Every time my family and I plan a North Carolina Mountain Dreams vacation we end up within a short drive of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Whether in the southern part of the state or way up north in the High Country, we still like to have access to the Parkway. I have found that even with the slower speed limits, traveling the Parkway is a lot of times the quicker, less stressful route, especially when driving north and south along the Blue Ridge.
Our trips so far have led us to make two cities our base of operations during our stays. In the southern part of the state we tend to stay in Asheville. When we travel to the High Country, it is in Boone we base our stay. Our experiences at each place are completely different. In Asheville we tend to take a hotel room and eat out while in Boone we usually rent a privately owned log home and cook more of our meals in. Almost all of our Boone stays have been spent in the mountains above Valle Crucis in cabins we arranged through Valle Crucis Log Cabin Rentals.
I will be doing a series of posts on the attractions available in both locations in the coming days. For right now let’s look at the overall differences in the two areas…
Asheville
Asheville is the largest city in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. With a population estimated to be above 74,000, Asheville has a more cosmopolitan feel than any other city in the North Carolina mountains. Asheville topped Relocate-America.com’s “America’s Top 100 Places to Live” in 2007 and ranked in the top 10 in 2005. The city, with it’s art deco downtown and thriving arts community, has become a mecca for the retiring baby boomers looking for a place to settle down for the second part of their lives.
Asheville regularly makes many “Top” lists in many different areas from Art to Retirement, from Vegetarianism to Freakness…In other words everyone seems to find something to like in Asheville.
For our part, while we never took the kids, my wife and I both found a day touring the Biltmore Estate both fun and informative if somewhat tiring. You do cover a whole lot of ground without ever leaving the house…And then there are the gardens.
The Blue ridge Parkway is a big part of what makes Asheville part of our North Carolina Mountain Dream and the views overlooking the city are awe inspiring. If you have chance take in a sunrise or sunset from the Parkway.
Another must see is the North Carolina Arboretum, still being developed, it is open daily except on Christmas. Tuesdays and Saturdays are good days to visit as they almost always have something going on. You can check the calendar here.
Boone
The home of the Appalachian Mountaineers, Boone still has a small town feel though with some major traffic. We love it anyway.
Whether we are shopping on King Street or at the Original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, buying groceries at the Watauga County Farmers’ Market or eating pizza on top of Beech Mountain, hanging out in Blowing Rock or walking the Appalachian Trail on Roan there is a whole lot to do in the High Country. That includes a whole lot of porch sittin’ and just watchin’ the clouds rise out of the valleys below.
If you have kids along, young or think they are not so young, check out Mystery Hill…an old style amusement like I remember from my own childhood. If your youngsters really are youngsters, a day at the Tweetsie Railroad Amusement Park may be just what the doctor ordered to burn off some energy gained from the great nights sleep that comes just from the nature of the mountains…
Every time we spend time in this area we come home refreshed…But, after settling in to the slower pase of living, coming back to the rat race of home is an adjustment…That’s why we dream our North Carolina Mountain Dreams of making the move permanent.
More to follow…
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