Davy just finished his last day of school and with a long weekend ahead of us, we decided to pack up and spend the weekend in North Carolina. Davy loves the mountains so much and we had the time, so this gift was for him. After we had our celebratory lunch, we went home and packed the car, and we were off. The ride up was easy and we pulled in around 11pm. Here’s sweet Matty sleeping on the way up.
When we woke up on Saturday morning, we decided to head over to Asheville and do a little exploring. We stopped at the BP for a cup of coffee and a sausage biscuit and then headed out. We figured by the time we got there it would be the perfect time for brunch. Asheville has so many independent places to eat at, but we had such a great meal at Tupelo Honey the last time we decided to take mom there so she could see it for herself.
As we pulled into Asheville, we saw a sign for the Asheville Farmers Market! In the spirit of being spontaneous, we decided to go and check it out. I love Farmer’s Markets. There were several different hangers all filled with produce, plants, meats, jams, jellies, honey, etc. We were not disappointed and ended up having a honey taste test. Yum! We bought Blueberry Honey, pure Wildflower Honey, Sourwood Honey, and some Hotter than Hell Chow Chow.
We were officially starving so off to Tupelo Honey. It was actually a good thing that we stopped because they didn’t open until after 9. We had a half hour wait, so the boys played across the street.
Once you sit down at the table, they bring out biscuits, jelly, and honey. Here are the boys eating theirs. For brunch I had a sweet potato pecan pancake, mom had a grilled chicken sandwich, and Andy had fried chicken with biscuits and red-eye gravy.
We decided today that we would check out Chimney Rock; so we headed southeast out of Asheville and about 25 miles later we were there. Chimney Rock is located in Chimney Rock State Park and is apart of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. The rock is at and elevation of 2, 280 and you can see out up to 75 miles. When climbing up to Chimney Rock it is roughly 400 stairs. We parked at the bottom, took a bus to the entrance and then began our climb. Davy and I went ahead first, Andy carried Matty, and mom followed in the rear.
Here’s Davy and I half way up to Chimney Rock.
Now, when you get to Chimney Rock lookout, of course there is a trail to go even higher and we weren’t going to give up there. We had to go to the top to check it out! Exclamation Point is at an elevation of 2,480 ft and is the pinnacle of the park, and essentially we just hiked 3/4’s of mile straight up. We were so proud of Davy and Matty. Davy didn’t complain one time, in fact he loved it, and little Matty wanted to hike it too…he’s just a little slow. Here we are at the top. :O)
After we hiked back down to the entrance of the trail, we met up with mom and decided to hike on over to Hickory Nut Falls. It was also 3/4 of a mile to get there; meaning that we ended up hiking 3 miles today. This waterfall is one of the highest falls east of the Mississippi.
By the time we got back to the bus we were hot and tired….but we were so glad that we went the extra distance. The views and the waterfall were beautiful. At the Chimney Rock lookout we spotted Lake Lure and decided to drive over and get a better look at it. There was a really cute little village, a beautiful resort, and a beach on the lake. This beach reminded me of one that you would see in a movie. It was very clean, crowded, lots of things to do, and with a gorgeous backdrop. Matty fell asleep in the car, Davy took one look at the water slides, and we had to stop for him. :O)
One of the neatest things that they had here on the beach was a water balloon firing station. You could purchase the balloons at the check-in desk, the kids would fill them up with water, and then they would launch them at each other. Davy loved this!
After we left the lake, we headed back towards Asheville. All of us were starving so we stopped at their local Mellow Mushroom for some pizza. Yum Yum!!! The weather was beautiful so we ate outside. Today was a great adventurous day!!!
Mountains! Beach! or Both!... 