Just a few (2) days after Kevin got home from the Minnesota State Fair, we packed up and headed to the Asheville area for a long (and relaxing) Labor Day Weekend!
We stayed at Ridgecrest Conference Center...in Ridgecrest! If you've ever driven up to Asheville on I-40, Ridgecrest sits beneath the huge white cross to your right just about 10 minutes east of Asheville! Ridgecrest was having a singles weekend while we were up there, which lead to MANY interesting conversations and people. I'll save those stories for another time, but I think Kevin and I can both say we're REALLY thankful for each other even more now! I can't imagine having to date again! Whew!
After crashing hard the first night, we woke up on Saturday morning ready for a Bruegger's breakfast and the Biltmore House! Because it was a holiday weekend, there were way too many people inside the mansion, but Kevin and I had fun anyway! He may have snuck a few "illegal" photos during our tour....
Lunch was at the Stable Cafe and was WAY too expensive for what we got, but it was a great atmosphere.
We walked up the hill to get the "classic shots"...
...before sitting for a spell on the estate's side porch overlooking the beautiful NC Mountains!
We took a brief walk in the gardens and found this koi pond.
Then it was time to trek back to the car to drive over to Antler Village.
But on the way, we spotted this gorgeous garden of sunflowers and hopped out of the car for a bit of fun!
After a little wine tasting, it was time for a rest, so we headed back to Ridgecrest and rested until we needed to shower and get ready for dinner.
Dinner was at The Grove Park Inn. We arrived early for our dinner on the Sunset Terrace, so we were able to explore a bit before we were seated. Dinner was fabulous, but I have to say, the best part was being able to have Kevin's undivided attention without the distraction of phones/emails/etc.
Sunday, we got up ready to eat breakfast at Ridgecrest, only to learn that they had already stopped serving for the day. I guess the early bird gets the worm! We were going to head into Asheville to eat at Tupelo Honey Cafe, but then I decided against it. The plan was to explore Chimney Rock and I wanted to get there as soon as possible!
We literally wound down US-74 until we got to Chimney Rock. It was about 10:15am and we were hungry, so we stopped on the road to eat. Everything was closed! It was like a ghost town, except for this lone chicken!
We finally spotted a place and walked in just in time for them to tell us we couldn't sit because they needed to change the kitchen over to lunch and they were too busy. Frustrated, we drove on towards Lake Lure and stumbled upon the Lake Lure Smokehouse. They still had people eating breakfast, so we gave it a try!
Apart from being understaffed and not clearing dirty dishes off of tables (so flies were swarming); taking a century to order our food and then waiting longer for it to come out; Kevin not getting half of his meal, but us still having to pay for it, because they too were turning the kitchen over for lunch; and the sketchy clientele, it was a wonderful breakfast! I won't be back anytime soon!
Finally it was time for Chimney Rock and it too was swarmed with people because of the holiday weekend. We waited in the tunnel to ride the elevator up (which was actually a good idea and saved our legs a bit) before going out on the actual Chimney Rock.
Then we climbed up to the Opera Box and Devil's Head before hiking all the way to the top of Exclamation Point! It was quite the hike, so by the time we got up to the top, we took a rest!
Climbing down was easier, especially knowing I had an ice cream cone waiting for me at the bottom. After our treat, we took the stairs down and hiked over to Hickory Nut Falls to see the waterfall. It too was bustling with people, so after finishing our lunch, sitting on a rock, we got out of there.
Next we had to make the decision, climb uphill to get on a bus and ride back to the bottom to our car, OR take the Four Seasons Trail back to the bottom. Four Seasons won out and it was a nice walk because it was actually quiet for once!
Just as soon as we got back to the car, the bottom fell out. Like torrential rain! It's a wonder we made it off the mountain! It was raining so hard we really couldn't see in front of us. Too close to the side and we could have gone right off.
We were hot and sticky from a day in the woods, so the first order of business was a shower and then it was FINALLY time for Tupelo Honey Cafe for dinner. The wait was GREAT! Maybe 30 minutes and the food was DELICIOUS! Like, "slap yo mama" good! Every bite I took was an explosion of flavors in my mouth! To start we had the Sparkling Blueberry Punch (which is the best drink I've ever tasted) with the homemade biscuits and honey with blueberry preserves. Next came our meal. I had the Sweet Potato Pancake with Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts and Salsa Verde Blake Eyed Peas. I know, I know, breakfast and dinner. I just couldn't decide! Kevin had the Nutty Fried Chicken with mashed sweet potatoes and gravy. I think he had asparagus too. Best meal of my entire life!
We walked around downtown a bit before heading back to Ridgecrest to call it a day!
Monday was all about the North Carolina Apple Festival in Hendersonville. The real reason for our entire trip! After packing up the car, we made the drive to Hendersonville and got out pumped and ready for a festival....only to find there was no one out! I got an apple cider slush and we went into Mast General Store to look around. By the time we got back outside, the place was popping!
We enjoyed a cheerwine in the shade before getting our apple fix!
As we were walking down the street, we spotted a shop called Vermontage, so we had to go in. Among other Vermont treats, they had maple creemees. We got one-delish! In Vermont, apparently they don't call it soft serve ice cream, it's a creemee!
Next was a piping hot apple turnover! Yumm!
And finally corn on the cob, because what kind of festival is it, if you don't have some good corn?
I wish we could have stayed until the King Apple Parade at 2:30pm, but we needed to get home. So, we grabbed a bag of honey crisps and headed out of town to hop on 40 for home.
Not sure when we'll be back, but I thought it was a wonderfully relaxing weekend and a great first "official" introduction to the NC Mountains for Kevin!
