Getaway

Since the kids were out of school Thursday and Friday we decided to skip out of town for a couple of days. In 1992 we stayed in Highlands, NC. This time we stayed in Cashiers and visited Highlands. By the way, it's pronounced 'Cashers', not like a 'cashier' at a store. We were told the story that way back a farmer owned a mule named Cassius that often ran away and always ended up in this valley. The area was named after the mule and some civil war era maps apparently spell it with an apostrophe 's'. I can't find anything on the web to corroborate it, but it's an interesting story and attempts to explain why the local people pronounce it the way they do.

We stayed at the Laurelwood Mountain Inn and had a wonderful log cabin all to ourselves. There was a queen-sized bed in the downstairs bedroom and twin beds in the loft. It had a full (though small) kitchen, a window air conditioner, gas logs for heat, cable television, wi-fi, and us.

We went to Arrowmont in Cullowhee, NC on Friday and Karen and the girls took a two hour horseback ride. I didn't think flip flops were very good for using with stirrups. Their guide's name was Adam and they were lucky to get him since he told them all the local lore from how to age a pine tree to the legend of Judaculla, the seven-fingered, slant-eyed giant who according to Cherokee legend could leap eight miles from mountain peak to mountain peak. Cool stuff and a great day for a ride.

We went to Highlands and did some shopping, ate lunch and way too many sweets. We went to a candy/ice cream shop called Kilwin's and stocked up on fudge. During our visit we noticed they had luscious looking caramel apples, but we didn't buy any. At 10:00 pm that night, Stephanie decided she had to have a caramel apple, so we drove the ten twisty miles back to Highlands and got some. Luckily they were open until 11:00 pm on Saturday. Hey, it's vacation...

By far our best meal was Sunday brunch at Zookeeper Bistro at the Mountain Laurel Inn and Shops (notice the subtle name difference) that was less than a half mile away. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it to anyone who's going to be in the area. It was SO good I forgot to photograph the food, which is not like me.

It was good to get away for a few days.

The place we stayed this time.

The front of the cabin.

The back.

The kitchen.

The stairs. Nice railing, eh?

Meredith holding down the couch in the living room.

The other side of the living room didn't need any help.

On the road from Cashiers to Highlands, the views are spectacular.

Found some pottery --some really old pottery
at the Highlands Nature Center museum.

Something to think about at the Highlands Nature Center.

Some great flowers on the trail at the Highlands Nature Center.

Some more flowers on the trail.

From the desperation of waiting for ice cream to be dished out...

... to the exhilaration at winning the "ring game".

Meredith and Karen at Bridal Veil Falls.

Stephanie attacks her caramel apple.

I took the more mature (read: easier) route
since they would slice it upon request.

My three musketeers relaxing watching TV.