Photo A Day #173 Marshall, NC

So last time I did a road trip post, we were fleeing the politics of Virginia through the Smokey Mountains to Marshall NC. We had a very good reason for stopping in this tiny town. We found it in a book. Not just any book, mind you. This book was in our B+B in Newport Rhode Island. It was a book about B+B's that have resident cats. First, let me defend myself. I thought that it would be nice to have some kitty cuddles as I was missing mine back at home quite a bit by this stage. I also thought it would be fun to find accommodation through a b-o-o-k. Right? We ended up here >

 

This is the view from the porch. The house was designed by the Vanderbilt architect and sat proudly above the town, I'd love to have seen it in it's heyday!

Above you have one of the resident cats. Oh yes, there was more than one. I cannot actually remember how many cats there were, but it was somewhere in the region of 12! AND there was also around the same number of dogs. Perhaps 15 dogs, actually. It was an absolute riot! The owner of the B+B was an absolute sweetheart, who obviously had a soft spot for animals, and also had a problem that people knew, and were constantly delivering new strays and abandoned animals to her home. Some of the animals were sick as well, once cat had feline aids, others were beat up from living on the streets. I have no idea how she paid for the care, but they were all lovingly looked after.

The main street of Marshall, how adorable is the quilt block on the side of the building?

We ate dinner at Good Stuff, the local cafe/bar and live music venue. We had a blast hanging out with the owner, and even though the kitchen was closed that night, we heated up frozen organic burritos and ate them at the bar with her. We talked for hours and got the impression that Marshall is a small town full of creative and fascinating people. (C purchased one of the Marshall NC patches too)

Ruth, the owner of the B+B was working on this quilt block while we were there, it seemed to be a common activity in the town, and something I've never heard of before. My mom is a big quilter, but I'm not sure we have these painted quilt blocks in Australia, just the traditional fabric ones (I do live under a rock though, so you never know)

I love this doormat, and I'm yet to find out which one of Ruth and her boyfriend were the grouch, they both seemed perfectly lovely to me ;)

Maybe the old grouch was me, because despite my sleepless night the night before, I barely slept a wink! I'm not sure if it was all the movement in the house of the other residents (including the furry ones). It was DEFINTELY the freight train that came through town at 2am, blaring it's horn for a full 2 minutes or so. The freight train that came through at around 4am doing the same thing didn't help either. I have freight trains near my house now, but they wouldn't dare sound their horn in the middle of the night. I suppose it's for the safety of people crossing the tracks on the road, but my goodness, I have no idea how one would sleep through that every night!

We emerged in the morning a little bedraggled, but looking forward to exploring the town a little more. That part can wait until next time.

Kitty
xo