Winter Wonderland

For Christmas Eve Hubby, Caleb and I made our annual trip over the mountain to Jonesborough, Tennessee to spend time with my big Cuban family. We had to wait until I got out of work on Thursday afternoon before making the trip to Tennessee and that meant not leaving Durham until 5 o'clock. The 5-hour drive to our destination would put us driving over the winding mountain roads long after sunset, which to me seemed a risky adventure. I've never enjoyed making that drive at night. To top it off there was always the chance of inclement weather.
I was fortunate to get out of work around 1 o'clock and Hubby and I (baby Caleb had traveled up the mountain earlier in the day with his Mimi) got right on the road by 1:30. The drive went without any drama and we arrived safely at our destination by 6:30.
Traveling back the following afternoon on Christmas Day we realized just how lucky we were. It must have rained throughout the evening Christmas Eve and frozen over due to the cold all night on the mountain. I took these photos somewhere around Newland, a quaint mountain-top town with an abundance of Christmas tree farms. While it was absolutely breathtaking, surrounding us with white silence, it made for treacherous driving conditions. I seriously thought we'd be trapped in the middle of the icy road and have to spend Christmas Day in our car.




Trees and power lines were down everywhere. Ice was so heavy in the branches that I feared a snapped limb might crush the roof of our car. The Forestry Service had begun sending teams out to clean up the mess, but there was a ton of work to be done.
I'm just so grateful that baby Caleb slept soundly in the back seat the whole trip, and that Hubby had just gotten brand new tires on the car. It just amazes me how things always seem to work out for the best. I believe we were in good hands. Thanks Hubby for your stupendous driving and thank you God for watching over us.
I hope everyone had safe and sound travels as well!