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