Author: BrennaAbroad96

After finally getting a good night’s rest, we ventured into Asheville for brunch at Limones. Asheville was our jumping point for our drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Since we had already gone a little bit north on it, we decided to take it south to Brevard this time. The road climbed higher and higher the further south we got, and the views got prettier and prettier.

Even the parts of the drive without fantastic mountain and valley views were pretty since we were surrounded by the most colorful trees or passing through scenic tunnels.

But the scenic overlooks, oh goodness. We had to share them with dozens of other people, but they were worth it.

Eventually, we turned onto US-64  to head into Brevard. This road is also scenic with several picnic areas, creeks, waterfalls, and nature paths.

After about half an hour driving down this road, we decided we wanted to go for a hike instead, so we drove back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to go just a bit further and hike Sam’s Knob.

We were in very high elevations, so the leaves were past peak color, but it was a pleasant hike nonetheless.

We started downhill toward the base of Sam’s Knob itself.

And then we climbed, and climbed. I was afraid it was going to rain on us at any second, so we climbed quickly. There were some interesting views where one side of a hill would be pretty well barren and then the other half was covered in evergreen trees.

We finally arrived at the top, where we stopped for a bit to catch our breath and appreciate the results of our hike.

And then back down we went.  On our way back to the house, we only made one stop, and that was to stuff our faces at a Mexican restaurant called Papas y Beer in Hendersonville. We now have a full evening to spend enjoying our fantastic house we are renting.

I would absolutely recommend driving the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are so many incredible sites along the way, as well as countless stops to stretch your legs or have a little picnic with a gorgeous backdrop. Do it.

After staying up way too late last night watching the Royals clinch a spot in the World Series (#ForeverRoyal #TaketheCrown), we decided not to set an alarm this morning, but I woke up just at sunrise anyway and caught some pictures of the morning fog blanketing the valleys below.

After enjoying some coffee on the deck, we decided to leave for Dupont State Forest to try and beat the crowds. We arrived around 8:30am, and there were two other cars in the parking lot. I had a whole itinerary planned out for Dupont, and it started off with small, but pretty, Hooker Falls.

The water was clear and reflected the colors of the trees around it.

No one else was in the area, so we took our time playing around and exploring.

Afterward, we backtracked a bit to a bridge that would take us to Triple Falls,

On the way to Triple Falls, we maneuvered our way through the trees to get to the stony river, which was super peaceful. We climbed rocks and waded through shallow water.

Triple Falls came soon after, offering views of, as the name implies, three waterfalls flowing together.

We walked down to the base of one of them, since I always like to get as close as possible to waterfalls. The views weren’t as pretty down there, but it was very meditative just being next to them, listening to the water falling.

We made our way back up to the top and continued our hike up to High Falls. At one point the trail split, one way going to the base, and the other to the top. This time we decided to visit the base of the waterfall first. The view from the start was phenomenal, but we decided to climb over the slippery rocks to get closer, and there, it was perfect.

The waterfall was tall and wide and powerful, and I was able to get right up next to it and feel its spray on my face.

We spent quite a bit of time there, but then ventured on up to the trail to the top of it. Still beautiful, but not as impressive as up close.

Our next stop was the covered bridge over the river, but we didn’t spend much time there before moving on.

We hiked another .8 miles in the forest to get to Grassy Creek Falls, where we sat on a rock to eat a few snacks.

At this point, there were two more stops we had planned on making, but I had a headache and was ready for a full lunch, so we turned back.

On the way back to the car, we were amazed at how many people had shown up. When we had arrived, there were maybe a few other people there beside us, but now, we could barely walk at our own pace due to the vast numbers of people milling around.

When we finally got back to the parking lot, we were shocked to see that both parking lots were completely packed full and overflowing. Cars were parked along the main road for as long as we could see.

Long story short: If you are doing Dupont, especially on a weekend day, get there as early as you can!

We drove on to the town of Brevard after this, enjoying the scenery along the way. The trees seem to be getting even prettier the longer we stay here. We had lunch in a cute little restaurant called The Phoenix in Brevard, and then decided to explore the downtown area, stopping and buying some bread from the bakery, and shopping at a few little stores on the main street through downtown.

That evening we went back into Asheville, which was so lively on a Saturday night. We got a few more groceries at Trader Joe’s and then headed downtown where we had quite the time finding anywhere to park. We met up with another of Anthony’s cousins and his girlfriend for dinner at Mela, a nice Indian restaurant that was delicious. We ate until we were full, had a couple drinks, talked about travel and afterward, ventured on to the Chocolate Lounge where we met up with a few more people.

I seemed to have forgotten I had a camera with me, which was unfortunate seeing as we were surrounded by interesting people and sights while waiting to get inside, and the Chocolate Lounge itself was cute as can be.

They had a million different chocolate options, be it various ice cream floats, or cold drinks, or cakes, or brownies, or even liquid truffles which is what Anthony and I got to share. We had a small mug-shaped cup filled with salted caramel melted chocolate, and a tiny spoon to eat it with. The decor was charming, and it was obviously a popular place.

At this point it was 9pm, and I was exhausted after a long, busy day, so we ended our evening driving back to our house in the mountains.

We were invited on a sunrise hike this morning by Anthony’s cousin, but it would have required her picking us up at 4 am. That was just too early for us on vacation, but I was attached to the idea, so we decided to do our own but make it closer to our home base and a shorter hike so that we could get a bit more sleep.

So, come 5:30 am, my alarm went off, and we got ready and ventured about half an hour away on the Blue Ridge Parkway, to Craggy Pinnacle. As soon as we parked, I was regretting it. I have this habit of thinking things sound awesome, and then realizing that I am a giant scaredy-cat. Luckily, however, I have Anthony around to force me to go through with my indeed awesome plans, so after I assured him I was not brave enough to hike through a forest in the dark, where bears were surely hiding and waiting to attack me, he assured me that I was going to do it anyway. And off we went. We practically ran uphill the whole way while my heart pounded frantically.

Eventually we made it, while it was still dark, but the sun was just starting to come up over the horizon. At last, I was happy I had gone through with it. I was alive and at the overlook on a perfectly clear morning, surrounded by the Smokies and a beautiful orange sunrise.

On the other side of the stone barrier, there was a rock jutting out that was just begging me to come sit on it. Thus came another one of my brilliant ideas, and I voiced it to Anthony.

 

Me: I want to sit on that rock.
Him: Do it.
Me, looking at the fall that would certainly lead to my death: …
Me: …
Me: …
Me: Ok… I guess…
I climbed the wall and walked over to the rock, barely shuffling my feet as I did so. And I sat. I couldn’t bring myself to dangle my legs over the edge, but I got close enough.

The views from there were beautiful. Nothing in the way whatsoever.

Once the sun had officially come up, we hiked back down, me feeling much safer in the daylight. We stopped here and there along the Blue Ridge Parkway to take in the views now that we were able to see them, and then we went to Sunny Point Cafe again for breakfast… but this time we were at least smart enough to split a meal.

We stopped by our apartment for a brief nap and to pack up our stuff and check out, and then we went right back to downtown Asheville to walk around, stop in a few stores and have a couple beers at the Thirsty Monk.

We then went on to Chai Pani to eat some Indian food, since I am obsessed with Indian food. On our way back to our car, I noticed cat statues wearing knitted sweaters, so I of course had to take pictures of them.

And then off we went to our new home base. We drove up Pinnacle Mountain near Hendersonville, our GPS quitting on us after our phones lost service. Fortunately I remembered the directions well enough to get close, and a couple nice strangers helped us figure it out from there. We walked in the door and were blown away.

The house itself is immaculate, comfortable, and well-stocked.  A bottle of wine awaited us with a note welcoming us.

The real selling point, though, is the wraparound deck, part of it screened in, with 180 degree views of the mountains.

There were a couple yoga mats in the living room, so I grabbed one, happy to have a free evening to work on my neglected yoga practice.

Afterward, we poured ourselves a glass of wine, brought out some bread, cheese, and grapes, and enjoyed the views, just hanging out, for the majority of the evening.

I couldn’t put the camera down because, at every stage of the sun setting, the colors of the trees kept changing.

Eventually the sun set, and we came inside.  Now, we’ve got the fireplace going, and are cheering on our Royals to a victory (hopefully).

#TaketheCrown