My Worst Traveling Experience to Boone, NC

It was a brisk Black Friday morning a few years ago. The weather had decided to be daunting and we were preparing to brave the chilly winter conditions in the mountains of Boone, NC. Our family had a tradition of going to the mountains of Boone, NC every Black Friday to shop and find the perfect Christmas tree for the holidays. The morning began like every other Black Friday morning in years past, but what would develop would create memories that would last a lifetime.

We began our day by eating at the Cracker Barrel at 6 am. After we had eaten and gained strength for the drive to the mountains, my dad and grandpa went to Triangle Rent-A-Car to pick up our SUV we had rented (there were 8 of us). However, when my dad and grandpa returned to the house with the vehicle, it was not an SUV but rather the ugliest color green 15 passenger van I had ever seen. Triangle had botched our reservation and had given us this van in lieu of the SUV. We appropriately named it the "Booger Bus" and decided to make our way up the mountain.

As we reached our first shopping destination, Shoppes on the Parkway in Blowing Rock, NC, we were greeted with myriads upon myriads of eager consumers hoping to find the best deals. There were so many people at this outlet center that we could not find a place to park. After circling the lot for 20 minutes, we found a coveted area in the grass to settle this gigantic van of ours. As we parked, I realized I had left my coat and toboggan at home. Just as I was making this realization, someone in the van yelled out, "Look everybody! It's snowing!" I couldn't believe I was about to spend two hours weaving in and out of stores without my coat and toboggan. I reluctantly left the van and proceeded to endure the onslaught of snow and wind.

As the two hours ended, lunchtime approached and we made haste to the famous (in my mind) double-decker Wendy's in Boone, NC. As we entered the restaurant, I could not wait to get my hands on the warm chili that always seemed to bless my soul. But, of course, luck had dealt me a cruel hand this day, and they were all out of chili for the day. I settled with a Spicy Chicken combo and enjoyed my meal nonetheless.

After lunch, we scurried out of the busy restaurant and made our way to finding the perfect Christmas tree. My family has a tradition of finding a new place every year to get a Christmas tree - this year proved to be no different. Only this particular year, we got lost trying to find a new place. That's right, lost. For two hours we drove around the backwoods of Boone, NC, attempting to find a road that looked familiar. Oddly enough, we stumbled upon a nice Christmas tree farm and purchased a beautiful Christmas tree. As we were purchasing the tree, my cousin fell in love with a little cat named Peaches in the gift shop. She just had to have it, so my uncle purchased it for her. Thus, we had a new addition to the van - a fuzzy cat. Did I forget to mention I am highly allergic to cats?

By this time it had begun to get dark and snow was still falling to the ground. After receiving directions back to Boone, we decided it was time to eat supper. While we were eating, we noticed snow falling down harder and harder. Before long a blizzard had broken out in the city of Boone. Frightful that we might not make it down the mountain towards home, we scarfed down our meals and hurried out the door. And, as this story has unfolded, luck continued to deal me a cruel hand. We got stuck in Blowing Rock (just outside of Boone) trying to make it down the mountain. The roads were too slippery and we had to wait until a crew came to clean and salt the roads.

Finally, we arrived home at 1 a.m., exhausted from the trip. We all agreed that this trip was the worst traveling trip we had encountered as a family. Looking back on this trip now (and all the great memories from it), I have a few simple suggestions to keep this from happening to you:

1) Be sure to check your reservations for car rentals beforehand, lest you get a silly green bus like we did.
2) Be sure to double-check and bring all necessary clothing on trips, lest you wind up freezing all day long.
3) Be sure you know where you are going before you go shopping for something, lest you wind up lost in the backwoods of an unfamiliar place.
4) Finally, be sure to check the weather, lest you get caught in a blizzard with no way home.

Follow these tips to ensure you have the best traveling experience possible!