Hawksdene House

Scott's 48th birthday trip started at 3am Thursday morning, March 3rd. I threw a bunch of things in an embarrassingly large bag, packed Samantha and sent a few final work e-mails before heading out the door. The flight was easy and got us there in just over an hour. While caravaning down the highway we made the decision to stop in Sylva for lunch, the last town before Andrews, North Carolina. We chose to eat at a surprisingly good restaurant called Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company. After lunch we stopped for "supplies" at Papou's Wine Shop and ABC. Roughly forty-five minutes later and now fit for fourteen people and four days at a mountain retreat we arrived at the Hawksdene House.

Greeting us upon arrival were Gracie the fearless mut, Heffner the almost famous ottoman guarding Yorkie and our fabulous hosts, Phil Rampy and Rob Scheiwiller. The adventure began as we unpacked the cars and got settled into our long weekend nestled warmly in the lap of luxury with good friends to keep us company.

I would like to refer to myself as a domestic goddess in the kitchen but sadly, that would be more than a slight exaggeration. I would not however be embellishing if I described Phil and Rob as the domestic gods of their kitchen. Words do not do them justice. In and out of the kitchen these two men are simply amazing. Their warm reception of our guests, their attention to every detail and a weekend full of their legendary culinary creations only begin to account for the many reasons we cannot wait to return.

Even while the weather was wet and cold, our weekend was full of activities like hikes to the waterfall, walks around town with the dogs, Backgammon, Scrabble, Catch Phrase and the 1st Annual Birthday Table Tennis Open. Most of all it was filled with fellowship and celebration. Scott and I will forever cherish the memories of this trip which far exceeded our expectations thanks to the friends that joined us and the two that hosted us there.

To find more information on the Hawksdene House, please visit: http://hawkesdene.com/

Location:Andrews, North Carolina