Brevard was a washout!

Today. Armed with instructions from the B&B owners we headed off to see some falls, darn it! We found the parkway and traveled and enjoyed and enjoyed and traveled.  Until that is I was concerned that we were going to be out of fuel. 

 So we went to Wayneville (which I learned at breakfast this morning has a great antique store.), got gas and headed to Brevard never finding Looking Glass Falls.  The parkway is just that  no gas, food, or houses, an occasional park station and there was one hotel.   I think but it would have been a honey to stay in,  overlooking some beautiful scenery.  

The Trip from Wayneville to Brevard held a surprise as it was there that we found Looking Glass Falls.

  It was nice, but crowded as folks were swimming in the creek just below the falls.  As we left we laughed as there were some BIG drops of water desultorily hitting the window and wondered what all those folks in the creek were doing.   Just as we arrived in Brevard, after I had declared myself ready to dine again, the Good Lord opened the flood gates!  We pulled over, it was SO bad.  

At last the rain tapered off enough to be able to see and we pulled into town I had a rather Bloomington (IN) feeling about but we did not find a place to dine, they were either not open or closing.  One coffee shop told us we had 9 minutes or we cold take it to go.  I had to laugh, we wanted out of the car!

So we drove back to Asheville and hit up French!  Needless to day I was in heaven.  Steak au Poivre, with a Cahors Médoc. 

 Call me Happy.  Jodi had the Boeuf Bourguignon .  

She is so smart, she told me that mine is better! We walked a bit after:

We drove back to the Engadine Inn and walked up the hill and watched the sunset, not a thriller but still.  

Breakfast this morning was a peach and blueberry cobbler, that was amazing, the toppings was mostly brown sugar and oats.  

I am not sure what they did to juice up the fruit but it was amazing.  Tom ( one of the owners) said that they like to serve dessert first.  This was followed by eggs Benedict and who can go wrong with that?  

So now I have a full belly ready to face the day.  I am terrified of what my scales are going to say when I get home.  

I noticed a pattern of china in the cupboard very similar to mine, but after discussion it is Noritake, not what I have.  Momma, eat your heart out I have been dining with this stuff every morning too!

Where are the falls?

Yesterday we headed out to Boone and to see waterfalls.  Why Boone?  Well, it is the location of the anchor store for Cheap Joes.  It is amidst the Blue Ridge parkway and I thought we would be able to easily find the falls I had noted on a tourist map at the B&B.  Not so much,  we collectively wonder if the GPS is set somehow on scenic.  (On a side note: I am experiencing an oral orgasm as I write over my breakfast! - OMG it is a multiple) So off we went on US 40 East and when we got off we were just sure that we were on the verge of finding falls, even followed signs to Linville Falls and lo and behold it was a small town in the mountains no falls to be found.  We found ourselves « At the top of old Smokey » and in the town of Boone.  And eventually ( thanks to GPS) found the Cheap Joes Anchor Store.  

It had a nice shady area to park the car so  Jodi could sit and read while I browsed.  It was not all I expected.  It says it is an outlet, so there was that expectation as well as I thought it would be bigger than the Asheville store.  It was not.  It was about she same size, still did not have my Senellier Water Color paints in the store, and no « different » ( or maybe I should say interesting eting) brushes.  So I bought some metallic pans (not available in the catalogues ) and a small treat for a friend. 

We discussed lunch/dinner but the clerk said it was move in at the local college (who knew?) and we best avoid Boon for dining so we headed back intent on  finding the Parkway proper and those aforementioned Falls.  We did find the parkway and it has lovely vistas, but no falls, no signs for falls, no notice or indication on the GPS of falls.  

We ended up dining in Black Mountain as it is a cute little town we had visited before and we were not in the mood to struggle with driving is a unknown city.

We had Pizza at « My Fathers Pizza en Pasta » after it was recommended to us by a local.  I had a Cesar and Jodi had Bruchetta which she shared.  The Pizza was our usual and overall I would give it a 7 out of 10.  We sat outside which allayed our Covid concerns a bit.  It is so hard to know what to do and what not to do right now.  

It rained a bit off and on as we drove but it opened up just as we were getting out of the car to come in for the night.  This morning is bright and sunny! And the B&B owner has promised we will see falls today!

O.K. So I have to write as I eat, i am not sure I can do my breakfast justice, however I think in the moment may be the key.  Breakfast here is a 2 course event, this morning it was started with a berry cloud with blue berries and strawberries, with a « cloud » of sour cream and vanilla in the center.  It was heavenly.  I am not fond of blueberries other than in baked goods,but this was amazing I did just resist licking the bowl.  

This was followed by a waffle (of which I am not fond either but still…….) with strawberry compote, a little pitcher of melted butter and maple syrup, accompanied by bacon with brow sugar and pecans.  The explosion of flavors and the teasing out of them as I chew is amazing!

Stamp AWAY 2021

 After much saving of pennies and waiting I got to go to Stampaway 2021.  Since there was not a 2020 version I had saved plenty of pennies. The convention was good, spread out, but still crowded with mostly unmasked individuals.  I started wearing again a couple of weeks ago, it is a cheap, easy way to protect myself, my loved ones and others.  So…..

I did not spend all my hard saved pennies, but made quite a dent.  Found some lovely Paris, Amsterdam  and Italian stamps to play with as well as a car stamp for my man cards, Some dies to cut out items like a unicorn and windmill,  and general useful items for both stamping and watercolor.  It was odd to not be going home to play with my new toys anytime soon.   The hotel we stayed in is NOT a do over and it is a pity as in the past it was a Residence Inn (this was our go to place for years) by Marriott and is now a Sonesta.  Our clothing (Fortunately  we  only took in small bags with the Weekends clothing but still my jammies….) smelled like smoke on arrival here last night.  UGH!  I could not find reasonable reservations but I think seriously planning ahead in is order here as I do not  wish a repeat.  NO sugar for my coffee, screaming and yelling late into the night outside, and no plug for the bath tub for a bath ( HA!, I carry my own!) all add up to « No Return »!

I am still grieving the loss of Le Petite France as a dining option and our (my) dining experience in Cincinnati this year was a bust too, but that is a story best left out.

The drive here took us right past the exit for PARIS.  It was uneventful and not bad, though I told Jodi when we are both retired and traveling I think 4 hour a day limits on our driving as my old derrière gets stiff.  

We got here about 6PM and the only local place to dine was a brewery about 5 minutes away and it closed a 7PM. Off we went and had edible food, but a lovely atmosphere.  Probably better, were we beer drinkers, though my glass of wine was o.k. I had a flatbread and Jodi a pretzel without cheese as they did not tell us that they were out until it arrived.  She took it much better than I would have.  I did have a bit of inspiration as she likes pimento cheese and they had a pimento cheese burger so I asked for some of that as a replacement.  I don’t think it thrilled her though.  

The Engadine INN is everything I had hoped for.   

A lovely old home, outside of Asheville (so peaceful)  with all of the atmosphere I anticipated.  I have to laugh at myself as I think staying in a B&B is not always the most physically convenient but it it delightful.

Our room has a King size bed and a slipper tub, I do have to inquire about hot water as I took a rather tepid bath last night, but I survived.  

Breakfast this morning has consisted of a fruit, yogurt and granola cup ( it was Delish) and a Ham and Egg & Cheese  Croissant.  YUM!

Not sure what the day holds yet, but is supposed to rain the next few days and this may be the only good day to walk……

Chilling with the Cicadas

 5-30-21

We decided to go to Nashville IN for this weekend.  In the past we have stayed at a place called Cornerstone INN ( https://www.cornerstoneinn.com) but they did not have breakfast and since I usually go alone I did not want to have to scout out Breakfast alone.  So I choose the Artists Colony Inn (v http://artistscolonyinn.com)  because they had a buffet breakfast and in these days of Covid that is unusual.  We had dined here years ago and were not impressed and honestly should have stuck with that impression.  

We got here and could not get in the room until 4 PM.  I had called the HobNob (https://www.hobnobcornerrestaurant.com/Home ) about dining reservations and they do not take reservations but she said to come about 5:30 or 7:45 as those were quieter times.  I called because they have an impressive wine list for Nashville Indiana and I wanted to give it a try.  So we went to the park for a while until about 5ish, came back got in the room and walked to dinner.  Dinner was amazing!  We shared a bottle of wine, and I had a pork chop with a savory bread pudding and broccoli  accompanied by a mustard cream sauce over it all.  Can you say heaven?  Jodi had the pot roast dinner and she said it was good. We went for a walk after dinner, and then came back and sat outside the entrance to the Inn and were entertained by “Rocky”.   Someone left him 3 count ‘em 3 chicken fingers to find in the trash!  He was pretty cute and I think I may have to try to paint him!   We got back to the room, it was cool enough to turn on the heater. 

The room is small, has only one decent chair, and was lacking towels.  I could hear people talking, dragging stuff across the floor and the traffic, so not such a sleep friendly place.  There was at least an blanket and extra pillow each in their own bag in the cupboard.  

This morning I got up and endured a tepid 3 inch bath in a semi -lit room as the light in the bathroom automatically also turns on a loud fan.  Coffee and breakfast Buffett was on my mind.  I walked through looking at folks food,  spied biscuits and gravy, but decided to be good and ordered French Toast.  IT is not actually a buffet you order from a ticket, and the ticket probably tasted better.  It was not cooked and tasteless, it was so bad I took a second bite to check, yep def not worth the calories.  So I tried the quiche, that too was a disappointment, I finished the filling, the crust was soggy, and went back up to check on Jodi,  she was still dozing so I went to the stamp store and busied myself looking, and looking and looking, and buying.  Paper to play with when I retire!  When I got back she was up and ready to go.  We went to grab a coffee at the Chocolate Moose ( we had spied it the evening before). And then went into the park. It was a delightful day, sitting reading, knitting off and on and talking about what we were reading or whatever popped into our minds.  The cicadas serenaded us the entire time we were there and one even decided to read with me for a while.  We came back about 5:30ish, grabbed come Carmel corn from a store and walked back to the HobNob for dinner.  We had decided to share a pot roast sandwich, they are the best here, but I wanted a bit more do I ordered a cup of their onion soup.  It was tasty but I tried to wear it.  As I was moping up this guy kept looking  and pointing at me and I said to Jodi that guy is making fun of me for being such a slob.  Here it was a guy I have known for a long time, but not seen for ages and he was not making fun of me at all, but trying to figure out if I was who he thought I was, yep it is me!  It was so good to see him.  

We walked back and took the remnants of our bottle of wine from the night before out to our spot to wait for Rocky but to Jodi’s disappointment he did not show.  

Monday morning brought more for the same interesting breakfast options and solutions.  I tried the Sausage gravy and it has so much red pepper it was really not edible and the coffee cake...... Well, i make better out of a box.  I still kind of think I should become a cook somewhere and “show ‘em how its done”.  We went back to the park after grabbing coffee, this time at the Daily Grind and lolled the day away, again finding more interesting “wildlife”.