We are just home to dry west Texas after 5 days in the lush beauty of North Carolina. We met up with friends from the area to enjoy a long weekend in one of their brother’s “lake cabin”. Three couples, a serene lake in the Smokey Mountains, great food and company, time for books, naps and fires… football, even! The only hitch was the getting there and getting home but, even that was well worth it.
We arrived Wednesday evening to a gorgeous tablescape featuring candlelit hydrangeas and the smells of homemade lasagna in the air. We settled into our king rooms, each with en suite bathrooms, and enjoyed the views off the deck with a charcuterie selection and cocktails. Y’all! This was just the start! We had a fabulous meal and then moved to a conversation pit around the fireplace on the enclosed patio.
The next morning was lazy and unrushed…just perfect! We left the house later to enjoy a scenic drive to Dry Falls and learned some local hotspots for rock activities.
Just being in mountains amongst the tall pines was intoxicating for us flatlanders. We took a winding road up to “Lela’s rock” for a picnic and viewed the sheer mountain drop-offs and gorgeous views. Our host shared stories of celebrations and sadnesses along with some young and daring feats all tied to this spot, but those are not mine to tell.
That evening we ventured into town for some top-notch barbeque in Highlands. I had somehow understood that our destinations was THE Highlands and we shared much laughter talking about THE Dry Falls and THE special rock and THE any- and every-thing else. THE long weekend was peppered by these references and giggles.
The following morning we started out early to climb an old wagon trail up Whiteface Mountain to watch the sunrise over the Smokey Mountains. Well, we were there and the day did break, but our sunrise was mostly just a gradual lightening up of the day. Gorgeous anyway… but the sun hid its splendor behind the clouds.
Not to worry – our final sunset in Highlands was one for the books! (see last pic)
There was a perfect one mile loop around our lake that my husband ran to celebrate his 5000th day streak. There were these gorgeous blue birds that looked like they had stolen their color right out of a perfect blue sky. There was the moss covered stone steps and a fantastic blue door entry to a neighbor’s property.
This most perfect feline was spotted on a drizzly afternoon walk.
All right on “our” lake! And, then… there was Angie. Angie is who we named a creepy little girl garden statue that seemed to watch you through the front door or the kitchen window.
She was there judging you when you went to town or just on a walk. We had plenty to add to our growing story about how Angie had died tragically in our lake and was certainly haunting the area.
Ooofff, I am sure some sculptor was well paid for the decor but our group found Angie to be misplaced. Don’t tell Doug and Kate! Their home was so inviting and perfect for our fall get-away.
Our house had so much attention to detail and was so well appointed. Did I mention the 5 burner commercial quality range in the kitchen? The two fireplaces and multiple conversation areas? Oh, wait! The bidet in the master suite? Well, this topic deserves an entry devoted completely to this appliance. Most of us experienced the ‘fancy pants’ (pun intended) bidet. Most of us are *possibly* planning home reno’s in the nearish future to accomodate an upgrade of this nature!
It was beautiful and restoring to spend a few days with great friends, laugh until our cheeks got sore and see a part of the country that you cannot describe, it must be experienced.
Our time in THE Highlands was THE perfect trip!