Fall in Virginia & North Carolina

Leaf-Peeping in the Smokies

October 2016

          It’s been a busy Fall for traveling: Midwest visits w/ family & friends around Labor Day, Marjorie then off for 2 weeks visiting her sister Mary in KC and friend Diane in Santa Fe, back for 2 weeks and now we’re both headin’ south to catch Fall colors. One of our 1^st trips together was to the Smokies in Spring 1973 when we were still living in Wisconsin: Mammoth Cave KY, thru Tennessee and The Hermitage, Asheville, Great Smoky Mountains Nat’l Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, back to WI thru West Virginia. Flowers in the mountains & gorges were beautiful, and we’ve wanted to get back in the Fall. Not such a wide-ranging trip this time, focusing on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Smokies. 

Joined by good friend Marlene, whose daughter Lisa lives in Charlotte where we’ve planned a stop to see friends Carl & Betty (forgot to check on their gendered bathroom policy; hopefully we won’t have to boycott like other events in NC). Marlene has successfully recuperated from a knee injury; we’ve assured her we’ll stop if she sees things of interest to her: “If you see something, say something.” 

Fall colors are building nicely around here, some frost on cars in the AM. Can I handle a couple of weeks away from golf as the season nears its end? The trip begins Thursday with a late afternoon drive in some light rain down to Poughkeepsie for an overnight at Marlene’s to get a head start next AM. We have the car all nice & clean for the trip. News report on the radio: Bob Dylan will receive the Nobel Prize for Literature! My, how the times are a’ changin’.  I’m missing a concert with my Mendelssohn Club tomorrow night. But we’re happy to get away from the dark depressing Presidential election for a while. Marlene makes dinner. Afterward the Tour Manager has an orientation meeting for the tour group. Then some cake we brought for Marlene’s birthday tomorrow.

Friday, 10/14: “Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line”

Happy Birthday Marlene! Today’s our longest drive, about 450 miles. Marlene makes tasty “baked eggs” for breakfast. A beautiful AM to start our trip; 1^st photo: a colorful tree in the back yard. South on the Thruway, over to NJ – gas only $1.95!, but can’t pump your own. Into PA, lots of trucks! A lunch stop at John’s Diner outside Carlisle. Continuing on thru bits of MD & West VA, across the Mason-Dixon Line into VA. Along the way Marlene fields Happy Birthday calls & texts from her children & grandchildren. 

Tidy pretty farms, then mountains on both sides. Not much Fall color yet, but lovely nonetheless. Marjorie complains there’s more traffic, or road work, or bad weather whenever she takes a driving turn. Poor dear! We keep an eye out for a mysterious “parade float museum” recommended by Marlene’s son Matt; later find it to be at Shenandoah Caverns, we’ll stop on the way back. Still too many trucks on the road so we head over to mile 0 of the Blue Ridge Parkway; the 469 miles has been called “America’s Most Scenic Drive.” Running a bit ahead of schedule so we can do the 1^st 60 miles today before going to our motel. Into a visitor center with pretty split-rail fences (we'll see many of these); friendly ranger went to Cornell. We drive by some deer, dodge 2 turkeys crossing the road. Beautiful layering of mountains as the sun lowers, some color now. A sign for "Sudden Curve;" we wonder why this one gets a sign but not so many others? Getting dark, moon rising as we head to Lexington and Days Inn North Lee Highway. A big complex w/ Mexican restaurant, but probably not up to Marlene's Southwestern standards; instead a short drive to dinner at Ruby Tuesday.

Saturday, 10/15: “Mountains and Pie” 

Continental breakfast at the hotel accompanied by youthful X-country team. Along the interstate to Roanoke to get a head start before getting on the BRP, pretty skyline w/ impressive steeples and tall Wells Fargo building. Cloudy then sun w/ low clouds in the mountains. Seems a bit more color. Not much traffic except some cyclists & runners, ears poppin’ as we elevate. Surprised to see open areas along the Parkway of farms, hay bales. 

A swing into the iconic Mabry Mill; here’s all the people: overflow parking, an hour wait at the café. But it’s still a very pretty spot. Marlene especially enjoys chatting up the craftspeople. Underway again past a big pumpkin field. 

A  stop at Groundhog Mtn. for a 360° view & snack. To Puckett Cabin, more traffic including quite a few bikers but moving along OK and more color as we keep going south. 

Sign at Blue Ridge Music Center says “Music today,” so we pull in. There’s a museum on mountain music and performance by Sugarloaf Mtn Band. 

Marlene buys a CD, sings along as we continue our very pretty drive w/ mountain vistas & colored leaf canopies over the road. Lots of “Wows!” today. Into a Trading Post for coffee & hot cider.

Low clouds & fog bring a very different look as we reach the Southern Highland Craft Guild at Mile 294, housed in Moses Cone Manor, a beautiful white mansion. Very busy, but we’re lucky to find parking right in front. People on horseback, bridal photos being taken. Marjorie buys an ornament. On to Blowing Rock, inspiration for "Milford" books enjoyed by M & M, but too crowded with tourists wandering among trendy shops. Also busier now on the Parkway but still not too crowded. 

In & out of clouds & sun, colors becoming brighter and more widespread. A good variety of lighting conditions today. To Linville Falls, a short hike to one overlook. (Mabry Mill, Linville Falls & Gorge, and Southern Highland Craft Guild were some of our favorites from the 1973 trip.)

We start out on “Lulu Belle and Scotty Wiseman Highway” looking for Skyline Village Inn, stopping a couple of places to ask directions, but nobody seems to know until a friendly man pumping gas next to us suggests directions. Success! A mountain lodge-y place in an area with lots of gems & minerals, panoramic mountain view, large rustic rooms. We enjoy a friendly home-cooked dinner with boisterous other guests. Capped by very yummy bourbon pecan pie.

Sunday 10/16: “Visiting the Vanderbilts” 

      

        Beautiful predawn & sunrise panoramas of mountains with low clouds in the valleys from the motel. Mixed clouds & sun today, headed to the 80s for the next several days (we didn’t bring hot-weather clothes!). A winding road thru Little Switzerland heading toward Asheville. In and out of fog, more turkeys along the way, very steep driveways up to houses high above (must be impassable in snow or ice  ̶  the price of spectacular views). Some areas here and thruout our drives overgrown with kudzu. Onto Billy Graham Freeway into Asheville for 8:00 Mass at Basilica of St. Lawrence. A nice service, very pretty circular interior. Marjorie & I head off to tour the Vanderbilt Biltmore Estate, which we didn’t get to on our 1973 trip. We leave Marlene, who has previously done the tour, to explore Asheville (seems a ploy to go shopping, but she also gets a guided tour of the church along with shopping and a nice lunch). 

          We’ve visited another Vanderbilt estate on the Hudson, but it’s dwarfed by this one. Very lush expansive grounds over 8000 acres. After parking at one of the lots, driven to the house by a folksy humorous shuttle driver (the many shuttle buses thruout the grounds remind us of Disney World). We made a 1:30 house tour reservation but are able to do a 10:30 tour instead. 

Quite a place! Completed in 1895, it’s the largest privately-owned house in the U.S.: almost 180,000 sq feet, 250 rooms, including 33 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens. And a bonus for us: they started putting up Christmas decorations this week. 

Children and well-housed, but servants not so much.

          Even the basement is interesting: a “Halloween Room” with wall murals painted by guests at a party, pool & gym with many dressing rooms, a 2-lane bowling alley, pantries & kitchen. Marjorie: “This is really cool!” 

Lunch in a courtyard near some shops (a particularly colorful confectionary shop). (Side note: people here and thruout the trip are all so friendly & helpful! Southern hospitality.) Getting into the earlier house tour gives Marjorie time to do a 2^nd “Upstairs/Downstairs” tour to see more of the servants’ quarters. (One regret: she didn’t do the children’s audio tour narrated by Cedric, the family St. Bernard.) 

I wander around the pretty walkways & many different gardens: Italian, water, rose, walled (with a spectacular “kaleidoscope of mums”), conservatory. Marjorie is able to see some of the gardens as we drive by on our way out.

          We rendezvous with Marlene and head west to Cherokee, just south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance. Mountains getting bigger, impressive vistas, color maybe not peak but not far from it. A very long backup (6-7 miles)  of traffic heading east on I-40; we later hear a semi fell off an overpass blocking both lanes! Cherokee is within the Cherokee Reservation with lots of tourist stuff: Harrah’s Casino, Cherokee Tribal Bingo, Santa’s Land, Pan fer Gold  ̶  but not nearly as much as the Tennessee side of the park (Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg).  And why so many pawn shops? 

 

          Our Great Smokies Inn is a nice place, big rooms, near lots of shops & eateries, a bear across the road . (We do have some problems with the plumbing that lead to a room change and getting one night free, thanks to “Squeaky Wheel” Marjorie.) But cellphone service is spotty here and elsewhere during our travels in the mountains. Hotel staff recommends Paul’s Family Restaurant for dinner; they advertise Indian specialties, I try “Indian Tacos” (on frybread). Food’s OK but service is incredibly slow and inattentive; we won’t be back (and subsequently see a review on TripAdvisor: “Bring a snack to eat while you wait!”). Back to the hotel as a beautiful “supermoon” rises over the mountains.

Monday, 1017: “Introductions to Cherokee Culture and History”

       Weather Channel says record temps across the South & Northeast over the next few days; up to mid-80s around here. We enjoy watching the clever & entertaining local info channel. To Newfound Lodge Restaurant for a very filling breakfast buffet, including yummy biscuits w/ gravy . . . and good service! (“How y’all doin’?”  ̶  seems the standard greeting in these parts.) A gorgeous AM as we drive into the Nat’l Park along a pretty stream, more turkeys along the road. The Park is a World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve. Up to Newfound Gap (over 5000’): spectacular views, beautiful color. “Russell & Tonya 3/16” memorialized on a guardrail  ̶  not this Russell! Traffic is building, but not bothersome. 

          Back down to Oconaluftee Visitor Center with a cluster of buildings in a Mountain Farm Museum, nearby Mingus Mill. “Welcome to the Rut” warns that elk (the largest animals in the park) can be dangerous, fields are closed to tourists. There are also Elk Crossing signs. Many areas along roadways & trails are thick with rhododendron & azalea; we remember how beautiful these are in the Spring. 

Back into town we begin to notice more brightly decorated bear sculptures (like the horses found around Saratoga); the bears appear in several photos here.

            On to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. A wonderful place, full of beautiful, interesting, well-constructed exhibits. Some are organized around origin stories, like “How Turtle Beat Rabbit.” Others recount the sad history of the Indian Removal Act, forcing tribes to Western lands on the “Trail of Tears.” Some North Carolina Cherokee escaped this or returned to join others in establishing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. 

Some exhibits include particularly affecting holographic images. Interesting displays on Sequoyah, who created the Cherokee writing system (some signage here includes both English & Cherokee alphabets), and Nancy Ward, the “Pocahontas of the West” who was an advocate for peace.

          After a Dairy Queen break, including seasonally-appropriate pumpkin pie “blizzard,” we continued to the nearby Quall Arts and Crafts. A cooperative gallery with beautiful work by more than 350 native artisans. Granny’s Kitchen for Southern home cookin’ dinner. Then a stroll thru the casino. Just lookin’, we forgot to bring a roll of quarters (well, they’ve move beyond that technologically). 

Tuesday, 10/18: “Ridin’ the Rails” 

          It’s train ride day! We have some pre-brunch snacks, then head out before sunrise. A mix of sun & clouds, becoming (as forecast) rather warm by mid-PM. A short drive to Bryson City, a pretty town with nice Fall & Halloween decorations around shops. We’ve reserved the 9:00 Nantahala Gorge excursion on the Great Smoky Mtn RR; this is a sister company of the Durango-Silverton Colorado excursion Marjorie & I did a few years ago. 

          The 3 of us have a table on the pretty 1940s MacNeill dining car; perks include brunch (sausage/bacon quiche, cheese/hash brown casserole), pumpkin bundt cake dessert, unlimited (nonalcoholic) drinks in a souvenir drink tumbler (I enjoy an “Arnold Palmer” iced tea & lemonade combo), and tote bags. Other options on the train include open-air and “moonshine” cars. Steve is our energetic, informative, humorous attendant/guide.  

          The 4½-hour, 44-mile roundtrip goes along 3 rivers, past Lake Fontana, and over the Fontana Trestle Bridge, with a 1-hour stop at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (zipline, raft rides, etc.). The latter includes a spot where Steve jokes we can claim to have walked the “width” of the Appalachian Trail. At one point water is released from the lake to raise the water level, potentially creating class-5 rapids. We pass by sacred caves where some hid from the Indian “removal.” And some areas are choked with kudzu. 

After the excursion we look around a museum with many model trains and some big train layouts, a nice gift shop (I get a trip magnet and a t-shirt suitable for the warm temps). 

Then some time looking into local shops wth pretty Fall decorations, ice cream treats.

         Following Steve’s recommendation of an “easy trail” to waterfalls, we head to Deep Creek in the Nat’l Park. This proves rather more of a hike than Steve indicated, as another couple from the train agrees. But Marlene is a real trooper. I pick up a large branch she uses as a hiking stick, and we get a “mountain woman” photo of her posing with a pile of bear scat (we think). We eventually make it to some falls, which proves to be not much more than a trickle. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained.

          Back to Cherokee, continuing our unsuccessful hunt for a grocery store to restock toothpaste and other stuff; the tour driver finds roads around here confusing. But a good dinner at Newfound Lodge, tho Marjorie & Marlene agree that Southerners cook green beans to death!

         

Wednesday, 10/19: “Indigenous People and Animals”

          Another pretty AM, followed by a beautiful sunny PM. Breakfast at Peter’s Pancakes and Waffles; we agree it’s “A Breakfast to Crow About.” Good food, friendly service overlooking the river. And the rooster imagery stimulates Marjorie’s interest in finding a rooster figure she’d spotted while driving around yesterday (more on that later). But first, we finally locate a Food Lion to stock up supplies. 

Then a stroll along the river in pretty Oconaluftee Island Park, with many ducks.

          Up the hill to Oconaluftee Indian Village, replica of a 1750 Cherokee town. After strolling thru a lovely nature trail, we begin a guided tour with John and tourists from Germany, Russia, and the Netherlands.

Houses and other structures. Interesting demos and explanations of crafts: weaving, beadwork, woodworking, baskets, weapons from arrows and clubs to blowguns. 

In the Council House Irma Cucumber MacMillan gives an interesting explication of Cherokee social structure, geography, history, and culture. 7 clans and how marriage determines membership. There’s both a war chief and a peace chief. We again hear how some avoided the “Removal” to create the Eastern Band as a sovereign nation. The revered Beloved Woman of the tribe decided the fate of prisoners. Our tour concludes with animal (or social) dances, ending with some audience participation.

          Back to Peter’s for lunch; the waitress seems a bit exasperated that we don’t understand the lunch menu that isn’t listed anywhere, but all’s well that eats well. Into “Twisted Sisters” where Marjorie finds her coveted garden rooster! (This is a holdover from our Labor Day visit in Minneapolis when Marjorie coveted niece-in-law Staci’s colorful roosters in their yard.) After driving around a bit along the pretty river, colored leaves, bright sun, some relaxation at the hotel.

          Late PM back into the Nat’l Park. Cars off the road, a sure sign of . . . well, a quick U-turn takes us back to see an elk near the road. Up to Newfound Gap again, different lighting than our AM visit, colors have progressed more. We continue up to Clingman’s Dome, highest peak here (6600’). Fabulous views: layers of mountains in the lowering sun, rays descending from the clouds, bright red mountain ash berries. A big Wow! A lineup of tripods, maybe a photo tour, people trading esoteric photography tips. 

On the way out of the park 7 more elk in the field by the farm museum. Good pizza at Wize Guyz Grille. Some wine in the room while watching the 3^rd (and blessedly final) presidential debate.

Thursday, 10/20: “Down from the Mountains”

          I’m up way too early, use the hotel lobby computer to make reservations for Sat. night and chat with the night clerk from Boston. A pretty sunrise followed by another gorgeous day, albeit again warmer than we’d planned for. Back to Peter’s for breakfast. Winding down from the mountains, toward Asheville and eventually Charlotte, we listen to Marlene’s choral CD (she’s an excellent soprano); we counter with my Mendelssohn Club CD (I’m a pretty good bass). A stop so I can climb a 9-story observation deck for the “Most Photographed View in the Smokies” (for only 50¢). Past local culture like “Fat Buddy’s BBQ” and “Crazy Bob’s Biker Stuff,” an exit for “Bat Cave,” and lots more pawn shops. Not much color once we’re east of Asheville. After a few missteps getting into Charlotte, we leave Marlene at Lisa’s house and continue on to Matthews, with a pretty downtown area, and the nice home Carl & Betty moved to 2 months ago. We catch up on family news. Their children Chris & Diane were childhood friends of our Matt, all fully grown up now, of course. “Little” Chris is now Director of Emergency Medicine for a local hospital; we’ll see his sons Ethan (6) and Jonah (9) tomorrow while Chris opens a new ER wing (wife Sarah and other son Noah are visiting family in Rochester, where Carl & I grew up). Diane is a speech pathologist in Charlotte, but sadly we won’t see her, hubbie Jim, and daughter Rosie on this visit.

Friday. 10/21: “Friends and Family” 

          The day begins with the high energy arrival of Ethan & Jonah. We enjoy a delightful time with them, beginning with a youtube video of our Matt’s recent percussion performance on a Calder sculpture, then teaching them how to play UNO. 

Into the historic downtown for lunch at Moe’s Original BBQ, where I satisfy my yen for ribs. 

Some fascinating poking around in the classic hometown Renfrow Hardware and General Merchandise. Fancy decorated keys fascinate the boys. And you can get a dozen crickets for $1.45 as fish bait or to feed your pet lizard or tarantula! We pass. 

Marjorie drives around with Betty and the boys, returning with some crafts for the boys to work on, then she and the boys have an exciting game of “War.” Chris joins us for dinner. After Chris and the boys leave, the day concludes with the exciting Coast Guard rescue movie “The Finest Hour.”

Saturday, 10/22: “Floats and Chips”

          A cold front has come thru, down to 40s & 50s and some brisk wind. Breakfast with Carl & Betty, a stop to pick up Marlene, headed north after a pretty view of the Charlotte skyline. Lots of sun to start, then mostly cloudy w/ some light rain, sunny by mid-PM. Mostly green, VA and mountains ahead, again more color as we get higher. Road signs: “High Wind Advisory.” I-77 to I-81, more mountain panoramas and pretty farms. Country Cookin outside Roanoke for a good salad (and dessert) bar. Exit toward Shenandoah Caverns and the promised parade float museum, passing Stonewall Jackson HS.

          A fun and kinda’ silly time going thru 2 museums at the Caverns (both freebies!) and a nearby potato chip factory. “American Celebration on Parade” has a Statue of Liberty in front, giant Cootie game piece by a picnic area. 

          This houses many large colorful floats from a variety of parades & events: Mardi Gras, Rose Parade, Miss America, Thanksgiving, conventions, presidential inaugurations, etc. Many have been in multiple parades, some have push buttons to operate motion. All accompanied by Disney music from Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Cinderella, etc. 

     

The 2^nd museum, “Main Street of Yesteryear,” exhibits classic elaborate mechanical department store window displays. These 2 museums are the work of one man, Earl Hargrove, Jr., who had staged trade shows, conventions, and inaugurations and whose “wife threatened to throw him out of the house because he kept dragging all this stuff home.” Special thanks to Marlene and her son Matt for some of the smilingest times of the trip. 

       

         

In between the museums a stop at Route 11 Potato Chips factory featured in SnackWorld magazine (Marjorie gets credit for spotting this). A brief tour of the operation (no photos  ̶  gotta protect trade secrets, I guess) that uses 15,000 lbs of potatoes a day. Samples for tasting and we buy variety packs to take home. We also head to see what’s in the “Yellow Barn,” but it’s closed for a wedding party. And our travelin’ energy is so depleted I can’t get cave-lover Marjorie to do a tour of the caverns. Instead we head to our Super 8 Motel in New Market, passing a pretty Mt. Jackson water tower with apples painted on top. It’s good I made reservations; lots of people are being turned away. 

          A beautiful evening so we follow directions from the chip factory to a covered bridge (where it appears some folks from the wedding are having photos taken) and a pretty drive along Rte. 11 to Southern Kitchen Restaurant for a tasty Tour Farewell Dinner, including ribs, hushpuppies, and blackberry & peanut butter pies.

Sunday, 10/23: “Back to Home”

          The Weather Channel shows video of snow in Grafton (near us in Albany)! And reports of some snow in the mountains of NC. Another pretty sunrise, clear & crisp. Continental breakfast at the motel. 8am Mass at St. John Bosco, a pretty country church in nearby Woodstock. An appropriate homily for this election year: put your hope in God! Then on the road, thru pretty towns, listening to Marlene’s Brahms’ Requiem CD. A Country Pride truck stop lunch. Nice color as we reach NJ & NY. Lots of southbound Thruway traffic; probably other leaf-peepers up north for the weekend. Back home for Marlene in Poughkeepsie; the 1^st-photo tree in her backyard has now lost all its leaves. We continue to Albany on a pretty evening, home about 6:00. 

A wonderful trip! All went as planned & hoped. Excellent weather. Fall colors built to a climax in the Smokies. Scenic and trouble-free driving: 2300 miles thru 7 states. Enjoyable visits with friends and family. Tasty Southern delicacies, not so good for our waistlines: ribs, biscuits & gravy, grits, pecan pie, apple butter, etc. As expected, Marlene was a fine travel companion. We all got along splendidly, passing the test of Mark Twain’s dictum (seen at our last lunch stop): “there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”