Visits with Friends

We've recently had the great fortune to have visitors!

Cliff and Sandy from our Investools Investing Club had visited family up north and stopped in to see us for a brief visit on their way back to Florida.  What a treat to be able to show friends our home-on-wheels and our current home park.  (I can't believe I didn't take pictures during their visit!)

Then, just a few days later Karen and Frank - another couple from our investing club - were driving north and took a scenic drive into North Carolina.  This gave us an excuse to go for a tour of our own.  We met up with them for a night in Boone, NC.  Here was our route:

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You might have to zoom in or out to see the whole route.  Or, just click on the map to enlarge. 

It was about a two-hour drive to Boone, driving past the large and beautiful Watauga Lake.  We met them for dinner at Tupelo's World Cafe - which had some delicious vegetarian dishes.  It was so nice to catch up with friends. 

The next morning we headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway to take a different way home.  And lo and behold ran into Karen and Frank at the Moses Cone's Manor House!  I only say this because we thought they were well on their way to D.C..  But she had some shopping to do - we caught you, Karen!!  Then they headed north, and we headed south.

We stopped at multiple overlooks along the way, or what they call "overlooks".  If you can't **look over** the trees, can they really call it an overlook?  One of our favorite stops, though, was the Calloway Peak Overlook -- not much of a view, but hike down a short path into the trees and you'll find a lovely stream...

We drove over (and walked under) the Linn Cove Viaduct - the final portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway constructed.  A manmade marvel built out of respect for the mountain it caresses.

We stopped at Grandfather Mountain to walk across the mile-high swing bridge.  Unfortunately I didn't do enough research in advance.  Otherwise I would have learned about all of the wonderful hiking trails this park has to offer.  Several trails require the use of cables and ladders to access.  Cool.

There was some cloud coverage - but we were still able to get some views between the clouds. 

We hiked the Black Rock Trail which promised some views of the surrounding area.  A pretty trail, with an exciting climb to the overlook.

It was almost 4:00 pm when we left Grandfather Mountain.  This meant I couldn't continue down the Blue Ridge to the Linville Falls & Gorge - which I had on my wish list for the day.  Instead we started heading northwest towards home.  This gave us just enough time for one more attraction along the way - the Elk River Falls in Elk Park, NC.

I'm not sure if I should tell you, but Andy thinks he heard some banjo music on the drive to these falls.

What a wonderful trip.  It made us realize how much we miss traveling.  If we had the RV and didn't have our job at the campground we would've stayed longer to explore more of NC.

Visit our Boone Trip WebAlbums to see lots more photos.