Cecil and I escaped to the North Carolina mountains a few weeks ago. We love the cooler weather and beautiful vistas. Living only a few hours from the Blue Ridge Mountains they make for a perfect long-weekend destination for us.

Thursday morning we finished packing, made a stop for caffeine, and headed west. The three hour drive through the foothills and then up the mountain went by quickly. It helped that I spent a lot of my time reading the latest book in the Maggie Hope series. We planned to only spend the day in Asheville so we plotted out our stops ahead of time to make sure we didn’t leave anything out.

Me, Maggie, and the Open Road

Our first stop was the North Carolina Arboretum. An affiliate of the University of North Carolina system, the 434-acre garden was established in 1986. Located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway admission to the garden is free but there is a fee for parking. There are 65 acres of cultivated gardens, including the Bonsai Exhibition Garden (my favorite!) and over 10 miles of walking and hiking trails. By the time we arrived the day was beginning to warm up so we stuck to the cultivated gardens. We’ll have to check out a trail on our next visit.

Bonsai Exhibition Garden

Bonsai Exhibition Garden

Quilt Garden

Next we headed towards downtown Asheville for lunch. While looking for our next stop we stumbled across Takosushi, the same restaurant we enjoyed in Greenville, SC. Although our goal is to try new places each time we travel somewhere, we were too hungry to keep looking and decided we would just try different dishes. Cecil had the chorizo nachos and I had the portadilla (a portobello and goat cheese quesadilla). We were not disappointed.

With our hunger satiated we drove a few blocks to The Chemist, “a craft distillery specializing in handmade spirits made from locally inspired ingredients,” which just opened this year. Tastings are free. Cecil happily walked out with a bottle of their gin.

Next we made our usual stops at the Spice and Tea Exchange (to buy loose leaf tea for my mom), Bookends Used Bookstore at the downtown Pack Library, and Mr. K’s Used Books. We always come home from vacation with at least a couple bags of used books. One day we’ll actually read them all!

At this point our feet were starting to get tired so we got on the road to our final destination – Burnsville. Located about 40 minutes northeast of Asheville it is a wonderful little town with shops, one-screen movie theater, restaurants, B&Bs, and our favorite motor inn, the Carolina Country Inn. Built in 1952 with only 15 rooms it was renovated by the current owners about 20 years ago and you can’t beat the nightly rate. This trip we stayed in their one room that has a kitchenette, which helped us save money on food. Outside there are beautiful flowers planted everywhere, plus a gazebo and covered picnic area.

After checking in with Maureen, one of the innkeepers, we unloaded the car and drove to the nearby grocery store to pick up a few things for the weekend plus something for dinner. By the time we got back to the room and settled in we were wiped and ready to put our feet up.

Stayed tuned for Day 2!