“Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us, God.” -- John Muir
I arrived in Flat Rock on Sunday and am now 1/2 way into my vacation. So far it has been relaxing, invigorating, and peaceful -- yes, all of those at once. I have done a lot of hiking with a total of 24 miles including over 127 floors. (I will specifically enumerate the trails and waterfalls on separate posts.) Here I will share about some of my excursions including some surprising finds. I always love the surprises that are part of my travels!
One of my big surprises was Jump Off Rock. I came upon it in a search of points of interest near Flat Rock. It was about a 20 minute drive from my lodgings. The drive itself was so enjoyable. The road meandered up a mountainside near Hendersonville in an area called Laurel Park. Along the way I got to see amazing homes set into pockets of the hillside, homes with gorgeous views. I also discovered a Bed & Breakfast which also serves lunch and dinner to non-residents; I am already planning to have a meal there in the second half of my trip. At the conclusion of my winding up the mountain was a view more than worth the lovely drive. Jump Off Rock is stupendous!!! You can drive right up to the walkway, park, and skip across the grass to a collection of stones. I cannot do justice to this spot with mere words, so here are the pictures. Even they don't show the real grandeur of the place. This is a must-see if you are in the Hendersonville- Flat Rock area.
Another fun surprise was found when I took a longer roadtrip to Highlands, NC. I had lunch there after a slightly grueling trip up to see Rainbow Falls (see future post). I didn't choose to stop in the main part of town. It seemed to be mostly upper-end shops, hotels, and restaurants; made more obvious by my count of Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes Benz cars lined up in the parking spots. I did find a yummy Mexican restaurant in a strip-mall, then drove around some. I happened to pass a sign indicating a nature center. It took me a couple of passes to actually find the entrance but was well rewarded for my search. The nature center was a system of walkways around a pond and through some cool tree coverage. It was the kind of place I'd love to take a picnic lunch and a book to and stay a while. Enjoy the views below.
I have also visited Carl Sandburg's home which is just down the road from my room at Mill House Lodge. The buildings on site are all closed right now due to COVID, but the grounds are lovely, there are several trails. It was rainy when I was there, so I didn't stay too long.
One day I drove around through some mountainous areas, just driving from road to road, not following any directions at all. I knew that I couldn't get lost because of the wonder of GPS. After driving with no destination in mind, I next made my way to the Lake Lure area and a second visit to the Flowering Bridge. My first visit was last summer, and I couldn't resist another look.
On Monday I visited Brevard. There were several frustrating things about that visit. One was that many shops are closed on Monday, not unlike downtown Greensboro. Another frustration was that even with the closed stores, the streets were very crowded with traffic. Also the town seemed to be very tourist-minded. I kept comparing it in my mind to Southern Pines, and it just didn't measure up. I did really enjoy nearby Pisgah Forest which I will share about in future posts on trails and waterfalls.
I have thoroughly enjoyed just driving around, hanging out, reading, crocheting, resting, soaking up the mountain sun, breezes, and daily rains. I can't wait to see what the next 5 days bring!
Dreamy!!!!!Love traveling vicariously with you!
ReplyDelete