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	Sit outside to enjoy the scrumptious fare at the historic Village Café.


	The easy walking trail along Bass Lake lies within a half mile of downtown Blowing Rock, but it also has a large parking lot so you can drive there if you prefer.

Blowing Rock, North Carolina
This pretty town perched on the rim of the Blue Ridge Parkway seems so ideal that you'll never want to leave. "I ended up moving to Blowing Rock because I fell in love with it on a girls' vacation," an employee says to us as we check in to the Meadowbrook Inn. My friends and I found out just what she means.

Course, spending all the time we wanted shopping was a high priority. Blowing Rock offered more than we could get to in a couple of days. We wandered in and out of dress shops, jewelry stores, and Neaco, which features its own line of greeting cards and funky home decor. We then perused The Bob Timberlake Gallery for something for our husbands. We took a trip to France at de Provence et d'ailleurs.

You don't have to work out like a bodybuilder to get outdoors here, so we strolled down to the Bass Lake walking trail for a 2-mile hike. Another day we explored bits of the 26 miles of unpaved carriage paths that traverse forests at the National Park Service's Moses H. Cone Memorial Park.

Our favorite meal was a lunch of salads and fresh-baked breads in the shady garden at The Village Café. After our facials at Westglow Resort & Spa, we filled a booth at local favorite Storie Street Grille, where we shared toasted ravioli and shrimp scampi.

On our last night, we ended up back in our hotel room with snacks from the Blowing Rock Market & Wine Shop, telling stories and laughing till long after our teenagers had gone to bed back home. Do you think we could just stick around and live here too?

MOUNTAIN HAVEN: Blowing Rock offers beautiful views, relaxing atmosphere, great shopping

Constance E. Richards

ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES

September 16, 2007

BLOWING ROCK - A weekend in the mountain town of Blowing Rock means plenty of fresh air, clear views and mountain trails, but chances are, you'll be plenty distracted with the abundant shopping, dining, festivals and other diversions found in this charming community

Long a refuge from the heat of the lowlands to the south, Blowing Rock has been the summer home for countless families since the early 1900s. The beautiful mountain surroundings, leisurely pace of a downtown flanked by stone churches, and vacation homes large and small have enticed summer visitors equally from the north.

Today, there is an urgency about the town on summer weekends. The energy of old friends meeting and greeting, tourists seeking a bit of sedate hedonism after drinking in the glorious nature of the Blue Ridge, and frequent visitors revving up for the new shopping season - all migrate to Main Street.

Stylish shops

Boutiques aplenty inspire fashionistas of all ages. Libba's, a smart shop for colorful women's clothing and exclusive Creed fragrances, even welcomes lapdogs. Almost Rodeo Drive, a Blowing Rock staple, serves both men and women with attractive summer resort styles for dress and casual.

Southmarke, a self-contained shopping village of sorts with brick walkways and a dozen white-clapboard shops, caters to the whims of well-dressed gents, costume jewelry lovers, and shoe fanatics. There's even a doggie boutique and bakery.

Gift shops seem to appear every other step - many in converted old, two-story homes - offering everything from indigenous North Carolina gems and jewels to candles, books, stationery and crafts.

Regional artistry is well represented with Main Street Crafts Co-op and Gallery. Exhibiting the work of 16 local artists, the gallery showcases turned wood bowls, pottery, stained glass, beadwork, paintings, and ceramics. Beautiful glass craft, handmade jewelry, contemporary wood furniture and accents, lamps, and other inspired handcrafts twinkle in the halogen glow of IAGO.

Combination interior design/antique shops cater to second-home owners who must outfit yet another season. Those who prefer their designs name brand, will enjoy the Bob Timberlake Gallery that subscribes to everything from buttery leather sofas to luggage, prints and paintings to clothing with the Timberlake name emblazoned.

Outdoor outfitters with innovative high-tech fabrics; a gourmet kitchen store; a linen shop specializing in authentic French provincial fabrics; the very funky Neaco design, interiors and gift store; and numerous other specialty storefronts give Blowing Rock a reputation as a shopper's paradise.