Category Archives: Outside Asheville
Repairing Antique Clocks from the Carolina Bed and Breakfast
March 10, 2013
I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before but one of the great pleasures of being an innkeeper at our Bed and Breakfast in Asheville North Carolina comes from our encounters with some of the truly interesting and unique craftsmen and … Continue reading
Tha Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs, North Carolina
January 24, 2013
You will notice that there are no pictures with this blog entry. Therein lies a tale, or rather the end of a tale. James and I are training for our hike around the circuit in Torres Del Paine, Chile in … Continue reading
From Asheville to Chile: Hiking around the World
January 12, 2013
If you are a follower of our blog then you will know that January and February are slow months at our Asheville Bed and Breakfast. While there continues to be plenty to do in town and in the surrounding countryside, … Continue reading
October in Asheville: A Grab Bag of Activities
October 22, 2012
October is high season here at our bed and breakfast in Asheville, so James and I have to grab free time when we get it. Long hikes and days off are out of the question but we did manage to … Continue reading
Dupont Forest and the Waterfalls Near Asheville, North Carolina
August 7, 2012
Here’s the thing about waterfalls: people love them. So if a waterfall is at all worth seeing there will probably be a parking lot close-by and a great many people enjoying the view. And if you can actually swim at … Continue reading
Tubing on the Davidson River in the Pisgah National Forest
July 16, 2012
It’s hard to believe that just a week ago we were all sweltering in 90 degree heat. It barely made it to 70 degrees here at our Asheville Bed and Breakfast yesterday and the rain made it feel like fall. … Continue reading
Designing a Staircase for the Carolina Bed & Breakfast
April 18, 2012
If you had told me a year ago that one of the most interesting parts about adding on to our Bed and Breakfast in Asheville would be our trips to lumber yards and iron foundries I would have thought you … Continue reading
Brown Mountain: Ghost Towns and Unexplained Lights!
February 27, 2012
Yesterday James and drove out to Brown Mountain, having read about the area in Carolyn Sakowski’s book, Touring the Western North Carolina Backroads . This book was suggested to us by some guests two years ago. It was originally written … Continue reading
Visiting Blowing Rock, NC
February 20, 2012
One day last week, winter came to Western North Carolina. It snowed during the night and the next day icy winds kept the temperatures in the 20s. The sunlight and bright blue skies called for us to come out but … Continue reading
Carl Sandurg’s Home near Asheville, North Carolina
January 28, 2012
Not more than 20 miles or so outside of Asheville and a half-hour drive from our Western North Carolina bed and breakfast is the small town of Flat Rock. The town is best known for the Flat Rock Playhouse which … Continue reading
Climbing John Rock in Pisgah National Forest: Success at Last!
September 1, 2011
Monument at Trail Base Those of you who have been following our adventures in Asheville and Western North Carolina will know that James and I enjoy hiking but have had limited success so far in finding a really great … Continue reading
DIning Outside Asheville: Weaverville, NC
August 12, 2011
> Just outside Asheville, about ten miles from the Carolina Bed & Breakfast, is the small town of Weaverville, home to artists and garden centers. It is also the home of the Stoney Knob Cafe, a local eatery which has … Continue reading
Dining Outside Asheville: Spruce Pine
August 4, 2011
> “Downtown” Spruce Pine While many of our guests come to Asheville to dine at some of the many fabulous restaurants which can be found here (over 243 according to TripAdvisor!), there are actually some really excellent restaurants in some … Continue reading
Escape to Black Mountain!
July 31, 2011
>Sorry about the title–I couldn’t resist it. Doesn’t it make you think of a Disney film? Anyway, it was Memorial Day and James and I had one of those weird windows of time that seem to come out of nowhere … Continue reading
Hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains–A Cautionary Tale
June 30, 2011
> James and I often have guests at the Carolina who ask about hikes in the mountains near our Asheville, NC Bed and Breakfast, and we will sometimes send them to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Craggy Gardens. It’s a pleasant … Continue reading
Naturewalks in Western North Carolina
May 5, 2011
>Sometimes when the weather is especially nice here at the Carolina, James and I play hookey. Like Tom Sawyer we leave the paint brush in the paint can next to the metaphorical picket fence of housework at our Asheville North … Continue reading
A Day Off: Touring Western North Carolina
October 24, 2010
>Recently, one of our guests at the Carolina Bed & Breakfast told us about a great book called Touring the Western North Carolina Backroads, that contains a number of less traveled routes which one can take to explore the countryside … Continue reading
Recipe for a Perfect Day: Hiking off the Blue Ridge Parkway
September 18, 2010
>Take one perfect September day in Asheville, NC. Finish up your work early and drive over to Greenlife Grocery Store and buy the most awesome sandwich ever. Drive up Town Mountain Road past all those houses perched on the mountainside … Continue reading
>Climbing Chimney Rock
May 19, 2010
>It was another lovely day Sunday, and two of our daughters were visiting us, so after the guests left and our chores were finished we took off for a hike up to Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock State Park is about … Continue reading
>Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Asheville NC (Part two)
April 29, 2010
>This is the view from Dumont’s front door looking out over the farm, to the mountains in the distance. The stagecoach would come through the gap in the mountains and down to the inn where guests would spend the night … Continue reading
>Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Asheville NC (Part one)
April 29, 2010
>Recently we were fortunate enough to be invited out to Hickory Nut Gap Farm just outside of Asheville. The farm is a fifth generation farm, owned and operated by the family of our friend Dumont. The original house was built … Continue reading
>A Wintry Drive Through Pisgah National Forest
March 1, 2010
>James and I thought that we would like to take a drive up into the mountains this weekend to see what this winter’s storms had done. The Blue Ridge Parkway was still closed because of ice and snow on the … Continue reading
>Wine Tours at the Carolina Bed & Breakfast
October 21, 2009
>Here at the Carolina Bed & Breakfast we serve Biltmore Wines, made in Asheville. You may not realize it but North Carolina has its own wine country right here in Western North Carolina: the Yadkin Valley. Kimberlee Young of Travels … Continue reading
