BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS: THE HIKING ONE

For someone that doesn't love to be in the car for long periods of time, just for this one, I made it work. Out of all of the places we've traveled, this was one of my favorites. We spent 12 hours in the car driving from place to place, exploring this little town and all of its beauty.

Photo was taken at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina

If you want to see our journey thus far, https://www.instagram.com/reel/CVJSvTXFxF6/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

FIRST STOP

Our first stop was a cider mill called, Apple Hill Orchards. It was a small orchard in the middle of nowhere on some dirt road. I felt like a fool asking if they had cider with alcohol in it...nonetheless we always end up turning anything into a fun time! It was very picturesque. We took many photos with a tractor which were then used as puns in Instagram captions later. After walking around the grounds for a bit, we went back to the car and kept on!

SECOND STOP

Our next stop was our first hike, Blowing Rock! To be fair it wasn't much of a hike at all but I did have to climb on a few rocks to get to the touristy tourist spots to get pictures. The view was incredible, something you can't quite put into words. It caught me by surprise at how beautiful and warm it was outside. Living in Michigan my whole life has me convinced that fall should not be the high 70s-80 degrees but I most certainly am not complaining about it.

Around 12:30 pm we stopped for a late breakfast and lunch at one of our favorite spots, Famous Toastery. It's great because they have a wide selection of gluten-free options, my go-to is the Grilled Chicken & Bacon wrap. Truthfully, I get it every time we go. While waiting for our food we talked the staff up on all the best spots to hit while we were there for the day! We ate quickly because we had a long and fun day ahead of us! Before we continued our hiking journey, we stopped in town to check it out. We walked the town like we knew the city, it was very quaint yet lively on a Saturday morning. We love stepping into the culture in the city even if it's just for a day or less. It was one of the coolest little towns. We explored the streets, and bought a pair of sunglasses because of course, I forgot mine. We “shopped around”, which really means we didn't do any shopping because Dallas was in adventure mode, not shopping mode. We got taffy from some random pop-up shop and watched the leaves fall into the street. It was peaceful. I could’ve stayed there all day.

As we continued our drive, I couldn't believe all the fall colors. I felt like I was back at home falling in love with our falls but this time I am lucky enough to see fall in warm weather, which is even better! The trees aligned the streets beautifully, each road filled with orangey yellows that looked like they'd never change.

THIRD STOP

As we were driving, I found a winery on the map, Grandfather Vineyard & Winery. I somehow convinced Dallas to turn off track and go. Back in Michigan, we used to be surrounded by so many wineries near my cottage in Arcadia, Michigan. In North Carolina, you see them here and there but it’s quite the drive to see one with beautiful views near us.

We parked in a lot nearby and we were escorted via a golf cart to the front, I felt like royalty. Once we got up to the front, there was a long line of eager people ready to sip and listen to the band. They only had options of red, or white flights. I am more of a white wine girl, and lucky us, they had a rose in the white flight! There was a small puppy behind us. I remember seeing it from the corner of my eye patiently waiting to be pet. Every time a dog is near, I must stop and say hello. It's just a rule of mine. Dallas isn't a fan of it. We sat and enjoyed our wine while we listened to the band. We started to imagine what the people around this town do. I'd be there every weekend! In the front of the winery, there was this beautiful creek. Kids were jumping around and skipping stones. I just so happened to almost fall on my face trying to be a "videographer" but was able to score some cool videos and pictures along the way.

FOURTH STOP

We quite literally parked on the side of the road like several other pedestrians hoping they wouldn’t get hit. Truly risking my life for the gram for one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. Overlooking several mountains and fall colors—I felt like I was living in a painting.

FIFTH STOP

This was the real hike of them all. We walked on what they call “Mile High Swinging Bridge.” The bridge wobbles as you walk on it and can only hold up to a certain number of people. My anxious self was in shambles getting photos so high up, scared to drop my phone to its death. I have never considered myself someone who is scared of heights. I did a 100ft jump for fun once, but this had my heart racing. Yet, those who are scared of heights aren’t actually scared of how high up they are, they are scared of falling.

It was almost comical how many employees were there for safety purposes, which of course added an extra ounce of fear. You can’t see it in my eyes but it was very much so there. I felt a bit childish when I saw kids jumping from rock to rock as I was whimpering and gripping onto everything I could. Prior to getting on the bridge, we had a woman take photos of us. It’s always a hit or miss asking someone else to take your photo. I reached for my phone back from her hands and there it was, her thumb in every photo. Shoutout to the mom whose thumb will forever be in the forefront of my mind.

SIXTH STOP

One of our last stops of the day was another hike, Linville Falls. Man, I was hiked out and we didn't even really hike. I am what you would call a beginner with asthma and heat exhaustion who doesn't own hiking boots. The nice part is we were in the shade for most of this hike. It was very slippery, I couldn't believe how many times I almost fell. Once we finally got to the bottom, we were able to see the falls from an upward view. We talked to some pedestrians that took our photo that said you can also see the falls from up high as he pointed in the distance. He shared it would probably take a long while to hike up there but it was a beautiful sight to see. Being tight on time and wanting to see the sunset, this was not the ideal plan for us, thank god. Though, I wish we had more time to explore here. There were a lot of highly talked about spots on the map. We will just have to go back again, maybe this time with hiking boots.

LAST STOP

Our last stop of the trip was a little stop off the freeway. It was the perfect spot to watch the sunset, almost as if it was there just for that reason. The sky lit up like colors on a palette blending together. After our stop, we headed home. We were about 2 hours away. Reflecting back on this trip makes me want to do it all over again. More trips to come in this Travel Series.

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