Winter Comes Early (But Not Softly) To Asheville

The week before Christmas, Asheville was buried under a foot and a half of snow. The snowfall was nice for the first couple of hours, but it became clear very quickly that this was no ordinary snow. Before long, the roads, cars, and my parking lot were covered in thick, unrelenting snow and no matter how many times I went out to scrape the walk and put salt down, it wasn’t enough. Of course, it had to snow on a Friday when most guests are checking in, all the more important to keep driveways and walkways clear. I must have shoveled the walk at least 6 times in a six hour period. Below is a photo as the snow was falling. The first was taken about 3 hours into the storm, before everything was covered in deep snow. The second was taken as it started to get dark outside. If you look closely, you can see the snow falling in the photo.

In South Asheville, we were lucky because we did not lose power to the Inn as some of the B&Bs in the downtown area did and all but one guest made it safely. We even had a couple traveling from Florida to Ohio who was able to get off the interstate after sitting for several hours and they made it to the Inn for one night.

It turned out to be a fun time. Everyone snuggled in for the evening to watch movies and play games. I made some triple fudge brownies for snacks and we made the best of the situation. In the morning, those who had to leave shoveled their cars out and were able to get on their way. I was able to get my car out long enough to make a grocery store run. The guests in the Sycamore Suite had their two daughters with them and they made a couple of snowmen down on the lower grass lot of the property. That’s Jenny running in between the snowmen.

After the first day, the roads were getting cleared, but the parking lot at the Inn became an ice skating rink. The constant driving had packed down the snow and it became a thick sheet of ice. Thank goodness I went to the grocery store on Saturday because my car became snowed in for 2 more days until I could chip enough ice out from under the wheels to get out.

As of New Years Day there are still patches of snow and ice around the property and in the parking lot. The only casualty to the Inn was the collapse of the roof of the gazebo down on the lower patio. The weight of the snow caused the wood beams (or arms) to collapse in. A couple of the arms broke off, but after looking at the damage, I think I may be able to replace the broken arms and get the canvas back up. I remain optimistic as a New Year’s Resolution.