What i'm Reading: My Backyard Jungle

For my birthday this year, a friend gave me the book "My Backyard Jungle" by James Barilla.  My husband and I bought a home about a year ago with a large backyard.  We are in the process of making it a bird paradise, a garden and making it ours.  This book and the description seem to be about this very thing, making your backyard co-habitable with wildlife.  However, this book was not at all what I expected.  And probably not what my friend expected when she bought this for me.  You can see more about our adventure in taming a yard for ourselves and the birds (but not the squirrels) here.  To be honest, I was disappointed with the way this book was marketed.  I  really was looking forward to a book that was going to give me tips and side notes and a to do and don't list for my own little "jungle".  The fact that Barilla currently resides in my current city was perfect, we'd have the same wildlife to work with!

However, the disappointment comes because this book doesn't  even go into specifics of turning your backyard into a jungle.  Besides a funny tale about his battle with squirrels and rats, there's really nothing that connects his story with my wishes for our backyard.    I was expecting something like Barbara Kingslover's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"--a diary of this man and his family's adventures turning the backyard into a wildlife area.  I was hoping to be inspired!!

Instead you get Barilla's adventures discovering how the urban and the wild collide, how the domestic and untame intersect, and how we as people are connected and disconnected from the animal kingdom.  He explores how humanity simultaneously longs for closeness to our animal friends but also fearfully disrupts the natural order of things in our quest be near (or far) from nature.

So during the second chapter when this guy goes on an adventure to Florida to look at monkeys (who knew, right?!), I wondered where this was going.  But the Barilla's writing style, subtle humor, gritty but not overly "TMI" descriptions, kept me interested. The stories of Brazil, India, and elsewhere were fascinating.  And by the end of the book I was only a little bit disappointed I didn't learn something about how to make my backyard more habitable with animals.  In the end,  Barilla was getting at something bigger than wanting birds on your backyard.  He embarks on a quest to find out how we impact wildlife for the better and worse, but does so without ever being preachy.

There's also a real "human" aspect to this "nature book" in the relationships he forms with people along the way--the guides, the "natives", the scientists, and the everyday Joes.  Not only are we connected to the wildlife we encounter everyday big and small, but we are also connected with our fellow man all across the world.

It also reads very quickly, so I would recommend it to anyone who'd like to spend a weekend reading a jonfiction book about urbanization and wildlife.

What I'm reading--Hard Times

Whenever it starts to cool off, I get the urge to read Dickens.  There is nothing in this world I love more than opening up one of my Nonesuch Dickens Copies (check them out here: http://nonesuchdickens.com/ ) by a roaring fire with a cup of hot Earl Grey Tea and some Chopin Nocturnes on the record player.  I know, I know...I sound all fancy. 

There is something about the heaviness of these Nonesuch Dickens volumes and the grittiness of these stories that remind me of winter.  

So this year I decided to read Hard Times.  It's not quite as long as many of Dickens' famous works, and though it is not my favorite and doesn't have the best of those great Dicken's characters, it is still a great book and a poignant read.

Stephen Blackpool is our saddest tale of the story--dear Lord, his starlight prayer after being pulled from the pit is the reason why I love Dickens.  It's like Jo's prayer in Bleak House.  If you don't cry, you need to go talk to Ebeneezer Scrooge for a moment or two...

Louisa's story is heartbreaking as well, but at least with Louisa she can find rest and resurgence back in her home with her family, her father and dear Sissy Jupe.

Ultimately, Hard Times is a story about why we need more than facts, figures and work in our lives.  Important all these things are, yes, but if left alone, they suck life out of people.  Love, affection, sympathy, charity and imagination: all these make up the life that is worth living.

A few business matters: I've had some trouble lately keeping up with the blog being weekly and with keeping the blog theme into the week it's supposed to go with.  So I'm going to do away with the weekly themes.  I'll still try to mix it up with food, nature, stuff I've done/want to do, and things I'm reading but without the limitations of having to do these themes in a certain week and without the pressure of having to produce a blog post weekly.  I just don't have that much time--and going into the holiday season (and my work busy season) I do not need that kind of pressure!

'Til next time!

Second/Third Week of October: Nature and Food-- Apples and Apple Cake

So my family is a family of weavers.  It goes back many generations.  We sell our wares at my grandpa's work room, but also at many craft shows around the area.  One of my favorite ones to go to is the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival in North Wilkesboro, NC.  We always get the best NC Mountain apples when we go there.  This year I got 3 varieties:  Stayman, JonaGold, and Fuji.

A little bit about each of these types of apples....

Most people have heard of a Fuji apple.  It's very popular and commonly sold in the US.  It was first cultivated in Japan about 100 years ago.  It's a great "eating apple".

 JonaGold is a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Jonathan apple.  Golden Delicious are really sweet to me, so a JonaGold is a great way to get a crisp, sweet, juicy apple that's not quite so sweet as a Golden Delicious.

A Stayman apple is an "old timey" apple.  It's a beautiful apple, but it's not as great just eating it straight.  It has a very starchy consistency.  But, that's what makes this a phenomenal baking apple.  It's flavor is light and tart, so it takes on your cinnamon or pecans or whatever else you cook with very well.  However, when you cook it, it seems to get more "apple-y" in flavor.

My husband and I really want an apple tree, but considering we live on the boarder of a coastal plain and our soil is sandy--I just don't think it's possible.

Apples are really amazing.  They are a lot like tomatoes in the sense that an apple eaten in May is flavorless and kind of mealy.  Just like a tomato in January.  It's really one of those foods you should eat locally when they are in season.  And when they are in season?  Eat the mess out of them!!  I eat a least an apple a day (until I run out or the trees run out) in the Fall.

So now that I have these Stayman apples, and I have a bunch of them. I need to figure out what to do with them.  I've made a pie, I can stew them, I can can or preserve them.  Or....I can make an Apple Cake....

Which is what the most reasonable of these choices are!  So this is the recipe I'm going to use.  Thank you Our State Magazine!!!

• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup Crisco oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 small cup coconut
• 3 cups tart apples, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt

So you take some apples.  How many is really depending on the size.  You need to get 3 cups shredded.

 

We chopped them up into smaller sizes...

 ...then used my food processor to shred them.  It was so much easier than using a stand grater.  It's nice to be able to do this process quickly, or maybe even after you have done the mixing part of your baking, as our apples started to turn very quickly.  Of course in the baking process it doesn't really matter if your apples have turned brown.

You beat your sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla together pretty well. (I love my stand mixer!)

Meanwhile, you sift all your dry ingredients together. 

Then you slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet.  Remember to have your mixer on the lowest setting or you will get a facepoof of flour!

Afterward, fold in your coconut, chopped pecans (we used the food processor again to do the chopping for us) and finally the shredded apple.  Then you pour into your pan.  I used a bunt pan.

After an hour of cooking at 325 degrees, you take the cake out and let it sit in its pan until it's completely cooled.  Your house will smell like magic during all this, by the way.

Ta da!!!  It was amazing.  The recipe link says you can make a smile glaze for it, but I did not think it needed it.  I used sweetened flaked coconut, so it was plenty sweet and is perfect with a cup of coffee as breakfast!

HOORAY FOR APPLES!

First Week of October: Reading--Little Women PART TWO?!

After I finished Vein of Iron, I went to our library to look for another book and decided I wanted something pretty easy that could be read quickly. I remembered that the Little Women series had Little Men and Jo's Boys as well, so I picked up our copy of Alcott's collected writing to read one of those additions to the Little Women story.  I was surprised that I discovered Little Women part 2, or "Let's get them all Married so they can have babies and the story can continue". I'm not sure how I missed this--I grew up with Little Women dolls and the the book.  I was under the impression that the book ended with all of them teenagers--not 20 somethings looking for husbands!

Alcott's stories aren't the best in children's/young adult literature.  However, the charming story of the March Family is well worth reading, and if you, like me, did not realize there was a Part 2 to Little Women and have a rainy Saturday afternoon, I recommend picking it up to read.  Is it perfect? No.  Is it dull at some points?  Yes.  Does it sometimes make you roll your eyes?  Maybe.  But on the whole, you get more of the same March sister characters and get to see them become more well-rounded women.  Amy chills out and becomes less superficial, and Jo keeps her fiery spirit but learns to try to control it.  Of course, both of these characters do so through marriage--but whatever, I'm not going to get into some feminist rant, blasting Alcott for making her characters mature because of their relationships with men.  In fact, I don't think this is that bizarre or horrible--from my own experience, I became much more mature and well rounded through my relationship with my husband.

Tangent Alert! And with that, we'll say upcoming Spoiler Alerts....

The romance novelist reader in me got a little upset because of the ultimate pairings of the March Sisters.   We all hope that Laurie and Jo, being best friends and all, will grow up to be the most passionate of lovers.  But that doesn't happen, despite Laurie's multiple attempts and ultimate heartache.  Jo ends up with an old German professor and Laurie get's sloppy seconds with Amy.  Now ultimately this works out, the characters of Jo and Amy pair better with their ultimate partners, but I have to admit I was hoping for some passionate declaration of love on both Jo and Laurie's part.  This doesn't happen, and when you wake up and realize you are still reading Alcott and not Danielle Steele, you are ok.

Probably the most beautiful, if not predictable, part of the book is Beth's Death.  We all know she's too good for this earth, too sweet, too kind, too frail, too angelic in every sense of the word.  Her scare in the first part of the books was the climax and crux of the novel, and her demise and death in the second part is a growing up point for the sisters.  In a way, Beth dying is a way for them to see beyond themselves.  But Alcott's description of how Beth fades away is beautiful, peaceful, and sad--but not at all terrible or even heart wrenching.

A Note on Meg:  She is married from the beginning of the story and plays housewife.  She really becomes the "comic" relief of the novel--making us laugh with the attempts to be the perfect wife and hostess despite her inability to make something simple like preserves. See here for my attempt!

Expectations for Little Men and Jo's boys aren't high.  I'm sure the stories will be very similar to Little Women 1 & 2, and I wonder how far Alcott can take these characters and squeeze more interest out of them.

It's Fall now, so I've picked up Dickens. Updates later....

Fourth Week of September: Something I've done--Pink Beds Loop Pisgah National Forest

This past weekend, my husband and I went for a long weekend to Brevard, NC.  It's a great town to explore with lots of options of outdoor activities, but also close to Asheville and Greenville if you want more "big city" adventure.  Brevard is in Transylvania County--also known as the "land of waterfalls" and home of the white squirrels--we saw 2 white squirrels! We always love to go to the mountains and sit in a cabin and hike--and nothing more. We don't go out to eat, but instead bring all the food we'll eat and grill.  I had heard about a great hike on websites and travel books called the "Pink Beds Loop" in Pisgah National Forest. Pisgah's "home base" is in Transylvania county and is a great place to go for all ages!  They offer a lot of activities, such as fishing, hiking, waterfall hunting, wildlife observation.  And all of this is offered on a variety of skill/active level.  It's also right off of HWY 276 which is a gorgeous winding mountain road that can take you to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I had heard the Pink Beds Loop is a great hike because it's fairly easy, but has the option to be a long hike (6+ miles), so it's good for people who enjoy long half-day hikes, but don't necessarily desire to climb thousands of feet in less than a mile....

I'm going to take you on a picture journey of the Pink Beds Loop and describe what makes this place so wonderful, but before we go that far--I HIGHLY recommend visiting the Ranger Station in Pisgah National Forest off HWY 276.  The staff were so helpful to us--gave us a range of hiking options to choose from WITH maps, described the hikes and any obstacles and even shared a few secrets with us!  

To start, you go up HWY 276, past the Cradle of Forestry museum to the Pink Beds Loop picnic area seen here.

We had our lunch there and it was beautiful and peaceful.  This area is called the Cradle of Forestry in America, because back in the 1800s this was where modern forestry techniques were put into practice and a school was created to help teach people how to use one of the best resources God has given us, lumber--but how to manage it in a way that was least destructive to wildlife and helped forests to return and not die off. Therefore you get these random small fields in the midst of the wooded trail.  Here's me eating my picnic lunch:

A creek ran through most of the Pink Beds Loop.  This creek plays an integral part of the last portion of the trail. 

The first bit of the hike was varied, as you'd walk through a forest, then come out of it into a field.  Lots of butterflies were hanging out in these areas. 

Parts of the hike were absolutely breathtaking--you really thought you were in another word--completely surrounded by wildlife, the rhododendron and mountain laurel hung over you in a very mysterious way. As me and my husband say, it's like we're walking to Hobbiton or Narnia or something...

And then you got to these awesome areas--actually real-live fern gullies--or more like fern forests.  The entire floor bed of the forest was covered in ferns in some areas, even at 1pm when we were in the thick of hiking, there was a foggy mist in the air as if dawn had just broken.

I had heard the trail could be very swampy and muddy, so much that you would have to wade through water at points--this is where the Ranger was so helpful.  He said at certain times of the year the Pink Beds Loop is a muddy mess, but at this time of year it was perfect (though I was still glad in certain areas I had my hiking boots on and not just my every-day tennis shoes).  Recently made a lot of improvements especially at the latter part of the loop that made the trail possible. 

So the Pink Beds loop is a loop that is intersected by the Brushy Branch trail (it may not be Brushy--but it's something with a B and it's Blue Blazed).  If you are not up for a long hike, you can turn right onto the Branch trail and cut the Pink Beds Loop in half.  OR if you want to add a mile or two onto your loop, you do what we did--and what the Ranger suggested we do.--you turn Left onto the Branch trail and suddenly you start a very small, but steady incline.  This incline continues until you get to a service road.  Cross the service road and you find what looks like the rest of the Branch trail and you continue on up.  Suddenly the forest is dark, and frogs, crickets and all sorts of wildlife sounds can be heard--the forest becomes so dark, dank and think that you wonder if a storm is approaching.  Pink Beds is a fairly "bright" trail at points, especially with the random fields, so this is a total contrast.  The whole point of this dark woody adventure is to get to the "Secret" falls.  A gorgeous, tall but trickling waterfall hidden in the mountains.  

Transylvania County being Waterfall country means they advertise about 50+ of their waterfalls on maps.  These waterfalls and the trails that lead to them can often be crowded.  Though it's worth it to go waterfall hunting even for the most popular of waterfalls---it's very special to find your own secret waterfall.  (Even if the ranger tells everyone about this waterfall, it doesn't lose it's charm when you are there all alone with the crickets and the wind and the water.)

(I'm hoping this video will work.)

The forest was green and thick near the falls. 

So we re-traced our steps and walked back the branch trail to the Pink Beds Loop and turned left on the loop trail to continue on.  This is one of the best things about this trail--let's say you did hike to the Secret Falls and decided you were a little tired after the incline, you can retrace your steps back to the parking lot, or take the branch trail short cut to the end of the loop trail and still see a lot.  We however, wanted to do the whole loop--so we did. 

This was just a neato tree that had been demolished by termites.

The most bizarre thing about the Pink Beds Loop is that it's really a mountain swamp.  It's a flat trail that follows a creek bed--but the creek has been recently dammed up by Beavers and completely changed part of the landscape.  It's very interesting to think that this area is known as the Cradle of Forestry and was a place for humans to practice forestry techniques, and 100 years later--Beavers are doing the same thing.

Near the Beaver Dam and Swamp area, it was quite bright and warm--very different from near the falls.

Below is a picture of the board walk over the swamp.  Without this, you would half to tread waist deep water.

I love how they keep it pretty wild still.

Lots of cool rocks near this part of the trail. This was the only part of the Pink Beds Loop that had a bit of a inclined hike--but it was still very easy.

Here's a picture of the boardwalk over the swamp.

Below is a great picture of the Beaver dam and how it's completely altered the landscape. This looks like something you'd see east of I-95 in North and South Carolina, not something in the middle of the Blue Ridge mountains....

So this is something I've done that I really suggest to all of you that find yourself in Brevard, NC.  Even if you don't want to hike, it's worth it to travel through Pisgah National Forest and discover the White Squirrels and waterfalls and see how our mountain forests used to look, how we've changed them, and how wildlife has changed them. 

Second/Third Week of September: Nature & Food-- Turning Wild Grapes into Preserves

I've had a crazy past couple weeks with work and vacation and all sorts of things. So I figured I would lump my 2nd and 3rd week posts into one, since they kind of go together!

Let's talk about Southern Grapes and Canning....

When we moved in to our new home a year ago, things were wild on the borders of our property.  One thing that was very wild was a grape vine that had woven itself through the chain link fence between our yard and our neighbors:  up and up and up through the trees and was then hanging down over our yard. (It still is.) I picked a few grapes.  Of course they are muscadine--but what variety I have no idea.  I noticed our neighbors have an arbor way in the back of their yard, so inevitably, a bird or squirrel or a strong wind carried a grape to our fence line and nature did it's thing.

In the south, most of your wild and crazy grape vines that people have in their yards, intentionally or not, are a muscadine grape.  There are many varieties of muscadine.  Learn more about them here.  (Note: if from another state, check our your own state's muscadine variety, as from my 5 minute google-research it looks like most muscadine varieties are kind of state-specific). I know mine aren't scuppernong because they are dark purple and small, not big and green.  It looks like they might be the "Thomas" or "Cowart" variety, because they are small-medium grapes and are pretty resistant to...well everything.

Here's a picture of the unintentional vine in my yard

And here's a picture of the fruit I've collected.

Because of the wildness of my vine, most of the fruit was way up out of reach.  So for about a week, I would go outside and harvest what I could from the parts of the vine I could reach.  All in all, I ended up with about a cup or 2 of grapes.

I've recently had the urge to can, but because I do not have a proper water bath--or even a large enough stock pot--most all my canning adventures have been freezer jams.  And that's really not that hard, you smush up fruit, add lemon juice and sugar and instant pectin, let it sit, then freeze.  Whoop-te-do!

I found a recipe from P. Allen Smith that was very simple for Muscadine preserves.  He doesn't add any additional pectin and spelled out simply how to make preserves for canning or freezing.  You can check his recipe out here.

If you are like me and have never made "proper" preserves, I took lots of pictures so you could see what each step looked like.  I probably had about a fourth of what Smith had, so I had to quarter the recipe.

First you have to separate the skin of the grape  from the pulp.  This was easy.  Smith says use a knife to open the grape and squeeze out the pulp.  My fruit was ripe enough, I could just squeeze it out with my fingers.  This was pretty messy, but fun--I think this would be a lot of fun for kids.  You end up with two containers--one with the grape skins, the other with the pulp that looks like green seedy-snot slime.

 Next you boil your snot-slime with a little water.  This breaks down the pulp from the seed.

While that's going, you take your grape skins and chop them finely in a food processor.   Eventually you will have to add lemon zest and juice to your pulp mix--so I went ahead and poured that on my chopped skins. 

After your pulp has boiled for a bit, you need to strain it to get the seeds out.  I had to use two strainers, because the first was too small. 

You should end up with mostly only seeds left in your strainer and the pulp has gone all through.   Discard the seeds.

So then back in the pot goes everything:  your strained pulp, your skins and your lemon juice and zest.  PLUS a bunch of sugar. 

 Bring this to a boil and let simmer for a while.  I did about 10-15 minutes.  It'll start to get thick and congealed slightly.  Make sure your stir it frequently!

And then, "wa-la":  grape preserves.  As you can see about a cup and a half of grapes only ended up about a half cup of preserves.  But they tasted fantastic.  It also made my kitchen smell amazingly perfumed.  

I recommend, if you have a grape vine, or know where to find one--to try this recipe out.  It doesn't cost a thing but the price of 1 lemon, some sugar (which most of us have on hand anyway) and about 20 minutes of your time.  Of course, if you are going to can them properly it'll take more time--but this is pretty easy if you're just freezing or going to use immediately.  This would be a good addition for anyone who is taking biscuits or scones to a party!

First Week of September: Reading--Ellen Glasgow's "Vein of Iron"

Didn't quite get this one in on the first week of the month, but oh wells...

Let me start out by saying that I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of merits and I recommend reading it.

However, I'm about to get critical--very critical of this book and I feel bad about it, because I enjoyed it thoroughly. Glasgow is a beautiful writer; however, I think her structure is lacking and I'll try to explain why (while probably being unstructured and super tangent-y in my post).

Ultimately, Vein of Iron is a novel with conflicting main characters.  Not that the two main characters of the book fight a lot, but you don't know which one is "in charge" of the story.  Is this is a story of a man who lost his faith and struggles to be a brilliant "Philosopher" in the Appalachians during the early  20th century, or is it a story about his daughter and her struggles with love and a changing world?  You get this very tight tension between this being a romance novel or  actual "Big L" literature.  You can do both of these at the same time (i.e. Austen or Bronte to name a few), but the way the structure and characters are presented in Glasgow's work makes this crux hard to get over.  The majority of the novel's plot is about Ada and her relationship with her family and "the love her life", poor old Ralph.  But randomly, almost abruptly you get these chapters sporadically placed in the novel that concentrate on Ada's father, John Fincastle.  Even though, I found these chapters of the novel some of the most brilliant in the entire book, her father's sporadic place in the novel becomes a bizarre contrast to Ada's romantic story line.  The book continually mentions how Ada and her father are alike, the connection they both have--yet  you never really see it played out.

John Fincastle, at his core, is compelling (more so than Ada's in my opinion).  He's a Presbyterian minister who is removed from the church because of (I guess?) his giving up the faith.  He becomes a philosopher who continually questions the nature of God and people.  But you never really get to know what his philosophy is.  You just know he's a philosopher and is brilliant and is writing a book, but because you never learn what it is that he believes, you never really know who he is.

I feel as if Glasgow had connected Ada with her father more or if she had given her father a more substantial role in the book,  the question of whether this is a romance novel or literature wouldn't even need to be asked and it would weld those two types of fiction together.  In comparison with one of my favorite books about Appalachian women: Fair and Tender Ladies does much of the same plot-wise as Vein of Iron.  It centers on the life of a woman who is poor and living in the Appalachian Mountains throughout the 20th century.  But Fair and Tender Ladies is grittier.  Maybe this has to do with the education of the families of the main characters.  Of maybe because Ada lives in a Valley and in FTL the characters live (for most of the book) high up on a mountain--much more remote.  Or maybe because Lee Smith knows her book will be middle brow, she doesn't try too hard.  Her plot is amazing, and through that plot she's able to smack you across the face with ideas, themes, and "human truths." That's the genius of a lot of middle brow novels---they can be almost, if not just, as effective culturally as major literature, without being scary or too hoity-toity for the Average Joe to pick up, read and really GET something out of it.

I feel I've gone off into a tangent.  So let's pull back and look at the great things in this novel, what makes it worth reading....

Glasgow's use of language throughout the novel and her descriptions of the land and the place are very beautiful.  I continually felt like I was looking at the mountain valley town of Ironside through "soft light", as if it were a dream.  A book that can make a character out of the setting is always interesting to me.

Certain scenes that were breathtaking:

• Ada's heartache over Janet crushing her dreams
• The heartache and jealousy Ada felt in this scene is so richly written that you feel as if Ralph and the stupid "rules of society" have broken your heart as well
• Ada and Ralph's romp in the forest
• Instead of being smutty, or even too vague, Glasgow walked a line of, again, keeping these scenes very dream like.  You understand that Ada and Ralph are up on the mountain, having a weekend of consummating their relationship.  However, it's important enough to the novel that Glasgow doesn't just write it off with a dot-dot-dot at the end of the chapter and have the characters think back on it later. 
• Ada giving birth
• I got very choked up when Ada's grandmother "rescues" her during her labor.  Ada's grandmother shuns her and has her own heart broken because of Ada's pregnancy out of wedlock.  How emotional it was when her grandmother comes to help her give birth and how heartbreaking it was that even though her grandmother helps her during this moment, it doesn't deter her grandmother's demise and heart-ache over the situation.
• The Death Scene of Ada's Father
• Rambling and scary, beautiful and peaceful, when John Fincastle lays down in the grass outside of his family's dilapidated home, you understand how important place and land is to people who don't have much.

3-3.5 out of 5.  A great read, especially if you enjoy books about the south, place, and the changing landscape of the world in the 1920s and 30s.

Other quick notes:

• I think Glasgow does a good job of portraying what we would now consider "PTSD" in Ralph, or if not that, how war can bring out the dark side of someone, even way after the fighting is over.
• Simplistic moral of the story:  If you have a home, a garden and family, nothing else should matter.

4th week of August: Things to Do--THE Quintessential North CarolinaTour (if you know me)

For anyone who has briefly been in the presence of me or my husband, you quickly understand how much we love our home state of North Carolina.  Proud Tar Heels that will only and forever pull for the Wolfpack, we've had friends tell us we should start a North Carolina travel agency. So, one day I thought about what would be the quintessential North Carolina tour that we'd take our friends on.

This would include some iconic NC spots, but mostly places that are dear to our hearts and our heritage. It would be a whirl-wind road trip, but that's part of the fun!  Most of the time would be spent driving, but when you are in NC the drive is always beautiful.

So, join us, won't you, as we mentally go through the proper 10 day NC tour!  (Warning, this post will contain a lot of links, the idea is for you to web-explore these places on your own!)

Day 1: Whiteville

Columbus County Courthouse: Whiteville, NC 

To begin, we'd start out from our current home town in South Carolina and drive north and slightly east up I-95 to I-74 (or is it HWY 74 here, who knows?) and go to the hometown of my husband, Whiteville, NC.  He could tour us around, try to find where A.R. Ammons grew up, go to the NC Forestry museum, drive through the back roads, maybe even to Crusoe Island, a small community with their own neat way of talkin' where Matt's family is from. (Called an island because they have bodies of water  completely surrounding them. Before the bridge was built, the members of this community had to cross water to go into "town".) The first night of our trip we'd stay in Whiteville.

Day 2:  Lake Waccamaw and Ayden

Pier at Lake Waccamaw, NC

Day 2 we would wake up early and drive to Lake Waccamaw (10 miles East) and hang out on a pier, or go to the state park and hike.  Then we'd drive up through Eastern NC on HWY 11 up to Ayden.  Ayden is where there is Pete Jones' Skylight Inn BBQ:  THE place for Eastern NC BBQ.  We'd eat there for a late lunch and then head on up through Little Washington to HWY 64 and drive East to Manteo, where we'd stop for the night.


Day 3:  Manteo/ OBX

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: Buxton, NC

We'd spend the morning at Fort Raleigh and wondering about the mystery of the Lost Colony, then stroll through the beautiful Elizabethan Gardens, grab a lunch and explore downtown Manteo. Then we'd drive down HWY 12 to Cape Hatteras.  There we'd spend the afternoon walking on the beach, checking out a lighthouse or two, bird watching at Pea Island, and finish up with watching a sunset over the Pamlico Sound

Avon, NC

Or a moon rise over the Graveyard of the Atlantic:

Avon, NC

We'd drive back to Manteo for the night.


Day 4:   Raleigh

View of downtown Raleigh, NC at night from Boyland Bridge

Day 4 of our whirl-wind journey, we would get up early and drive 64 West to Raleigh.  Once there we can hang out with my awesome sister and brother-in-law and grab a hot dog at The Roast Grill (Which could have it's on blog post on here.  Maybe someday).  We'd then walk around our Alma Mater and finish by having dinner or a drink at the PR .  No need for fancy Raleigh "foodie" dinner, we're keeping it real.

The Roast Grill: Raleigh, NC

Day 5:  Lexington

Famous Lexington Barbecue (From The Monk)

Next morning we'd get a Char Grill Hamburger Steak burger on the way out of town.  We'd drive 64 West all the way to my home town of Lexington, NC.  Now here's the rub:  before we get to Lexington, we can spend a day at the NC Zoo, one of my favorite places.  However, then we will have less time in Lexington (and by Lexington I mean Winston Salem, cause there's not much to see in Lexington besides BBQ and my family).


Day 6: Lexington/Wine Country/ Boone

Horse Farm in Valle Crucis, outside Boone, NC

Get up and hang out with my awesome Grandpa!  Then get a Lexington BBQ sandwich for lunch (the best BBQ sandwich of your life and you can only get it at Lexington #1--or as we locals call it The Monk).  Don't be alarmed, though, I'll probably get a hamburger....(this is a story for another time!) Afterwards we'll drive HWY 421 through the foothills to Boone.  We may even stop somewhere in the Yadkin River Valley for refreshments!


Day 7:  Boone/ Crabtree Meadows/ Mt. Mitchell**

Mt. Mitchell

Get up early and have breakfast somewhere "hip" in Boone, like Proper or Stick Boy. Then we'd drive the "BRP" down past Grandfather Mountain to Crabtree Meadows (mile post 340).  Here we'd hike to my favorite spot in all of North Carolina.

Crabtree Falls

Then, if time allows, we'd keep driving south and head up towards Mt. Mitchell--the highest peak east of the Mississippi!  Afterwards, we'd keep going  until we end up in Asheville, where we'd spend the next 2 nights.

**Matt and I had plans to do this leg of the trip when we go to the mountains in September, however a road closure on the BRP has made it impossible.  Also Crabtree Meadows is closed for the 2013 season.

Day 8:  Asheville

Downtown Asheville

Spend the day in Asheville, hang out, go to Biltmore, whatever we want!  Asheville kind of has it all: Shopping, Hiking, Eating, Drinking, Exploring!

Gargoyle over looking Biltmore House

Day 9: Bryson City

Bryson City Garveyard

Drive BRP to Bryson City and hang out with the Cherokees in the Smokies! If time allows, we may drive up to Newfound Gap or search for some family cemeteries in the National Park. We can stop for the night in Bryson City and head home the next morning, or if we have more time that we thought, we can drive through the winding mountain roads and Pisgah Forest to Brevard and stay there for the night.

Smokies, near Newfound Gap

Some nerd hiking off of the Road to Nowhere

Day 10: Home

Triple Falls in Dupont State Forest

Again, depending on how tired we are, we can get up from Bryson City and head home.  Or if we've stopped in Brevard the previous evening, we can go to Dupont State Forest and discover waterfalls before heading home.  We'll be tired, but happy to have spent the last 10 days in the home-land, the land of the long leaf pine, the summer land where the sun doth shine....

Sunset over my backyard, through the screen porch