Day 5 - Brevard (last day)

Thursday night showed a Friday weather forecast in Maggie Valley of cloudy and 25% chance of rain. "No problem.", I thought. "It will stll make a decent day of driving the Blue Ridge Parkway." Well, the weatherman said 25%, but actually meant 100%. Hahahaha, psych!! Oh ye mortal fool, who actually tried to make a "plan"!! I take your plan and spit on it! Ptooey!!

So yeah, it was raining when we walked out of the cabin, but I was determined to hit the road anyway. I was going to get my scenery, dammit!! This is where I was sure the universe was laughing at me. I assumed that a week of sun and 60's temps meant everything was A-okay with the road conditions. So yes, the planner (i.e. me), did not check ahead of time. Well, as we drove up the mountain towards Cherokee to hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) , the rain changed to sleet...not alot. It wasn't pouring or anything....just light rain/sleet and temps in the 40s. We hop on the Parkway, and were immediately greeted by this sign....

Denied

 

Wah, wah, wahhhhh. (sigh) We weren't the only ones turning around, so I didn't feel completely stupid. Slightly stupid, but not completely. Disappointed, yes. Turns out the BRP was closed in long sections, due to snow and ice. Mind you, where we were, there was nothing but ordinary damp roads, but the mountains do have their own weather systems, so them's the breaks.

I had no Plan B, so I made an impromptu decision to drive an hour away to Brevard to visit a an old-fashioned soda shop/general store. I knew I heard of Brevard for some reason, but couldn't remember why. Brevard College and the Brevard Music Center are fairly well-known around these parts. We took the highway and major routes to get to Brevard, but once you get off the interstates, it's lovely rolling countryside. Brevard is very quaint and seemingly perched on a big ol' hill. Brad and I went to Rocky's Soda Shop for a late lunch, and it was quite busy. We opted to sit at the counter and enjoyed some burgers and milkshakes. The cook staff were working in front of us, and they were jokey and friendly. It was a cute place, and obviously very popular. We checked out their attached little general store, and then went 4 doors down to the best toy store ever.

Rocky's Soda Shop

 
That really is no exaggeration. I've been to FAO Schwartz in NYC, and while it was super cool, I think it doesn't compare to O.P. Taylors in Brevard, NC (I'll call it Opie's for short). Opie's had the feel of a homey, old-fashioned toy store, but it was two stories crammed, floor to ceiling, of pure kid fabulousness. If Serenity and Strider had been with us, I don't think they would have ever left...."Bye, Mom and Dad. Nice knowing ya!". I swear Opie's had every toy made in the last 50 years in their stock. I just did not know where to look, and every room led to another room, and it was all mostly organized by theme. The fact that they even had it all organized was very impressive. I can barely manage to do that with my kids' toy room! I spent too much time gawking and not taking pictures. After about an hour of browsing, I did somehow walk out of there without telling them to take all of my money, but it was hard.

O.P. Taylors

We left Brevard, and I still had "scenery" on the brain, so I asked Brad if he minded if we took the "scenic route" back to the cabin. I really did not want to hop back on the interstates and deal with traffic jams around Asheville again. I drove, since Brad wasn't feeling up to snuff (lactose-intolerant + milkshake = no bueno), and took the Pisgah Highway through the Pisgah National Forest. I would use the term "highway" loosely, as it was really a twisty two-lane road through a forest, going up and down mountains. The "twisty" part of Pisgah Hwy made the squiggly road to Cherokee look like child's play. Again, all perfectly safe as long as you're not too busy admiring the scenery while trying to drive.

twisty road is twisty

The whole forest was really lovely, and I kept thinking how I'd like to bring our kids back here to explore. There were 3 or 4 "points of interest" to stop and look along the route, and plenty of places to picnic or pick up a trail. The first point of interest was Looking Glass Falls. I would have stopped and taken some photos, but as we approached it, there were already about 30 cars parked on the side of the road, and loads of people around, so I just filed it away as a place to visit "someday" when it was quieter. It was pretty cool-looking as we were driving by it though....almost primeval. Mother Nature is quite the gifted artist.

The next point of interest was Sliding Rock. Those types of places are fun, particularly in the hot summer months, when you want cool down by sliding down some smooth boulders in the mountain river. Notice I said..."hot summer months". Here we are....in early April, with cloudy, damp weather and temps barely in the upper 50s/low 60s....and snow and ice in the slightly higher elevations. That mountain river may as well be liquid ice....wait...liquid ice is water....well, you know what I mean. I'm guessing it probably feels like the equivalent of swimming through the freezing oceans of Neptune. I'm guessing. It's freaking cold, okay? These nutjobs in bikinis are actually in the water and sliding down Sliding Rock. I can't even talk about it anymore, because my lips are turning blue just thinking about it.

About halfway through Pisgah Hwy, you can jump on the BRP. We tried..again...but woe is me...denied...again. Mother Nature is a gifted artist, but she's a jerk. (**pouts**) The rest of the trip was uneventful, once we left the Pisgah National Forest. It was backcountry roads, past shacks, ramshackle converted RVs, modest farms, and folks who were barely scraping by in the prettiest countryside imaginable.

We made it back to the cabin, where Brad and I did what we did all the nights....Netflix'ed and chilled....and I mean that in the literal sense, not the euphemistic one. LOL. We have been really enjoying watching the BBC tv series, "Sherlock" with who I affectionately call Cumbie (Benedict Cumberbatch). Superb series, if you need something to binge-watch. So alas, the trip comes to an end, and it's back to reality now, but it really has been nice to get a break from all the responsibilities. But as Brad said yesterday morning...."I miss the kids". I hear ya, hubs. Me, too....and that, my friends, is how you know you're ready to go back.

Goodbye, Maggie Valley! We hope to see you again!!