Since the RV was under repair, our home in Asheville was the Super 8. I am including a picture of our room, because it was a very good value – $60 +tax (+$10/day for the dog), including 2 beds, wifi and breakfast. It was on “the strip” so the surroundings were not beautiful, but it was 10 minutes by car to the Blue Ridge Parkway, downtown Asheville and the Biltmore Estate.
Feb. 2 (Thursday) With another sunny day before us, we headed out of Asheville for a day trip to Chimney Rock. This is a trip over the continental divide, with lots of switchbacks on a narrow road.
We had a marvelous view of Chimney Rock from the small touristy village at its foot, and a hike along the creeks. We also had a delicious lunch at Genny’s a small restaurant – along with a dose of religion. (This is the “back of the mountain country”.)
Unfortunately, what we did not have was a trip to Chimney Rock, which is closed 2 days weekly – Wednesday and Thursday.
Chimney Rock is in the background of the picture of Genny’s above the “T” and in the picture below. This is a family-friendly blog, so all I have to say is that it looks even more like what you are thinking than this photo suggests.
Behind the town you can enjoy the River Walk, which is a piece of the state park along Hickory Nut Creek. It is a nice scramble over the rocks, which the humans in our group enjoyed but Rumple did not.
Making the best of the situation, we headed off to Lake Lure, a couple of miles away. This was the set for “Dirty Dancing” (which is supposed to take place in the Catskills). It is very scenic, although the lake itself was drained for dam repair. (The problem with sightseeing during the off-season is that hours are reduced, repairs are being done, etc. Of course, the advantage, as we found at Biltmore, is that rates are reduced and crowds are minimal.) In honor of our visit, we watched the movie in the evening.
At Lake Lure we very much enjoyed the Flowering Bridge, a series of minigardens planted on a bridge over the Broad River. In the spring it is probably spectacular. Even in February, with very little in bloom, it was lovely and whimsical. It is clear that a lot of people had fun creating whimsical displays. We also walked along the drained lake – less fun for the humans but better for the dog.
We’ll look forward to seeing the Flowering Bridge in the spring or summer some day.
The following day, we returned to Chimney Rock, up the winding road and over the divide. What we did not anticipate was very different weather west of the divide – rain and mist hiding the Chimney Rock and cliffs. We were grateful for the views we had on the previous day, and returned to Asheville for a look at downtown.
Asheville has some very nice old civic buildings – a historical sign on the main plaza notes that they were preserved primarily because during the Great Depression the town could not afford to replace them. Asheville is now booming, but the downtown retains some of its old ambience, along with a lot of new coffee shops.
The weather turned bitter, and we turned to the “French Broad Chocolate Shop” for designer hot chocolate. (FYI and before anyone gets offended, the “French Broad” is the name of the part of the Broad River going through Asheville.)
Back at our hotel we got the welcome news that the RV was ready to pick up.