Blowing Rock and Boone aren't a bad distance, but I wouldn't want to commute on a daily basis. If you're going to an event in W-S and will be there for just a day, then it's an easy day trip. I would definitely stay in one of the mountain TS rather than the one in Pinhehurst....Pinehurst is less of a straight shot than Boone/Blowing Rock....says the person who commutes to W-S every day.
(If you have other questions about W-S, feel free to PM me. Deb from NC lives in Clemmons, which is a W-S suburb, more or less...)