With the start of school and several family birthdays, the celebration of our 20th anniversary had to wait a few weeks. That wait ended this past weekend when Erik and I traveled to the northwestern-most corner of North Carolina for a weekend trip.
Here are some photos from our trip to West Jefferson and the surrounding areas:
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| Enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Black Jack Restaurant. Really great hamburgers! |
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| I wish I could remember the name of the beer -- a double IPA, I think. |
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| Very casual - and we enjoyed a long conversation with the owner who is originally from Romania. |
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| After lunch, we found the first of two "Church of the Frescoes": St Mary's Episcopal Church. These frescoes were painted by Ben Long and are quite famous in NC and beyond. |
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| The interior of the church. I wish I could convey the beauty of this small intimate church. The interior is entirely covered in wood and the scent of incense has deeply-penetrated this wood. Very simple, but truly beautiful. |
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| A small statue of Mary. |
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The central fresco behind the altar.
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| The next morning we visited the West Jefferson Farmer's Market to purchase the makings for our dinner. Eggplant, tomatoes, and steak. We also picked up some lovely goat cheese and crisp apples. |
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| I really wanted a pie, but we resisted. |
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| Afterwards we took a trip to the Ashe Cheese Factory. These cows (there are three) are the milk containers for the factory. The local high school shop class added the cow heads and legs as a class project. |
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| It rained. See that driveway going up the mountain just beyond the bridge? Yea, that is the driveway to the cabin. We had to leave the car on the far side of the bridge and tiptoe across the bridge. Thankfully, the water receeded quickly and we had no trouble getting over the bridge later in the day. |
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| A vist to the New River Winery (good wines!!) provided unexpected entertainment. This local band, The Worthless Son-in-Laws, fought off the yellow jackets while giving us a fun show. And shouldn't it be "The Worthless SonS-in-Law"? |
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| What a lovely ramshackle set of buildings. |
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| West Jefferson doesn't let a fire hydrant go un-decorated. |
