Awake by 0500, I spent a few hours teleworking in the room. I'd asked the girls to get up by 0700 but they slept right past that time. Eventually, I tried to bother them into getting up and they were not happy about being awakened "early". Instead, they fussed at me a good bit as we packed the car and then Brenna complained that she "couldn’t sleep because Dad was snoring". Finally (0800), we got on the road and drove a short distance to the south on US-11, where we stopped for a meal at Sisters Café in Marion. The restaurant had been recommended by Mollie’s friend (Annabelle) and was supposed to be really good. We ended up staying there for an hour (done at 0910) and had great food (Tot Waffle, French Toast, chicken sandwich, gourmet coffee, excellent grits). Before leaving (0920), I picked up some items (travel journal for Mollie and regular journal for Brenna) from the bookstore at the restaurant. After that, we drove south on I-81. We initially talked a lot about family and plans for December. Later, though, we ended up talking more about our cousins because it sounded like most people had plans for the whole day. Once in Tennessee, I got on I-26 and we reached Asheville by 1130. We stopped first at the bed & breakfast (The Albemarle) where Bonnie and Kathy were. Luckily, we (me and Mollie) managed to catch them before their departure for the Biltmore and visited for about 45 minutes. Brenna, who’d failed to get ready at our hotel room in the morning, initially stayed in the car. Eventually, though, I got "permission" for her to get cleaned up in one of the bathrooms there (this made her happy). Brenna later joined me and Mollie and we visited with the extended family. The girls had fun with little Cousin Robert (we also saw Ellen a bit later). Before leaving, I dropped off several bottles of Wilson Creek for everyone's enjoyment later. At 1220, we departed (following Tim) and drove to the New Belgium Brewery on the other side of Asheville. While there, we met up with some more of the cousins - it was great to see such a happy, rowdy group! I bought some beers/seltzers for my daughters and cousins (1250) - everyone enjoyed their drinks. At 1310, I got some pizza for the group and we stayed with our extended family until about 1430. After that, we drove a short distance to our hotel (Best Western) and checked in. The room we initially were given had not been cleaned - fortunately, we were assigned a new room quickly. For the next few hours, Mollie did homework, I teleworked and Brenna took a nap. I gave Mollie a lot of items I’d brought from home so she could pack them in her bags. At 1715, we left the hotel and drove to a nearby Target because Brenna wanted to try to find a new dress and Mollie wanted to find some earrings. After they’d been inside for about 30 minutes (successful shopping trip), they rejoined me at the car and we drove into downtown Asheville for dinner at the Wicked Weed (1815). Almost all the cousins were there and we had a nice time hanging out and trying the local drinks. At about 1945, we said goodbye to everyone else and drove to The Albermarle. While waiting for Bonnie to return from the Biltmore, we got to see Trish and Terry, (cousin) Erin, Meghan and Chad, Leo, Mary, Sean and Shannon. With the latter four, we caught up on a lot of news and had fun. After 2100 (Bonnie’s expected arrival time), Brenna initiated a fun card game with all of our younger cousins and it was a big hit. Just after 2200, the entire family (including Katie Bell) descended on the common area and there may have been 20+ people chatting, laughing and playing. When she arrived, Bonnie looked quite tired but told me she was ecstatic after being able to fulfill one of her lifelong dreams (of seeing the Christmas Town at the Biltmore). The family had a birthday cake for Meghan and we all celebrated with her. We also learned (surprise!) that she was expecting her second baby. By that point, I was extremely tired but agreed (at my daughters’ insistence) in staying later. One of the most surprising moments of the whole night was when we saw Elizabeth, who greeted me enthusiastically. By 2300, we finally left The Albemarle and returned to the Best Western. Brenna and Mollie cleaned up and organized while I wrapped up my telework day. Before settling down for the night, I read a book I'd brought. After a long, busy, fun-filled day, we were all asleep by midnight. Bring on the turkey!
