Thursday, September 08, 2011

Western NC Adventure

Well, in about 4 days or so, I got to do just about everything I've always wanted to do. The only thing is, our vacation had to end.

Instead of making an extended beach trip, we drove down to Black Mountain, NC this year to see what we've been missing in the Appalacian State. Unfortunately, it is more than we would have liked to admit.

Day 1: Driving into Asheville was stupendous. Our kids were great and we left under the cover of darkness and fog. In Blacksburg we broke our fast at Gillie's, my favorite breakfast joint East of NW Indiana, aka "the Region." With full stomachs and extra coffee, our route continued through the hills in Tenessee directly into the Blue Ridge proper, which form an enormous fortress wall to the surrounding countryside. Entry was exciting as hell to this flatlander. Going through these guys blew me away.

We landed at our accommodations, a cabin called "Byrd's Nest," at half past 3PM. The structure, a cozy artistic timber-frame, serenely bestrides the mountain summit, overlooking the hills around it. From our bedroom window we watched the sunrise in majesty each morning over the Blue Ridge as our kids begin their daily routine of mayhem.

Day 2: We spent our first morning getting acquainted with our immediate surroundings, making a trip into the quaint town of Black Mountain. That day and each day thereafter began with a trip to The Dripolator Coffee House. The coffee was supreme, and quickly became an all-time favorite.

Black Mountain is a chill town filled with numerous crafts from relatively local artisans, and had shops that catered to nearly all of my interests. Craftsmanship and things handmade are cherished in the area. Like most of Western NC that we visited, Black Mountain stood in stark contrast to the pretentious, self-important Northern VA area in which we generally dwell.

For lunch we picnicked amidst a park/creek/retreat in the small town of Montreat. The setting was beautiful and perfect for the kids.

Day 3: Waterfalling adventure. With Dripolator in hand, we took to the Blue Ridge Parkway to stop first at Sliding Rock Waterfall and then at Looking Glass, Bridal Veil (the lame one), and Dry Rock falls.

Sliding Rock was the most fun and we had it virtually all to ourselves. Basically, it's an 80-foot or so waterslide in 50 degree mountain water. You sit down and scream for your life as you smoothly descend with ever increasing speed into an 8ft deep pool. The water was shocking at first. Once my body acclimated to my personal insanity, I didn't feel it at all and it actually became quite refreshing.

The other falls were beautiful to behold as well. Our drive was full of switchbacks on a US highway, taking us all the way to Franklin, NC and ended at an Asheville Brewery for Pizza and decent craft beer.

Day 4: We returned to Asheville to peruse the shops, with lunch at a place called "Boca," which is Spanish for "mouth." That evening I joined Clare's dad and brother on a trip to Troy & Sons moonshine distillery for a tour and then a beer at Highland's Brewing Co. We celebrated that night with a game of cranium as we fantasized about how fun it would be to live in Black Mountain and own Byrd's Nest.

Day 5: It was hard leaving. The grass is always greener on the other side, and I was able to sample living in a beautiful cabin at the top of a mountain, after visiting waterfalls, creeks, pottery stores, Dripolator, and all the rest. You couldn't make for a more biased opinion from me, I guess, regarding the place, but no matter how you cut it, Western NC is simply breathtaking.

Anyway, we hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway, hiked Linville Falls, and continued to Boone, where we were happy to find a bustling college town and some Mellow Mushroom Pizza. Being Labor Day weekend, all the hotels were booked, but we were lucky to find a room in Abingdon, VA. We drove back via Damascus, an Appalacian trail town, and obtained our lodging.

Day 6: We raced north on I-81 to Blacksburg for mass at St. Mary's, and joined Clare's brother and girl friend for brunch at Cracker Barrell. The trip home ran smoothly and we were deposited in Strasburg by 6PM.

Summary: Black Mountain, NC and the area that surrounds it, is the jam, notwithstanding some of the liberalism in the place. But you don't get that sick feeling of liberalism that you get in San Francisco or Adam's Morgan. The area is completely chill, with mom and pop institutions dominating over the big-box stores. The beauty of the mountains fosters tranquillity, creativity, and adventure. With the exception or Spruce Pine, NC, all of the town we visited were upbeat, not depressed and down on their luck.

In a word, I would definitely go back.

Peace Out,

--Nick

5 comments:

Martin Schap said...

I'm glad your vacation kicked ass.

Nick-dog said...

Thanks Martin.

For this trip, in addition to the EDC and BOB, I chose to bring the AR, now fixed, 4 mags, and 180 rounds of ammo, the Glock, 3 mags, and 150 rounds.

While none of it was deployed, I slept better at night, knowing that if the balloon went up, we had some goodies to fall back on.

I need to pick up some ammo cans and fill it with the good stuff.

--Nick-Dog

Nick-dog said...

BTW, I lived out of only those two bags, and found I like my backpack more for traveling, despite the non-descript usefullness of the green bag for walking into stores and what not.

Anyway, it was good to hop in the saddle and put this stuff into use!

--Nick-Dog

Martin Schap said...

Good stuff. I have been thinking of upgrading to one of the Maxpedition Gearslinger bags. I really like backpacks, but they get in the way of my sidearm. Seems like this might be the solution. I demand that you get an ammo can or two and load them with bandoleers, ammo and magazines for your go-to weapons. It gives me great "piece" of mind to have a grab and go for my G19 and Mossberg 500.

Nick-dog said...

Thank you for the mandate. It's nice having all of your ammo in one place/container that you can simply grab on a moment's notice and run for the hills, or what have you.

Mercop uses an over the shoulder type rig for his large travelling bag. My issue with carrying the EDC over the shoulder long distances is that the next day I wake up with a stiff neck. Perhaps the maxpeditions sit much better on the shoulder, but I'd like to test one before I made the switch.

--Nick-Dog