North Carolina Mountain hiking, music and BBQ

Today we decided to travel to Grandfather Mountain via the Blue Ridge Parkway. What we didn't realize was the leaves have started to turn beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange. Driving north on the parkway was gorgeous. Every turn we made was even more colorful than the last and believe me, there were LOTS of turns.

We stopped and hiked Mount Mitchell and then saw an advertisement for a fruit market that was having mountain music. That was a great stop. We bought apples, fudge, and cider and listened to music while eating. The day was absolutely gorgeous, beautiful blue skies and warm.

Next we decided we needed to hike a little ore or we wouldn't get our 10,000 steps. So we stopped at Linville Falls. After about a 2 mile walk we saw the falls from 3 different locations. With the fall foliage, the view was even more spectacular.
The last stop of the day off the Blue Ridge Parkway was going to be the swinging suspension bridge at Grandfather Mountain. Yes, it did sway but we all made it across AND back. The bridge was renovated from a wooden bridge in 1998 We can't even imagine how much the wooden bridge swayed.














The consensus of the group was southern BBQ for supper. Found a nice little restaurant outside of Grandfather Mountain that had BBQ and music. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Drove back to our little getaway and sat outside at the fire for about a hour.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Linville, NC

A visit to Old Salem

While Drew and Erin were at school, Linda and I toured Old Salem, a town that was founded in 1766. The Moravians are a Protestant group who came from what we now know as Czech Republic. They first settled in Bethlehem, PA and later to Salem, NC. We really enjoyed listening to our tour guides who were dressed in period clothes tell us what their life was like back then. 


Soon it was time to meet Erin and Drew who took us to their favorite winery for a wine tasting--Junius Lindsay winery. We talked with the owner for quite awhile, (while drinking wine). Drew and Erin spent some time picking grapes one Saturday at this winery in return for some wine.
Next it was back to Drew's apartment for a delicious home cooked meal by Drew--Moravian crusted salmon, green beans and cheesecake. 
A leisurely walk back to our hotel finished off our day.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Winston-Salem

The girls turn 60

Since Linda and I turned 55 five years ago, we have made it a must to take a vacation together with one of these criteria: 1) somewhere that one or both of us has wanted to go or 2) do something that we've wanted to do. This year, we decided we should take a llama trek. There's a winery in Winston Salem, the Devine Llama, that packs up llamas with a lunch and wine and takes us on a hike. So that's where we headed on Oct 5 ... but first a few other sights to see along the way.
On the drive down, we chose two quilt shops to stop, the Traditions of the White Swan in Hagerstown MD, and Patchwork Plus in Dayton VA. If you are a quilter, we definitely recommend Traditions. Beautiful fabric, large, bright shop and very helpful staff. We found lots of quilting things we needed!

Made it to Winston Salem and checked into our hotel room at the Brookstown Inn. A beautifully restored cotton mill. A must stay. They serve cookies and milk and wine and cheese. What more could anyone want or need?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Winston Salem, NC