After six months of working from home, Hubby D finally needed a break. Yes, the view is nice from our family room looking out on the golf course but spending 24/7 in the same location was wearing thin. AND, August can be brutally hot and humid in Florida.
We had been thinking about a mountain trip for a couple of years and decided the time was right. For our mountain escape, I booked a wonderful cabin for two weeks in the mountains of North Carolina just east of Asheville. The cabin was located close to the town of Black Mountain.The night before we left for North Carolina, we had a very unusual sunset after a big rain storm. It was stunning.
On the way, the traffic was much heavier than we expected.
Our first view of the mountains was exciting.
When we made it to Asheville, we had lunch at a nice outdoor cafe. I had Alligator Jambalaya. Who would have thought I would drive to North Carolina and eat alligator.
The views from the back deck of the cabin were fantastic. There was an outdoor fireplace and a hot tub. The house was not overly big and that was just perfect for Hubby D and myself. It was a good choice.
Our first sunset was great.
The town of Black Mountain could be seen at night from our deck.
Every morning brought different views of the mountains. Some days clouds would roll over the hills and finally close off the view. It was something I have never experienced before.
Sometimes the mountains did appear to be smoking.
In the evening it was very cool and Hubby D would light the outdoor fireplace so I could sit and drink my wine outside enjoying the sunset. It was quite enjoyable.
Along with enjoying the cool air with mountain views, we also played some great golf. AND, the golf was very different from what we are used to.
We played five courses:
We were really lucky, 3 other couples from our country club in Florida were also in the mountains while we were there. One couple, FT and CT actually gave me some great advice on where to rent and what to look for in a cabin. They have stayed in the area several times and will be returning in October to enjoy the fall colors.
Another couple, DP and SP own a home and spend half the year in Asheville. The last couple, TM and HP told us about a golf course they were going to play and it turned out to be one of our favorites. We are so very, very fortunate to know such great people and share our love of golf with them.
In this photo you can see Bald Mountain behind me.
If you look close you can see Hubby D and one of our friends, DP hitting up to the green.
We had some rain and the piece of foam noodle they used to fill the pin hole began to float. We made a house rule, if you hit the noodle you were in the hole. And, when you hit the noddle, water shot out the top. It was a HOOT!
The Black Mountain golf course had a very unusual hole, a par 6. The 747 yard fairway is on the side of the mountain and your ball rolls left no matter how high you hit. It was amazingly HARD!!!
DP and SP looks us to Sequoyah National. It was the most unusual course filled with amazing views. You almost felt like the golf cart should be a SUV because the hills were so steep.
Steep hill was an understatement. It was a roller coaster ride. My heart was beating so fast by the time I reached the tee box, I could barely hit the ball. Steep hill signs were everywhere, even inside the cart on the GPS system.
This was the view from the tee box looking down. This is a dog leg right to the green.
This was a par 3. REALLY???? That is CT trying to climb up to the tee box.
Grove Park was also a beautiful course. The greens and fairways were immaculate.
It often rained in the afternoon and the golf courses were "cart path only." You have no idea how hard it is to play golf “cart path only” until you have played “cart path only” in the mountains.
For those of you are not golfers, typically you play “scatter” which means you can drive your golf cart right up to your ball (except when you are on the green). But sometimes the ground is too wet, and the golf course designates you can only drive your cart on the path. Then you have to park and walk to your ball from the cart path. This is known as “cart path only.” When you are playing in the mountains you might have to walk down a very steep hill and then up a very steep hill to get to your ball. Occasionally it is very hard, and it does make for a lot of hard walking.
Almost all of our golf in North Carolina was played “cart path only.” My knee got a really big workout.
At Maggie Valley we saw this bear.
FT and CT had a bear visit them at their cabin.
And, DP and SP had a bear visit them on their back deck.
The black bears are all over the area. One morning our outside trash can was laying down and Hubby D stopped to pick it up. A neighbor walking down the road said he saw a bear running away with our entire bag of trash. I wish I could have seen that ... or maybe not.
This is what you would call a real, wild turkey. We were going to the tee box on the 9th hole at Grove Park and he really did not care that we drove right up on him.
We also hiked to some waterfalls. They were stunning.
On one hike SP packed wine and a gourmet lunch. It was spectacular!
One evening we visited DP and SP's home for the most wonderful dinner. They have a beautiful home with an amazing and breathtaking view.
Our trip to North Carolina was wonderful and we returned to Florida refreshed. We are already planning the next trip and hopefully it will be longer.
Our first morning home, the early morning temperature was 82 degrees which was the high for Black Mountain that day. Oh well, after all it is Florida.
Cheers,
Brenda
We are so very thankful to all our wonderful friends who gave us great advice on a terrific place to spend a few "cool" days in the mountains. A special BIG THANK YOU goes out to CT and SP!!!
