Mini Road Trip - Off To North Carolina

After a long hiatus from travel, it is starting up again. Our Florida son had the opportunity to enjoy a stay at a beautiful home in the mountains of North Carolina and invited us to join them there for a few days. We broke the long eight hour drive in two, staying overnight in West Virginia. There was no need to arrive so tired that we couldn't enjoy our grandchildren.

Arriving in Waynesville, NC, we spent a few minutes driving around the little downtown area and then followed our GPS to the road that the house was on. The house sits on Eagle's Nest Mountain at about 4500 feet and we knew the road would wind and climb for a while.

As we started up, the GPS said to take a turn on another road. It was a bit contrary to what our son had told us but we thought maybe the name of the road changed as some do or connected back to where we needed to be. In all fairness, it was a long day of driving and we probably weren't reasoning correctly.

The street narrowed quickly as we wound our way up the mountain. Soon it was gravel and no more homes. Then it was ruts. "I don't think this is right," we both said. Thankfully there was a flat spot to turn around and we headed back down. On the main road again, we ignored the GPS and just followed the winding, but paved, road up and up and found the place we were to be.

As we pulled up the driveway, four little people ran out to greet us. They looked very familiar and kept yelling, "Grandma! Grandpa!" Yup, this was the place.

The air smelled fresh and clean as mountain air does. It was a welcome fragrance after a day in the car. Leaves were falling even though many of them had not turned colors yet. It was just the beginning of autumn yet to fully burst into full glory.

Dinner was at a rustic restaurant called Bogart's with several stuffed toy bears laying on the exposed rafters. The sun had set by the time we were done and the chill in the air was a reminder that we were in mountain country. It cools off quickly.

On our way back up the mountain we fessed up about our excursion up the back road. We all speculated that the GPS thought it was a short cut. The only thing that really struck in my mind though was the sign we'd seen on a fence up there, "Beware of Bear." Was that a dog named bear? Or was it meant to be the warning of a real bear? This was after all, mountain country.