On Friday Leah and I stayed the night in Elkin, NC. On Saturday we were in a wedding, and it was the first wedding I’ve ever been a part of, in fact, besides my own. And the wedding went off without a hitch (well, I guess it went off with just one—ha!). Then on Sunday we woke up to find that we were snowed-in, which led to another fun adventure.

We had suspicions on Saturday that we wouldn’t make it out of Elkin later. The news had been talking about the big storm for almost a week, and all the predictions came true. Greensboro got over a foot of snow, and though I didn’t measure in Elkin, it seemed more. The snow started to come down when we left the wedding at about 10:00 pm, and though a lot of people hit the roads, we decided help put things away and do our groomsmenly and bridesmaidly duties. And to stay safe and not to push it. And you know what? Sunday turned into the best day I’ve ever spent in a hotel, and for the following reasons:

1. The bride and groom were awesome. They’re our best friends in Greensboro, and they were in the hotel with us. So were all of the bride’s family, and they proved to be a fun and quirky bunch. Every visit to the lobby where we set up shop was a fabulous party.

   

   What greets you immediately int he hotel lobby

2. The hotel took Christmas decorations VERY seriously. This is not an exaggeration: they actually had 88 Christmas trees. Plus I don’t even know how many nutcrackers, elves, sleighs, wrapped boxes, wreaths, boughs of holly, etc. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it made for a cozy environment.
3. There was a lot of extra wine and beer from the wedding, which seemed to put a lot of people into good moods.
4. There were a lot of board games that the married couple brought. Even strangers were playing them. Side note: the bride’s 91 year-old grandmother aced me in Bananagrams—she is one smart (and cutthroat) cookie.
5. We didn’t have to go anywhere. It was a pretty bad whiteout for most of Sunday, and every time I peered through the windows I got happier and happier that I was inside.

   

   Another hotel Christmas tree —  and me!

6. I got in some serious writing time.
7. It’s fun to live in a hotel.

So Leah and I spent three nights in Elkin, and on Sunday we ate free hotel breakfast, free hotel lunch, and free hotel dinner. The rest was fun hotel party, and I’ve never been in an environment quite like it. It also probably helps that a lot of the people stuck in the hotel were there for a wedding, instead of, you know, being there because they had signed up to be hotel caretakers and were now going insane. Thus The Shining this was not. Now we’re back, safe and sound, after a slow drive where I counted eleven cars off the side of the road and two semis. So we made the right decision to stay.

Here’s to the next “Snowpocalypse,” and more on the fun wedding coming soon!

–Jeff and Leah