Brevard, NC: March 21-24, 2024 - In Brev

Brevard is an important place in Mary's life, so she wanted to show me around for a weekend at the end of March.

We took some PTO to make the most of the weekend, and so set out on Friday morning, stopping at a Waffle House on the way out of town.  Through part of the western NC drive, we noticed smoke, a sign of the still-spreading wildfires happening throughout that area.  Truly feel bad for western NC, they've been hit so repeatedly as of late.

Speaking of feeling bad, as we rolled into town, we went by Looking Glass Falls with the intention of seeing it first to kick off the weekend, since Mary said the view would be a great introduction to the area.  Two days later, I'd see that she was right:

...but on that day, the whole area was roped off with Police caution tape, and it seemed like there was a search underway.  We never got clear on what was happening, but it meant a slight pivot in our plans.

On our way back from attempting to see the falls, we stopped in at the Pisgah Visitor Center before heading into the town of Brevard proper:

We had lunch and a milkshake at Rocky's, then took a stroll around town, seeing a few shops, including a book store where I made a purchase and supported my local something something whatever.  Then it was time to check into the hotel and prep for the evening, which that night was brewery hopping:

In the midst of this, I texted my sister to ask her if she'd ever heard of a quadruple IPA (per the first brewery, Ecusta), and in the ensuing conversation she realized that a) we were in Brevard, b) she is very close to that town and c) she had no plans the following day.  So Mary & I agreed to move a few things around in our schedule to meet up with her the next afternoon!  This turned out to be a great idea, since the place we ended up going was one of the highlights of the whole trip.

In the meantime, we returned to the hotel and went to bed, arising the next morning and making a breakfast stop at Cup and Saucer, where the biscuits are delicious.  Then another short stroll around town, including Probart street, a hip area of town:

Now.  Why is there a painting of Beethoven in sunglasses on Probart street?  Well.

The reason Brevard is special to Mary is because she used to work at the Brevard Music Center, which is a kind of summer camp/retreat for classical music, where instrumentalists, singers, composers, and others come to hone their craft.  It's actually a pretty well-respected program, and garners some very high-skill musicians from all over.  There are big concerts in their outdoor pavilion all summer, and as we drove through the campus later that morning, Mary and I made plans to return to see one of them later this year.

But the attendees also like to paint Beethoven in sunglasses on the public property.

After that walk, it was time for the farmer's market, which in March was still in the off-season, so there wasn't too much activity around:

Then O.P. Taylor's, the must-see toy store at the corner of Broad and Main:

Then the aforementioned drive through the Music Center, then a trip to the lumberyard, which is a quasi-district that contains a very eclectic antique mall/thrift store:

Didn't get anything, but saw a Washington Post print newspaper from the date of the Nixon resignation!

We headed out of Brev for a bit after that, to go to a pottery place Mary knew about called Mud Dabber's:

Lunch followed at a place called Corky's Dawg House, where we ate a couple Dawgs outside on the back lawn and soaked up the sunshine.  This was much needed.  It was juuuust becoming the time of year when it's warm and sunny enough to be comfortable outside, and we had utterly perfect weather the whole weekend to enjoy it.  Each morning you'd feel a blast of the cool mountain air, and each afternoon it was mid sixties in pure sunshine.  A dream.

Speaking of the sunshine, our next activity really allowed us to soak it up, and meet up with my sister!  She had sent some recommendations by text, and we picked Sideways Farm and Brewery, which is technically in Etowah, NC.  

We sat outside the main building on a big lawn and sipped our beverages of choice, whiling away the hours and, much like plants, absorbing sunlight to convert to food by the process of photosynthesis.

Back in town, we took a bit of a respite at the hotel before heading out for dinner at The Blind Mule, our one fancy meal of the trip:

 
We both agreed the Caprese salad was among the best flavors we'd tasted.  That fresh mozzarella - can't be beat.

We also stopped at Ingles just for fun on the way back to the hotel, where we turned in for the evening.  The next day was the big hiking day, and we grabbed a hearty breakfast at Quotations Coffee, after striking out at a place called the Morning Social, and this random Airstream trailer:

The hikes began with the aforementioned Looking Glass Falls, then Moore Cove where we saw another, sprinkly-er waterfall:

A quick stop at a coffee truck to get coffee and the most delicious mini-donuts I've ever had, then on to the bigger hikes in the DuPont Forest.  First, though, we went to Food Matters Market for a small picnic lunch:

which we ate in this little amphitheater:

There were two more falls to see on these hikes; first: High Falls:

 

which we viewed from a distance on an upper trail.  Then, Hooker Falls:

where we watched a group of friends wade out into the water and then promptly fall in and yell that it was cold.

These lovely hikes filled our afternoon, and combined with another respite at the hotel, took us to the early evening, when we ventured north to the Bold Rock cidery to enjoy a few flights of their hard cider varietals:

a half game of Scrabble accompanied the food & drinks, but the place closed down before we could finish it.  

This was really the grand finale of the trip - our Monday morning included breakfast and Cup & Saucer again, and then a stop for gas on our way out of the mountains.  Our one other stop was a brief, furtive drive through Kanuga in Hendersonville - a preview of things to come??  Perhaps!  Stay tuned to find out!!