Driving above the clouds with the windows down. Hiking to a 360 degree view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Eating apple pie à la mode at a historic apple orchard for lunch… Day 2 in Asheville was completely different from Day 1, but no less enjoyable, and was spent on the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Asheville.
Obviously, I would need sustenance for the day ahead, which came in the form of a biscuit with scrambled eggs and country ham from Biscuit Head. Like yesterday’s breakfast destination, Biscuit Head also has multiple locations in Asheville, and one of their claims to fame is the tempting homemade jam bar to accompany their infamous biscuits. The salty ham and perfectly scrambled eggs were an ideal complement to the berry blast and apple pie jams I selected as toppings for my biscuit. When the line is out into the parking lot 10 minutes before opening time, you know the place is doing something right!
The remainder of the day was spent leisurely driving north on the Blue Ridge Parkway as far as the Orchard at Altapass and then south back to Asheville. There was a good deal of cloud cover when I started out, but the road soon climbed high enough that blue skies prevailed and I could look down at the clouds blanketing the valleys below.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a limited access road spanning 469 miles from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the eastern edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in western North Carolina. I only drove about 70 miles of it today. The road twists and turns as it climbs up and down mountains, passes through tunnels, and crosses mountain gaps. Along the way are plenty of overlooks to pull off the road and soak in the scenery.
I made just three stops today, the first of which was at Craggy Gardens, where a 0.8 mile trail leads up to a grassy meadow which is filled with rhododendrons in the spring.
My second stop was just up the road at Craggy Pinnacle. The short but steep 0.7 mile hike leads to a rocky summit with mountain vistas in every direction. You can even look down at the twisty road below and see the Craggy Gardens parking area and picnic shelter (up on the hillside).
My final stop included today’s “lunch” at the Orchard at Altapass. The orchard has been in business for over 100 years and includes the apple orchards, locally made honey, a large farm store, and small area for music and dancing. The place is clearly a popular spot, as I sat in a line of cars on the way down the hill for 20 minutes as the parking attendants worked to fill recently vacated spaces. The payoff of apple pie à la mode with views over the orchard and surrounding mountains was well worth the wait.
I followed the same route back to Asheville with fewer stops as the road became much more congested and many of the overlook parking areas were full.
I had been looking forward to dinner at the downtown taproom of a local cidery tonight. Unfortunately, I didn’t check the details ahead of time and they have limited hours on Sunday which don’t include dinner. Plan B ended up being a “whole hog” pulled pork sandwich at Buxton Hall Barbecue. The sandwich was piled high with juicy pork and I enjoyed sampling the different sauces they had.
I have an early morning flight home tomorrow morning, so today was really the end of my short weekend in Asheville. Since I didn’t even visit downtown, I have a hard time making any blanket statements about Asheville itself, but my day at the Biltmore yesterday and my drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway today combined to make this a much-needed weekend getaway. I’ve always shied away from traveling far for long weekend trips, but despite the 5 hours of travel time necessary to get here, I would do it all again in a heartbeat!
Traveling with Laura 