Red Leaf River Inn: December 2014

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Christmas in Waynesville

If you have ever spent time in North Carolina, you may have heard the tagline "Got to Be NC." Here in the North Carolina, the moderately temperate climate and the range from warm coastlines to cool mountain ranges means we can grow just about anything. And in December in the mountains, that means Christmas Trees. Not just any Christmas tree, but the Fraser Fir. There are no shortage of Christmas tree farms to choose from, but we went to Mehaffey Tree Farm in Waynesville to pick ours.

Most tree farms in this area are "full service" meaning that you select the tree, but the farm will usually cut it down and bring it back to your car for you, although if you really want to saw it down yourself, you can do that, too. Some farms will even let you dig your tree so you can take it home to plant!

Although there was no snow on the ground, it was hard to miss it when we surrounded by such breath taking views.

Once we had our tree taken care of, it was time to explore downtown Waynesville. Although the winter is typically a slow time for mountain towns, Waynesville puts on some great activities for Christmas. In addition to the monthly "Art after Dark" event, Waynesville puts on a great Christmas parade featuring local businesses, schools, churches, and charities as well as local fire departments and police stations and, of course, Santa. The town and the businesses along Main Street also do a fantastic job of decorating, making even a simple stroll downtown a festive event.

Downtown Waynesville also puts together an evening even called "A Night before Christmas." Featuring a horse drawn wagon, wandering carolers, dozens of luminaries lining Main Street, a live nativity scene, and, of course, Santa and Mrs. Clause.

The horse drawn wagon takes passengers up and down Main Street during "A Night before Christmas"

One of the churches puts on an incredible live nativity scene - sample foods from biblical times, learn how to basket weave and see live demonstrations of pottery, wood working, and candle making. Just stay away from the Romans.

Dozens of luminaries line Main Street

Main Street is closed to traffic, turning downtown Waynesville into a street fair

Groups of carolers make their way up Main Street

A concert held during "A Night before Christmas"

And, of course, never forget the true meaning of the holiday season - peace, love, and beer.

We anticipate reopening the Red Leaf River Inn in the Spring of 2015 and hope you will follow along as we renovate and restore this beautiful property in Waynesville, NC. Find us on Facebook and Google+, follow us on Twitter @RedLeafRiverInn, or visit us at our website.

This Way to Relaxation

While the Inn has been a bed and breakfast before, we purchased the building, not the business. One of the first things we did after moving in was remove two signs with the old business name. The sign hanging from the archway was not salvageable, but the one at our driveway is actually a beautifully carved version of the Inn which, despite being a bit weather worn, was still in fairly good condition.

First, we chipped and sanded away the raised letters that were on the sign, then we cleaned it up and repainted the sign using the same colors we painted the real Inn with. Since the background of the sign is textured, we were not able to completely remove the old lettering, so we put our hand carved letters onto a small plaque before mounting it to the sign. The sign looks good as new and we are always happy to be able to preserve a piece of amazing history of this house.

Turn here for relaxation

When the Weather Outside is Frightful...

Not only is the Inn flanked by two converging streams, the streams themselves yield not only beautiful river rocks, but chunks of quartz and granite. These naturally occurring stones are evident through out the building as they were used in the construction of many of the stone walls and pillars in and around the Inn. So when we decided the drab fireplace needed a makeover, we headed off to the stream to supply a naturally stunning facade.

Although the fireplace is surrounded by a very nice chestnut mantle, the flat hearth in unexciting red tile and the black panels directly around the fireplace made the whole section seem dark and it fails to attract attention to what should be the focal part of the room. We struck upon the idea of using river rocks set in cement to cover the drab black, so Victor built a mold to pour the cement and set the stone. He lined the mold with heavy plastic and strengthened the whole structure with rebar.

Next he built a simple rectangular mold to raise the hearth about 2 inches for definition and also shrink the overall size of the hearth. Once we get around to tiling the floor of the main room, the rest of the hearth with disappear, leaving just the new, raised portion.

Once all the molds were built and in place, Victor began to pour cement. First the fireplace surround was poured and the rocks and quartz were set in to place, then the hearth was poured.

A few days later, the cement had cured enough to set the surround in place and the hearth was unmolded and finished with large travertine tiles, highlighting what will soon be a cozy spot to snuggle up with a good book or relax with a glass of wine.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

We're moving!

But thankfully, there is no packing this time!

Come visit us at our brand new site, www.redleafriverinn.com. Get the latest photos and updates on our blog and see the rooms as they are renovated, plus inquire about catering and plan your trip to Western North Carolina.

Keep following us on Facebook, and we're also now on Twitter! Follow us @RedLeafRiverInn.

Thank you for your encouragement and feedback as we keep striving towards our Spring 2015 opening date. We just can't wait to welcome you to the Red Leaf River Inn in wonderful Waynesville, North Carolina.