Free Sledding Hill at Beech Mountain

Sledding conditions are great at Beech Mountain (elevation 5,506 feet) in the N.C. High Country. The best news: Kids 12  and under can sled FREE daily at the Beech sledding hill, located next to the Chamber of Commerce. Parents may ride with smaller children.

Plastic sleds are required. Folks are encouraged to bring their own sleds, or they may be purchased at stores on the mountain.

The sledding hill is operated by the Beech Mountain Parks and Recreation Department. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (weather permitting) with safety
personnel on duty. A loud speaker plays music and hot chocolate is available at nearby restaurants.

Parking and restrooms are provided by the chamber. People are encouraged to call the chamber at (800) 468-5506 to receive live updates on sledding conditions.

Additional info on the Beech Mountain sledding hill is available at: www.beechmtn.com.

Grove Park Inn’s Horizons Restaurant Offers Discounts to Locals!

I am loving this promotion. For one, the Grove Park Inn is one of my favorite places in Asheville. For two, they have some of the best food and the best people working there.

horizonslogoNow, for the deal. Horizons Dining Room is offering a 20% discount on Mondays and Wednesdays to local WNC residents who live in Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, and Transylvania counties.  The cities and surrounding areas included are Asheville, Hendersonville, Weaverville, Black Mountain, Waynesville, Clyde, Maggie Valley and Brevard.

A valid N.C. driver’s license is required to get the “friends” discount. Holidays are not included.

Biltmore Estate Discounts

Big savings are available to those visiting Biltmore Estate from January 4 to March 18, 2010. Adult admission is only $35 IF you purchase the tickets online. But the savings don’t stop there. Kids ages 16 and younger are admitted FREE with a paying adult!

Buy online tickets HERE

Stretch Your Dining $$ with AIR’s Main Course Dining

The Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (AIR) has a great plan to help you save money when you dine out at a number of great restaurants. Here’s the deal: you can purchase a dining booklet for $50 at AIR’s Website or pick one up at the Asheville Visitor’s Center. The coupon booklet offers $600 worth of coupons at 18 restaurants:

The participating restaurants in the 2010 Main Course Dining Guide are:
~ Blue Ridge Dining Room
~ Bouchon
~ Burgermeister’s Kitchen & Tap
~ City Bakery
~ Corner Kitchen
~ Ed Boudreaux’s Bayou Bar-B-Que
~ fig
~ Fiores Ristorante Toscana
~ Frankie Bones
~ Grovewood Cafe
~ Horizons
~ Laughing Seed
~ Mela Indian Restaurant
~ Pomodoros Greek and Italian Cafe
~ Savoy
~ Sunset Terrace
~ Vincenzo’s
~ Westville Pub

While ALL of these are great places, I have some personal recommendations: Blue Ridge Dining, Horizons and the Sunset Terrace at the Grove Park Inn offer exceptional food and service. I’ve never had a bad meal here. Always exquisite.

I love Burgermeister’s — food and atmosphere. It’s just a fun place.

Also, I have some great friends who have created stunning restaurants:

High school pal Kevin Westmoreland owns Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village and he always gets rave reviews. Another high school friend, Sandy Waldrop and her husband, Larry, own Grovewood Cafe. And, my former WLOS co-worker, and good friend,  Tommy Tsiros gets great applause for his Pomodoros Cafe. The food is consistently wonderful at all of these places!

A Brand New Year and Lots of Opportunities for Savings

A brand new year, and this blog is back in business! We’re energized that the February issue of Woman’s Day Magazine tips its hat to CitiesOnTheCheap.com, a national hub of On The Cheap Websites, of which WNC On The Cheap is affiliated.

Revamping WNC On The Cheap

This site has been in hiatus after my 12-year-old son was diagnosed with a pituitary brain tumor. Miracles still occur, even in 2009, and the tumor shrunk, the craniotomy was cancelled, and an endocrinologist is controlling the tumor with a pill.

Now I can turn my attention back to this blog. It will be back in full force by the beginning of 2010!

Brief Hiatus

This blog will not be updated frequently by me in next few weeks as I concentrate my focus on my son. In mid-August, an MRI revealed a small tumor near his pituitary gland. Doctors are 80% sure it is a craniopharyngioma, a benign, slow-growing tumor. A pediatric neurosurgeon is scheduled to remove it on October 13. Prayers appreciated.

A HUGE THANKS to Jody Mace at Charlotte on the Cheap for adding posts to this blog! I am very appreciative

Great Kids Bargains at WEE TRADE

If you are looking for kids clothes, toys, accessories, baby gear and other items on the cheap, the WNC Ag Center is the place to be this weekend for the semi-annual WEE TRADE event!

The sale opens to the public on Friday, August 7 at 8 a.m. Hours are 8 to 6 p.m. on August 7, 8 a.m to 5 p.m. on August 8, and 12 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 9 when ALL PRICES DROP TO 1/2.

The great organizers of this event, Nina Miller and Rita London, have given me a pre-sale guest pass good THURSDAY, AUGUST 6 from 7 to 9. I’m passing it along to a WNC ON THE CHEAP reader.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. FOLLOW @WNCCHEAP ON TWITTER

2. RT MY TWEET ABOUT THE WEE TRADE EVENT.

3. USE HASHTAG #weetradenc to tell me why you’d love a chance to shop for bargains EARLY!

FREE books - Read It Forward Promotion

While supplies last, The Crown Publishing Group is offering readers a chance to get a free copy from a choice of three new titles: Something Missing by Matthew Dicks, The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha, and Where the River Ends by Charles Martin.

One book per email address. No purchase required.

FREE Baja Fish Taco at Long John Silvers

On Tuesday, July 14, from open until 2:30 p.m., you can get a free Baja Fish Taco at participating Long John Silvers. Limit one per customer, no purchase necessary.