Dillsboro, NC

Festival of Lights and Luminaries
December 5, 2009

We arrived at dusk and the luminaries were just being lit.

Actually, it was darker that then photo would make it appear. That is the the magic of longer shutter speeds. Below is a better representation of what you would have seen as the sun quickly disappeared behind the mountains.

The quaint little mountain shops were open and they offered free hot drinks and tasty treats to their customers. Sharon shopped while I took pictures. It was not long before my fingers were freezing.

It was 44°F outside when we left home, but the temperatures were in the mid-20's in Dillsboro. The mountaintops were covered in a light dusting of snow.

Jerrett Memorial Baptist Church reminded us of the real meaning of Christmas.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)

Below is a store that had a variety of toys and treats for pets. Don't tell our three Labardoodles but we got them some reindeer-shaped treats for their stockings.

Homes and inns also were decorated around town.

We ate dinner at the Dillsoboro Smokehouse Bar-B-Q. I highly recommend it. The smokehouse BBQ sauce was incredibly good.

Below are a few more shops we visited on this cold Winter evening.

We finished the evening with a cup of rich, creamy hot cocoa (Sharon) and delicious, hot apple cider (Bryan). We got in the car for our 2½ hour drive home. We were warmed on the insides by our beverages and the car heater was good for warming up our outsides.

This is a beautiful little town to visit any time of the year, but the luinaries are only features the first two weekends of December. The second weekend even includes fireworks.