A Weekend Getaway to the Great Smoky Mountains

Beefcake was stressed.

He has a busy job (and we are so very grateful for it!)
but it was time for him to get away from it all.

He gave me a budget and the date
and I picked the locale
and he wanted to be surprised.

So, this past Friday morning, he drove 92 miles of highway, 

going NE, without knowing where we were headed.

We landed in Bryson City, NC, 

at The Folkestone Inn.

It would have been nice to know that it was also Biker Weekend.

I love bikers and bikes- I had a motorcycle in college,

but they are awfully loud when one is trying to relax.

We were far enough away, though, from the center of town, 

that we didn't hear any mufflers.

You get to come on our excursion with us!

Here we go!

We checked in, were told all the ins and outs of our stay in the home, 

and set our luggage in the room,

the Falls and Creeks room.

No TV, no phone.

The bathroom vanity was stunning.

This home was built in the early 1900s and the setting was simply breathtaking!

We headed for the nearest hammock.

Hello, relaxation!

(Pardon my pasty, white legs, they've been indoors all winter!)

We relaxed awhile, and then we both decided 

to get out of the hammock 

at the same time 

and on the same side.

Any guesses as to what happened?

We both landed flat on our fannies!

We had a great laugh, which is what we both seriously needed!

We then went to dinner where the Inn owners were going

and it was a fancy place, called Fryemont Inn

and I was too embarrassed 

to take pictures of my BLT soup, 

pecan-crusted trout 

and blackberry cobbler.

The next morning, we went to the dining room.

And were served this and this.

 

We packed our things and said goodbye to the very friendly houseguests and staff.

Then, we took a train.

53 miles, 2 tunnels and 25 bridges 

across fertile valleys, 

through river gorges 

in a spectacular region near The Great Smoky Mountains.

I thought it would be relaxing for Mark
--all sightseeing, no driving
for 4 1/2 hours.

And it was.

We sat in the open cars the first half of our trip.

These are floating Nantahala River houses that are lived in as vacation rentals!

I was fascinated by them!

We saw a lot of this:

And this:

I did a lot of this:

(and if we met in real life, 

I wouldn't look like this because I don't have any makeup on in this picture, 

but I'd spare you the shock and wear some).

Halfway through the ride, we stopped at the

Natahala Outdoor Center and ate lunch at 

River's End, and sat right over the river.

We had a Big Fat Greek Pizza, that honestly, 

was one of the best pizzas we have ever had.

Who knew?

It started raining, 

and we had to run back to the train when its whistle blew 5 times~

I felt almost like Cinderella running from the ball,

and if the 5th whistle blew and I wasn't on the train,

my footmen turned back into mice.

If you weren't back on the train, you got left there, 2 1/2 hours from Bryson City.

After we got back on the train, I had to go powder my nose in here.

Now we sat inside.

And a took a few pictures.

Goodbye, train.

And then a last drive through Bryson City.

One last question from one of our biker brothers:

.