On the Road Again....

We recently drove to Jacksonville to visit Tom's father.  We decided to drive leisurely and spend a little bit of time in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Neither Tom nor I had ever been to Chimney Rock, North Carolina so that is where we went.

We spent two nights at a lovely inn in the town of Chimney Rock.  From our room we could hear the sound of a stream and had a good mountain view.  The restaurant at the inn was so good that we ate there both nights.  After dinner, we had fun playing air hockey.  I had never played it, and it was so much fun.  I wonder if we could get one to put in our basement.

Our main point of staying where we did was to be close to Chimney Rock, a 315-foot high monolith.  However, we wanted to see what else was in the area.  The staff at the inn suggested that we visit the Flowering Bridge in nearby Lake Lure.  

We had never heard of the Flowering Bridge and were blown away with what we saw.  The 155-foot bridge, which goes over the Rocky Broad River, was built in 1925.  When a new bridge was built adjacent to the old one in 2011, there was no need for the old one--at least for traffic.  The town people decided to turn the bridge into a garden.  In reality, there are twelve gardens on the historic bridge, all maintained by volunteers.

 

Then it was on to Chimney Rock State Park.  You can take either the steps or an elevator to the top.  The elevator ride takes you up 258 feet, or the equivalent of 26 stories, in 45 seconds.  We took the elevator, and Tom ventured by foot to a higher vantage point.  We also took a hike to see Hickory Nut Falls with its 440-foot drop.

And then before we knew it, our short stay in the mountains was over, and it was time to head further south.