Father's Day

Now that we’ve been vaccinated and it feels safe to travel again, I decided that for Father’s Day we would take a trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway that I have been longing to complete for some time.  Last year, as noted in earlier posts, we only took two out-of-Town trips the entire year due to Covid-19.

Our daughter sent me Father’s Day greetings, and it is hard to believe that she just turned 35.  I still remember taking her to church on Father’s Day in 1986 when she was only ten days old.  I recall that she was well-behaved for the most part except for a lot of little cooing sounds – we were up in a corner of the balcony where we did not disturb anybody.  Katy has always been a talkative one!

It was raining when we left our house, which was a little disappointing, and the first thing we encountered was one of those big city bus-sized RVs gingerly maneuvering the multitude of curves between Highlands and Brevard who absolutely refused to pull over despite many opportunities and the honking of the 20-or-so cars behind him.  At times he was going less than ten miles per hour.  But I am striving to become a more patient person and it was good training.  On the same road, we just barely missed hitting a huge deer that leapt across the road in front of us, missing us by only a foot or two.  It would not only have killed the deer, but also totaled our little Mini Cooper and gravely injured its passengers.  We were thankful when the rain began to dissipate, and on the other side of Brevard we found a welcome site parked at the place we had arranged to stop and rest:  the Lobster Dog Food Truck, which sets up at one place or another in the Asheville area, and which we have been trying to meet at one of those places.

We have learned to appreciate food trucks more and more in recent months.  They are quick and inexpensive and usually have a higher Health Department sanitation rating than restaurants.  A lobster dog is a toasted split-top hot dog bun crammed with lobster and mayo, warm butter, and special seasonings – an indulgence on Father’s Day and the best we have had since our trip to Maine in 2016.

As we drove north from Asheville through Burnsville and eventually onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, the rain let up and the sun came out.  Our destination was the Switzerland Inn in Little Switzerland – Milepost 334 on the Parkway.  The historic old inn first opened in 1911 but has seen many improvements since then.  We had driven by the Inn several times on various trips on the Parkway but had stayed there only once and for the first time in 2015.

Inside the inn is a large wood-burning fireplace, comfortable seating with game tables, and lots of bookcases.  A person could happily spend many rainy days without even leaving the lobby itself or the dining room next door.

We had a light dinner and then strolled down the broad lawn overlooking Lake James to the south where a fire pit had been lit.  It was a beautiful place to sit and relax.

The next morning, while we were checking out, I investigated several old photos of the original Inn and the inhabitants of the area.  This striking picture of Isaac Hollifield especially caught my eye.  He was an old-timer who used to take visitors to the camp at Mount Mitchell, and he looked like a real mountain man.

From Little Switzerland, we exited the Parkway and drove on many winding two-lane roads through that part of Western North Carolina known as the High Country, which we seldom visit unless we can stay at a place like Switzerland Inn as a base.  We went through tiny places – some of them containing no more than a gas station – along the way:  Ingalls, Roaring Creek, Cranberry, Elk Park, Banner Elk (not far from that famous Town everybody loves named Loafer’s Glory), finally coming down into the lovely valley that is Valle Cruces, past a stone Episcopal Church and conference center, to the historic Mast General Store, ca. 1909 and listed on the National Register, and its Annex just down the road a bit.  With its wooden floors and old-timey merchandise it reminds me of Mitchell's Hardware in New Bern.

From Valle Cruces, we made our way to Blowing Rock for lunch, with plenty of time to walk around and enjoy this Town that is in many ways similar to Highlands, with a vibrant Main Street and many fine shops and restaurants.  Then we made the surprisingly short trip down Highway 221 to Marion and Old Fort, then down to Bat Cave and Edneyville, finally ending up in Hendersonville.  We both had appointments in Brevard with a young doctor recommended to us – our current doctor in Highlands has left – and it made more sense to stay for a night in Hendersonville, drive to Brevard the next morning, and then return to Highlands, which is exactly what we did.

We discovered a new restaurant in Hendersonville called West First, and we also discovered a new place to stay that we had not known about, a historic rock Inn in the Laurel Park area on top of a mountain called the Echo Mountain Inn.  Originally a private summer home built in 1896, the place went through major renovations in the 1930s and the 1970s.  Small, comfortable, and historic – all of the things we love.

We left for Brevard the next day, were pleased with our new doctor, and finally returned to Highlands on Tuesday afternoon, not encountering any leaping deer or slow-moving RVs on the way.  It was a good Father’s Day get-away!  And now I am checking to see where Lobster Dog Food Truck will be located next.