Weekend Getaway: Bistro Roca

After two days of activities, Daniel and I were pretty tired. We decided to search for the best place to eat locally. It turned out that we had actually eaten at several of the tops picks for the area, but we finally settled on Bistro Roca in Blowing Rock.

I quickly jotted down the address and stuck it in our GPS. We had a 6:30 reservation and 30 minutes to drive. We should have had plenty of time.

Our first problem was that we took a back route from our cabin that included a jaunt on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was fine until the BRP closed 1.5 miles before we needed to get off of it. So we took the exit at hand and the GPS recalculated.

We made our way to Blowing Rock, but soon we were in a neighborhood with no restaurant in sight. Daniel had me call the restaurant to get specific directions to their location. I called and they told me that we should turn onto Laurel {which intersected with Main}. The only problem was I thought the guy said "Wallow" and I asked him twice to repeat the name {with me repeating back to him}.

Guy: "We are located off of Laurel."

Me: "Wallow?"

Guy: "Yes, Laurel."

Me: "Okay, Wallow."

Of course we couldn't find a street named Wallow.

So, we found ourselves wandering up and down Main Street in Blowing Rock {which is like 4 blocks long} and we couldn't find the correct street. We are both tired and hungry and cranky.

Daniel decided to stop and ask someone where "Wallow Street" was. Of course, that was a useless question. Then we ran into another problem. I had hurriedly written down the address, but not the name of the restaurant. Neither of us could remember the name. We thought it was something like Boca and when Daniel asked the person on the street if there was a restaurant named Boca, he got a blank stare {they must have thought we were complete idiots}.

At this point, I was ready to give up and go eat somewhere else. Daniel however, was determined to find this restaurant. So he called and was finally able to get specific directions {he had to ask multiple times to figure it out – including having them spell out street names so that we could find the place}.

After an hour of searching, we finally arrived at Bistro Roca {which was indeed located in more of a neighborhood-like area}. The place was packed, but they let us use our reservation anyway.

The food was great, though a little pricey. We like to split our dishes so that we can try new things. Daniel tried the North Carolina Trout with Grits and a Side Salad and I tried the BR Burger with Mashed Potatoes. We really liked the atmosphere, but we had a bit of trouble enjoying ourselves since we were both cranky. 

Weekend Getaway: Grandfather Mountain

Daniel and I lived in North Carolina for 6 years and never made it to Grandfather Mountain. We did try to go one time, but because we are frugal, we opted to pay a $5 parking fee to park at the base of the mountain and hike up. It was 4 miles of switchbacks in the woods with no view. After an hour of hiking, we threw in the towel. Sometimes it is OK to quit when you recognize that you aren't having fun.

Anyways, that was years ago. This past weekend we went up to stay in Blowing Rock for the weekend. We learned how to snowboard and then we looked into the possibility of cross country skiing for day #2. We really thought it would be fun to go ski at the Moses Cone Memorial Park where there are 25 miles of carriage trails to play on.

We found an outfitter that rented skis, but when we called it was too late in the day and they were out of rental equipment. Cue disappointment.

Instead of cross country skiing, we decided to do the next best thing: go to Grandfather Mountain and take Sophie with us. This actually turned out to be a better option because Sophie got to spend the day running in the woods in the snow instead of being cooped up in the cabin for another day.

The views from Grandfather were amazing. The upper trails were all closed due to ice and snow, but we were able to go out on the mile-high bridge and do a hike {walk} in the woods. We probably hiked between 1-2 miles in snow that ranged from 8 to 12+ inches.

We had a lot of fun. Next time we go to the mountains, we definitely plan to get up early and take advantage of cross country ski rentals.

Weekend Getaway: Snowboarding at Sugar

My husband is an engineer. And as you might guess, this makes him very practical and a bit of a planner. As in, there are not many things that he can do without sitting down and making an excel spreadsheet first. However, he does have a spontaneous side. When it comes to planning trips, he will do his research ahead of time and figure out basically what we will do, but the actual committing to a trip can come at the drop of a hat.

Case-in-point: We were considering taking a winter trip to the mountains. MLK weekend seemed like a good time. And with the recent snow precipitation, it seemed perfect. So last Thursday afternoon, Daniel started calling cabins to see if we could get a rental for the long weekend. We were both a bit doubtful that anything would come up as it was a holiday weekend, it had just snowed 8+inches AND we were looking for a rental for the next day.

Surprisingly enough Daniel found a place. And as a bonus, he managed to get us one night for free. This is how we roll. For vacations, we have found if you call last minute, you can usually get a sweet deal. Especially if you are using VRBO.com {vacation rental by owner}.

The cabin we rented was actually 3 BRs {more than we needed}, so we invited several of our friends. Evidently, most people plan ahead of time and were not available for a last-minute retreat. But our friend Chris had the weekend open, so he met us with his six-year-old son, Andrew.

Our original plans had consisted of trying to snowshoe, maybe ski and possibly get in some tubing. When Chris arrived with plans to snowboard, we decided that snowboarding could be a lot of fun {and it would put me and Daniel on equal footing}. 

Andrew put me and Daniel to shame with his utter lack of fear and natural ability {probably inherited from Chris}. Daniel and I had a good time learning how to control the board. Unfortunately the crowds at Sugar Mountain were ridiculous – it was a waste to buy a lift ticket. We just stayed down low and practiced with the snowboard. Also, after 3 hours on the slopes, my feet were starting to feel numb, so I called it a day. Daniel stayed an extra couple of hours to use the lifts.

We decided to forgo snowshoeing because it involved a guide leading you straight up the ski slope. If we are going to snowshoe, we would rather go out to a trail and not do it with a group of strangers. I think that I like snowboarding more than skiing. I felt more in control and I like that my legs couldn't shoot out in opposite directions.

 

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We ended the night with dinner from Cookout {which we REALLY MISS}. Overall snowboarding was a success. We both came home sore and I am still feeling stiff in my knees from all of my falls. In the future, we would rather go on a week day when there are no crowds, but I guess you can't be too picky about when the snow will fall...

Weekend Getaway: North Carolina Mountains

I will write all about our trip to the mountains tomorrow. For now, I thought I would leave you with some pictures from our trip... We learned how to snowboard. We took a hike. We enjoyed good food and we relaxed. It was a great weekend.

Daniel thought I had some sexy hair and sunglasses!


Daniel and Sophie on the mile-high bridge at Grandfather Mountain.


  Sophie and I on a rock outcropping at Grandfather Mountain.



Hiking in the woods at Grandfather Mountain.


Enjoying fudge.

 

Dinner at Bistro Roca.


Breakfast at Knights on Main.

Snow Days...

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After a week of snow on the ground and cabin fever, you would think we would be craving some sunshine and warm weather. And maybe we are. Just a little. But the lure of snow in the mountains and the chance to go do some outdoor activities is too strong for us. So this weekend will find us heading up to Blowing Rock, NC to stay in a cabin for the long weekend. 

The North Carolina mountains just received between 8" and 14" of snow and we can't wait to go strap on some snowshoes, tube down a mountain and get in some ski time. Snow doesn't have to be about being stuck indoors :)

We managed to get a great last minute deal on a 3BR cabin... anyone want to come up and share the cabin with us??? Give us a shout on our cell phones if your interested...

Things That Make Me Happy

1. Spontaneously deciding to take Friday off of work to head up to the mountains.
2. Hiking Max Patch bald with amazing 360 degree views of the Smokey Mountains.
3. Perfect weather with a Carolina blue sky and lots of sunshine.
4. Letting Sophie run off leash on the bald - she was in doggy heaven.
5. Our little tripod (with strap) that we can use to take photos of us when there are no people around.
6. Getting a camp site beside a river.
7. Spending part of an evening soaking outdoors in hot mineral water springs after an afternoon of hiking. (Daniel thinks it was just heated tap water pumped into the tubs, regardless, it was a nice way to spend an evening).
8. Laying under a majestic starry sky - you don't get views of stars like this in the city.
9. Getting an electric site so that we could use an air mattress and our electric blanket. This was luxury camping for us. Normally we go for a primitive site, but we decided since Sophie had never been cold-weather camping before that we better make sure she would be warm enough. Good thing we did this, she slept under the blanket with us, only getting out a couple times. Then we would wake up and find her shivering and get her to get back under the blanket.
10. Sleeping in because the air temperature is so cold and you don't want to get out from under your blankets.
11. Enjoying a cup of hot coffee mixed with cocoa while you sit on the bank of the river.
12. Eating a country breakfast at the local Smokey Mountain Diner - almost rivaled Bobby's in Searcy. A cup of coffee, two eggs sunny-side up, country ham and toast for me.
13. Hiking the Lover's Leap trail. The views from the top of the French Broad River, the town of Hot Springs and the mountains beyond were beautiful.
14. Getting to sleep on the drive home because you volunteered to drive there.
15. Taking a hot shower at home then going to bed early in your own comfortable bed. 

On Canoeing and Stupid Rednecks with Guns...

For Daniel's 29th birthday, we decided to go up to Cary, NC to stay with college friends (Heather and Jonathan) and spend Saturday canoeing. This idea came about when watching a PBS program about The Benjamin Vineyards & Winery who teamed up with the Haw River Canoe & Kayak Company to offer canoe trips on the Haw River that included paddling to the vineyard for wine and dessert. However, after some research, we opted just to go up and paddle (since we are currently on a shoestring budget).

We headed up to Cary on Friday night, then got up early Saturday to head up to Saxapahaw, NC to paddle. Unfortunately for us, the river was down due to a recent lack of rain. It was a very lazy day on a lazy river. We had to get out to portage around a dam (see photo album), but even with that the day was pretty laid back.

After our portaging experience, we had about 5 miles to paddle until our pull out. As we continued paddling, we all heard gun shots in the distance. We didn't really think too much about it initially - we are after all in a rural area and maybe there was a shooting range in the vicinity.

As we continued paddling, a couple of kayakers passed us and let us know that there were people up river that were actually shooting directly ACROSS the river at targets. They were getting ready to head back and encouraged us to follow them and to hug the left side of the river.

As we got closer to the wide open area where the shooting appeared to be occurring, we suddenly saw something skip in the water about 30 feet to our right and heard a loud "zing" sound. Some irresponsible moron (and that's putting it nicely :-) ) had shot a round up the river towards us. I don't think they were intentionally firing towards us, as we were still a long way away. (If they were, I'm quite thankful they had very poor aim).

Daniel yelled for the firing to cease (which it did). When we got closer, we saw a group of people hanging out on the right side of the river, with their targets on the bank on the left side of the river. I suppose the one shot was a stray. In all seriousness, we were pretty lucky that we didn't get hit by the stray bullet and that they quit firing when Daniel yelled.

There is a time and place for shooting targets, but if you are going to do it, you should be ABSOLUTELY SURE of what your target is, what's in line with it, and what's behind if if you miss or the bullet ricochets.

We are so thankful that our idyllic day did not turn into a nightmare.

Return to Backpacking

  

To celebrate the long weekend, Daniel and I decided it was time for us to embark on an overnight backpacking trip, with Sophie in tow.

 

It has been about two years since we have managed to carve out time for such a trip. Over the past two years (since Daniel's chainsaw incident) we have actually tried to go on several different occasions, but something always prevented a trip.

 

After some last minute planning, we were able to get up to Carver's Gap for an overnight trip. We were not without our setbacks though...

 

  

On the front end everything seemed to go smoothly. We set up our tent in the living room, hoping that Sophie would not be afraid of such a thing. We have discovered that whatever we do or wherever we go, Soph is on board with trying. So she gladly hopped in the tent with us.

 

After packing all of our gear and checking our lists twice, we set out for an area north of Asheville. The route we took was longer than planned as we needed to stop and get a map, but eventually we made it to our trailhead.

Set Back #1:
For some reason our GPS took us a back way to Carver's Gap. As we drove down a winding country road, Daniel noticed a sign that said "Road Closed at Railroad Tracks." We were within 15 miles of our turn, so we prayed that the road closure would happen AFTER our turn.

  

We were literally counting down the miles (via the GPS) to said turn and anxiously waiting to the road closure. Sure enough, two more "Road Closed Signs" later the road closed 0.2 miles BEFORE our turn.

 

  

We briefly discussed how to proceed. Being so close to our turn and being on a country road through the mountains meant that to turn around probably meant a 1+ hour EXTRA drive. So we agreed to go forward past the road block in hopes that we could somehow get around it.

 

  

As we crossed the "closed" bridge, we noticed workers who were indeed working. Daniel rolled down the window to ask if there was a detour or if we could proceed. The worker looked at us and said "I won't tell anybody that I saw you." So we proceeded through the closed road.

Set Back #2:
We finally made it to Carver's Gap. It was 7:00 PM (later than we had intended) and 50 degrees with a strong wind. We discussed if we had warm enough clothes for the hike as we weren't expecting it to be so cold in July. We decided we would be fine, especially since we had our 0 degree sleeping bags.

 

  

As we pulled our backpacks out of the trunk, Daniel realized that he didn't have the lid to his pack. Uh-oh. We tried to remember what was in his lid: his hat, a headlamp and powerbars and maybe some other small items. We decided that we could make due with one headlamp and threw in some extra snacks into my pack. This also meant that my lid got the extra small items like the GPS and cell phone. I had a bandanna that I told Daniel he could use in lieu of his hat... this meant he got to sport a blue bandanna with white flowers instead of his beloved camouflaged hat.

 

   

We headed up Round Bald with a strong wind. I was thankful for a jacket. Sophie loved the open ridges that she could roam on. We hiked for about 2 hours, over Jane's Bald and on to Grassy Ridge where we decided to camp for the night.

 

Camping on a bald means you are exposed to the wind, but we managed to find a rhododendron bush to back our tent up to. Thankfully we still had light at 9 PM. We set up camp and then did a late night "dinner." We actually ate in Asheville but I was thankful to have hot beef stew after our cold two-hour climb over hills.
 

Sophie did great in the tent. She even slept all night with no barking. Sometime in the middle of the night, the wind stopped and it warmed up a bit. Soph woke up around 6:30 but let us sleep in til 7:30 at which point hikers with dogs came by and she went kind of crazy. We figured this was our "get up and break down camp" call.
 

  

We hit the trail by 9 and hiked down through the woods to the Stan Murray Shelter. Sophie did really well on the trail, unless with came across other hikers with dogs. I think this will just take time for her to adjust to.

 

After another half mile on the trail, we decided to head back because 1) hiking in the woods is not near as fun as hiking on the open balds (plus it is easier to control Sophie where we have more room to get off the trail) and 2) Daniel's feet were starting to bother him.

 

So we hiked out. Our mileage for our first return to backpacking trip was a little under 8 miles. The walk back across the ridges was beautiful. It was a good introduction for Sophie. hopefully we will have more trips to come.

 

I will admit that coming home a little early and getting to eat a yummy eat out meal and sleep in my own bed is nice.

Six Week Challenge: Day 32
Workout:
2 miles of backpacking, carrying a 40 lb pack over two balds, elevation gain 500 ft

Meals:
Breakfast: Frosted Mini-Wheats with 1% Milk and Coffee with Fat-Free Vanilla Coffeemate
Lunch: #1 from Chick-fil-a with a Dr. Pepper
Dinner: Joey Junior with water from Moes SouthWest Grill
Late Dinner: Mountain House Freeze Dried Beef Stew
Calories: 1,844

Six Week Challenge: Day 33
Workout:
6 miles of backpacking, carrying a 40 lb pack down through the woods, back up again and back over the previous two balds, elevation gain 1000 ft

Meals:
Breakfast: Power Bar
Snack: Trail Mix
Lunch: Tuna and Multigrain Crackers and half a serving of Trail Mix
Dinner: One half serving of Monterey Ranch Chicken Fajitas, half a bowl of Chips & Salsa and Dr. Pepper from On the Border
Calories: 1,690