked at the Emporium for three years while he was studying at App State.

The forty-five minute wait for an outside table was well worth it. We were seated just as the sun was setting.


During our entire dinner, I barely took my eyes off of the view. Each morning when Ryan would arrive to prep the kitchen, he would have the opportunity to sit out on the deck and watch the sun rise over the mountains. I couldn't help but to start digging in my heals, dreading the moment when we would have to return to DC.

But I didn't dwell.

Instead, I soaked up every minute of it, hoping I could make the memory last until the day we relocated to somewhere so beautiful.

Spending time in downtown Boone the following day solidfied my love for the town. The downtown area is tiny, consisting of one main street that splits the University campus and a hillside community with a spectacular view. After vacating the Coffey Break Apts, Ryan moved into a cute little house in the neighborhood just above the main street of Boone. He was within walking distance of the downtown shops and restaurants, the town green, a state park, and the University campus. We spent the morning touring campus, shopping, and simply enjoying our last day in the mountains. That afternoon we set out again. This time, our destination was the North Carolina coast.