Visiting North Carolina

 A good vacation doesn't always have to be one to a destination town that everybody has on their bucket list. This weekend my cousin had a wedding in a small town in North Carolina and my immediate family mostly all went and it was like a family reunion in an AirBNB. For this trip the AirBNB was one of the highlights excluding the reason for the trip, my cousin's beautiful wedding. Thanks to my brother who knows how to find great locations we got a three story cabin with a hot tub and situated in the mountains so the decks looked out over an amazing view. As often when my family gathers we brought along plenty of board games to play and beers to drink.

Morganton, North Carolina provided a lot in the way of diversions. A good selection of breweries, which we were sadly too busy to visit, but did try their beer at other locations and picked some up to take home. Only visiting two of the streets, West Union Street and South Sterling Street we got to experience some wonderful small shops that I would highly recommend visiting, and the reason we were too busy to visit the breweries. Our first day in we got breakfast at Grind Cafe which offered some nice seasonal coffees and breakfast options. I went with a lighter option of a bagel with ham and cheese since there was going to be walking afterword. Many of the shops we visited also had beer or wine to buy while walking around the store, which is a good way to get you to spend more money and it worked. Craft'd was a delightful visit with local art, local beer on tap, and a selection to make a charcuterie board where you're staying or there in the shop. They also have a large selection of wines and knowledgeable staff who is ready to help you find one you'd like.

Adventure Bound Books had limited hours but is a nice book store to visit in town to find some great deals on used books and a nice atmosphere to walk around in. Thornwell Books was another great spot to visit, and another location were you can get a beer or wine while reading a book. They also offered a selection of baked goods and coffee drinks named after authors. There is plenty of seating to enjoy your drink while reading your new book and I ordered a Hillman Brewing beer there then sat down on the couch with my beer by a window, to look out and see that Hillman Brewing is just a block down the road.

Back to the craft food experiences you can find, we visited Olive which has a wonderful selection of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The staff was friendly, helpful, and walked us through combinations and tastings, and once again it's a location that offers drinks on the premises including wine flights to help you get the full experience of starting your meal with a wine and dipping bread in olive oil. Almost next door, we visited Merrill's Mischief which has a unique selection of candies and a Christmas décor with a train running around near the ceiling and Disney music playing. The main draw is the fudge at the back of the store. I took home some of the Salted Caramel Fudge and it was delightful. The man running the fudge station was very friendly, knowledgeable and offered samples freely. That section also had a selection of maple syrup hot sauces that you can try out as well there along with being given a good idea of pairings for the sauces. You can pick them up in bigger sizes, but I opted for a sampler selection of the sauces.

The next day we visited Apple Hill Orchard and Cider Mill to pick some apples and the weather was delightful. It rained while we were on our way, but the weather cleared while we were there and warmed up to be a delightful experience. It's an unassuming place from the front, but the apple trees are spread out down some rolling hills. Some of the apples had been ripe for a bit and were hard to find, especially the Fuji's and Granny Smiths, but that could also be because of their popularity. We also also picked up some Stayman Winesaps and Cameo apples. There are a ton of products in their shop as well which I'll have more of an idea of how good they are once I'm home and try them out, but the apple cider is delicious. We got a half gallon and also tried the slushee versions of the cider which was really good as well. Overall it was a wonderful experience at the orchard and I'd highly recommend it. The view and walk around the orchard is very nice and the map at the beginning lets you make the walk around as intense or quick as you want it to be and they offer a good selection of different basket sizes so you can get just the amount of apples you want.

We returned to downtown after that for lunch at Moondog Pizza which was very good. They have all the normal ingredients for pizzas if you want something standard, but also some specialty's that are very exciting and I was sad I only had time to try one. I got the Moondoggery and it was wonderful. The normal red sauce and mozzarella were the base, but topped with gorgonzola, salami, caramelized onions, and roasted garlic that all worked so well together, just a phenomenal pizza. They have a good selection of sandwiches if you're not in the mood for pizza and a good selection of drinks. My sister-in-law has several food allergies and the waitress came back after remembering something in her order that might bother her and came back to get a corrected order and she provided great service the whole time we were there. If you like unique pizzas I'd definitely recommend a visit.

Obviously this has to finish with the wedding at Double J farms which is a delightful venue. It's got a lot of inclines and some loose rock areas, so keep that in mind when making footwear selections, but it is a beautiful venue. The ceremony is performed behind the farmhouse in a small rectangle cut out of the woods with benches built out of the logs and supplemented by additional chairs. I stood at the back in case my newborn was going to be loud so I wouldn't disrupt the service, which thankfully didn't happen. The woods foliage provided a lovely backdrop for a nice service that was simple and clear even with some issues with the sound system. The exterior dance floor was nicely litup by rope lights over around the border and during cocktail hour there was a guitarist playing who delighted my three month old. I also appreciated the selection of craft beers on tap since I'm also a fan of those as are the bride and groom. As the sun set the weather cooled and made the farmhouse a pleasant place to listen to speeches and get food.

A lot of the moments that made the trip great were being with my family as we played board games, or drinking a beer in the hot tub with my brother and sister-in-law as we looked out over the mountain view, but visiting Morganton was a ton of fun, and is a place that I'd like to come back and visit more, or the other surrounding small towns as well. We didn't make a trip to South Mountain State Park this time which we were hoping to, or take a trip to Asheville about an hour away, but it's good to leave a reason to want a return trip so there's something left to experience. More importantly I lucked out when I found out my daughter was perfectly happy to be in the car for a twelve hour trip and sleep most of the way in between feedings. Sure, her stuff took up a lot of room in the car, but we didn't have to do any driving with a baby crying in the car seat and that was quite the relief.

Visiting the Smokey Mountains

 

We started the drive after a day of work we headed out of Southwest Florida around 7:30 to make our way to Tennessee and the Smokey Mountains. Some naps at Georgia rest areas got us the Smokey Mountain welcome center around 11:30 the next day which is a nice way to travel as it makes shorter trips feel longer. The welcome center has a nice trail along the river that takes you to the park entrance sign for a nice three mile round trip. It was all level ground which made for a nice walk after being in the car for so long without being too taxing of a hike. We got to see an elk laying in the woods along the trail foraging and it was still there on our return trip although it had walked a bit further away. A great way to start a trip to the mountains. That hike took long enough for us to be able to check in so we started along the road through the Smokey Mountains where we got to enjoy seeing how mountains affect the weather as it was perfect weather on the East side of the mountains where we had started and the West side had retained the rain from earlier and they lived up to their name of the Smokey mountains with a heavy fog covering a lot of the peaks further away which made for some great sights.

We setup our ten in the Elkmont camping area which is a nice camping setup with a lot of spots for people to camp, but well enough spread out that you don't feel that on top of people and there is a river running between several of the sites. Be forewarned that the bathrooms don't have showers so you'll be bathing with a wash towel unless you want to take a dip in the river to bathe. I'd recommend bringing food if you want to cook at the campsite. We made the mistake of trying to shop in town, but Pigeon Forge had a Food City Express which didn't provide much in the way of meat, so we settled for picking up some hot dogs and visiting Wendy's for dinner. The weather at the campsite was phenomenal and while my girlfriend took an early night after traveling and hiking I stayed up and enjoyed a local beer, Hippies and Cowboys by Tennessee Brewing Comapny, and read a book. The sun was up until 8:30 and made it an easy way to spend the night before heading to bed.

The next day we made our way to Cade's Cove after a simple cooktop breakfast of eggs and hash browns. The line moves slow when there is something worth seeing, but it's often worth it. Early on the horse riders were out which drew a lot of attention for some reason. After that the next slowdown was because of an adolescent bear near the path so a lot of people got out to take pictures and slowed down while the Rangers tried to keep them moving. We cut the path a little short taking Hale's Pass, I believe it was. It took us right through some meadows which was nice to watch. On the other side of the Pass, which cut off two miles from the loop we stopped at an old farmstead and walked through the barn to the crick, then crossed the road and into the old house. I'm average height now, but the house was built low for the the height of people back then and made me feel like a giant nearly having to stoop to walk in. The highlight of the drive was up ahead as we spotted a Mama bear with her three cubs. They were a ways into the field so we couldn't get a close view, but it was still an awesome thing to see.

The next stop on our way back down the road was Laurel Falls. It's a pretty hike and not too rough to hike on since it's got a paved path, although there are a good amount of areas where it is eroding away and can be a little tricky, but it's generally a good hike to start with as it's not very treacherous, plus there is a waterfall at the end of the paved pathway. The nice think about reaching the waterfall is that it's naturally AC and can help cool you down. It's a really nice waterfall and there are some great views into valleys and mountains across the way as you go. We didn't this time, but you can continue on the path that is much more wild and difficult to hike that takes you higher up the mountains and provides even more splendid views, but is a lot more difficult of a hike.

We took a trip into Gatlinburg and stopped at Smokey Mountain Brewing for a drink and food where we got a really nice pizza and some nice spinach and artichoke dip with fresh made tortilla chips so it's definitely a stop I'd recommend. After that we headed to Ripley's Aquarium which is probably a nicer aquarium than you might expect from having the Ripley's name, which a lot of stuff along the main road does. There are several smaller exhibits, but the focal point is one tank that you can look into, but more importantly has a tunnel underneath it with a moving pathway. You get amazing views of sharks, fish, the sea turtle, and the very large sawfish they have. It's an amazing experience to go through the tank and one well worth doing, especially if you want to combine it with any two other Ripley's experiences which we didn't this time.

If you've never been there the main strip of Gatlinburg is like a tourist trap city on cocaine, it's amazing. There are three different moonshine distilleries, two cideries, and at least five wineries on the road. Five dollars gets you samples at everyone of the distilleries and you get a coupon for five dollars off if you buy anything, prices are pretty similar for the cideries and wineries, but they'll also have free limited tastings as well. These are great at all the locations because the people doing them aren't bartenders, they're showmen. They're definitely trying to sell you, but they make sure you laugh and have a fun time while doing it and then hope you'll spend a bunch of money to buy their product and it is worth it. The wineries are funny since none of the grapes for the wine are grown in the area they're imported in, but the wines all tend to be sweeter wines and the fruits that they're mixed with are the local produce that give them the flavor. If you're looking for Merlots and Cabernet's you're going to be disappointed, but if you like sweet, fruit forward wines you'll be in heaven. The cideries are both really good and Tennessee Cider Company is my girlfriends favorite stop in Gatlinburg. Not only are their ciders good, but they also make slushees that you can take with you as you walk down the sidewalk. You can also take a package of the slushee mix home with you which is also really good. There are also a ton of other experiences to have including a ton of miniature golf courses, one of which we tried out which was a lot of fun, arcades, motion simulators, and one place bought the old Earthquake ride from Universal Studios, which was decent at Universal, but I haven't tried at Gatlinburg.

After some walking along the road and visiting Tennessee Stud Cidery and Ole Smokey Distillery, both good experiences thanks to the servers Kristen and Blaze respectively, we made our way back to the campsite for another night of relaxing with drinks and a book while my girlfriend enjoyed napping in her hammock. We were chatting at the picnic table after a dinner of hot dogs when we were startled by the crack of a tree breaking. Across the road from the campsite a large tree fell and took out the powerline to the campsite with a bright spark as it severed the power line.. Everybody got up from their campsites and wandered to the noise where thankfully it was just across the road and not on a campsite or on anybody's car. Considering the distance away from any real part of town the response was pretty quick to the incident with two cops showing up as well as some other authorities to make sure nothing further was going to result from the down power lines, but obviously hearing a tree fall over in such close proximity does not make it easy to go to sleep afterword. When we woke up in the morning power had been restored to the restrooms and the road had already been cleared.

We had a hefty breakfast in Gatlinburg at Crockett's Breakfast Camp which would have been more suited as a meal after a hike, but it was good food and plentiful. We concluded our trip through the Smokey Mountains to head home with a stop at the Newfound Gap where the Tennessee and North Carolina border is and got some great pictures. We didn't hike it this trip, but you have access to the Appalachian trail which is a more strenuous hike with no pavement and just a path through the wilderness. It provides some amazing views and is worth the effort. On our way back out we got to see a family of elk at the welcome center to send us on our way. The Smokey Mountains are a great place to visit and one of my favorite destinations. There are just so many trails to try out and each season has something different to offer at the park. You can be fully engulfed by nature and then fifteen minutes away you can have all the luxuries of a city when you want them.