I have a discouraging number of half-finished posts in the queue, including at least one other travelogue (our summer trip to Michigan!)… but also no hesitations about bumping this one to the top.
In my last post, I wrote that we’d canceled our trip to Lake Lure in the wake of Hurricane Helene and wouldn’t be traveling to the North Carolina mountains this fall. The whole family was torn up about this, but John especially so. Once the storm passed, he stewed over what to do for days: travel to the Lake Lure Airbnb and use it as a base to volunteer with a local organization, leaving the kids with family or friends? Cancel the Airbnb and head to the Virginia mountains? Stay home entirely?
While we felt called to volunteer, our original rental was without power and water. And though we love the Virginia mountains, it felt wrong to bail on our beloved NC in her time of need. As the days passed after the storm, the messaging out of Western North Carolina became more nuanced: yes, some areas were devastated and not ready to receive visitors, though they coveted our aid (and would for a long time). Other areas, however, were open and ready for business – and, in many cases, desperate for it. Fall tourism dollars are incredibly important to these towns, and the blanket messaging of “don’t travel to WNC” had really hurt them.
So, following NC’s travel advisory, we rerouted our trip to Bryson City. We had wanted to visit for years, but had stopped short of Bryson City, in the far western reaches of the state, in favor of the more accessible mountain towns of Boone, Blowing Rock, or Asheville. With those off the table, we happily drove a tad farther – a little less than five hours from the Triangle – to our destination.
It was a delightful weekend. The weather was perfect, and we logged some gorgeous hikes, ate good food, and rested and relaxed together. We also got to support some mountain businesses that were extremely grateful for our presence, and though we are no saviors, we were grateful to get to be a tiny part of bringing hope in a bleak time.
To my fellow NC folks, or those in surrounding states: consider a fall or winter trip to the mountains if you can. NC’s tourism site is regularly updated with an interactive map of areas that are ready to receive you, as well as lots of other helpful information. If our trip is any indication, it will be a blessing to them and even more so a blessing to you.
Ready for a little Bryson City travelogue? Let’s do it!
FRIDAY
Our goal was to leave our home at 8:30am, but if you know us at all you are not surprised to hear we left at 9 o’clock on the dot. Time was of the essence because we planned to eat lunch at Haywood Smokehouse in Dillsboro which, at over four hours away, would have tested the bounds of our young travelers’ stomachs even if we had arrived perfectly on time. Still, we endured the drive pleasantly enough with the help of lots of snacks and a third or fourth listen through of On the Night Train, the audio mystery our kids can’t quit.
Our drive was clear, but as we got toward the mountains, we passed tons of downed trees along the roadside. Once, we saw an evergreen farm whose trees were marked with a mud line about four feet up their branches.
We arrived in Dillsboro, a very cute and very tiny downtown, around 1:30. There’s about one block of commerce, but it was plenty for our purposes: we had lunch at the Smokehouse (where the kids discovered they all loved Brunswick Stew) then poked around in the shops near the railroad depot. The Fox’s Burrow was our favorite (we snagged lots of Christmas gifts!), but it was sobering to see the floor and about one foot of wall stripped back to plywood because of the flooding.
From the shops we crossed the railroad tracks to the river itself, and it was beautiful – clear and running swiftly. We walked along the edge for a bit before doubling back to our car and continuing on the last half hour to Bryson City itself.
We arrived at our rental around 4 and the kids’ usual flurry of excitement over exploring a new house kicked in. They raced up and down the stairs and then out the back door where a capacious porch swing and wide, shallow creek waited. I helped John bring our bags inside then curled up with a blanket and my book – this one, loved it so much and now I want to call everyone honey – on the swing. I read for an hour or so while John napped and the kids pretended to be puppies and spies.
Around 6:30 we gathered ourselves, added another layer (it was chilly!), and headed out for dinner in town, about five minutes away. We put our name in at Anthony’s then explored the railway depot and a few shops while we waited. A local legend, Anthony’s reminded me of all the traditional Italian restaurants in all the little towns I’ve ever visited :) We ended the evening with our first of many trips to The Chocolate Shoppe for truffles, squares of toffee, and rock candy sticks, which we ate on our rental’s comfy sectional as we watched Cinderella.
SATURDAY
We woke to another crisp mountain morning on Saturday. We dressed for hiking and drove into town for breakfast at La Dolce Vita, which had yummy bagel sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and more.
After breakfast, we drove across the boundary line into Great Smoky Mountains National Park – the most-visited national park and one we had yet to experience! We parked and set off on the Deep Creek Loop Trail, opting for the 2.5 mile configuration in consideration of little legs. We saw deer, crossed wooden bridges, admired changing leaves, and paused for a snack by one of several waterfalls before looping back to our car about two hours later.
After a quick lunch at High Test Deli (YUM) and a hot chocolate from La Dolce Vita, it was time to board the train!
We had reserved open-air tickets on the 2pm Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Nantahala Gorge excursion. Our family had an entire bench to ourselves, with plenty of room to sit, stand, stretch out, and move around. The train whistle sounded and we pulled out of Bryson City at about 2:20, traveling through kudzu forest, past Appalachian homes, and across a trestle bridge over Fontana Lake before arriving at the Nantahala Outdoors Center around 4:45pm.
We had about an hour at the center before boarding the train for the journey home – enough time to grab a snack and watch a practice session of a US national junior team canoe slalom racer! Very cool. Then it was back on the train for a glowy sunset steam back into the Bryson City depot, arriving around 7pm. We snagged a quick dinner at The Rice Wagon, a food truck permanently parked at the Mountain Layers Brewery in downtown, and more treats at The Chocolate Shoppe before heading home for a dip in our hot tub.
SUNDAY
We got off to a slower start on Sunday morning – a perk for the kids of most family trips like this is getting to watch a few episodes of a show while mom and dad wake up – and rolled into Bryson City Bakery around 10:30.
Wow. All the pastries are made in store and are giant and delicious. We went with a few more traditional options but drooled over the cases of apple galettes, peanut butter pie stuffed croissants, s’mores cruffins, maple pecan twists, vanilla bean morning buns, and white chocolate scones with blackberry glaze. While John stood in line, I wandered over to the adjacent general store, MRKT on the Square, and picked up a few more gifts for Christmas from their selection of kitchen goods, toys, and art supplies.
We wrapped up breakfast, hopped in the car, and drove about 30 minutes to Mingo Falls. Though we didn’t have a chance to stop at any of the historical or educational sites along the way, it was neat to see the Cherokee syllabary on signs as we passed through. And of course, Mingo Falls is well worth the trip on its own – it’s a short but steep .3 mile hike to a stunningly tall waterfall. Steps are built into the hillside to make it a bit easier. The big kids bounded up like goats while John and I hoofed it up behind them, Annie on John’s shoulders for part of the time. We hung out at the top for a good half hour and let the kids explore before heading back down.
We continued our circumnavigation of the Smokies and entered the national park again, driving 45 minutes to reach Kuwohi (formerly known as Clingman’s Dome, and the highest point in Tennessee, in the Smokies, and on the Appalachian Trail). The drive was gorgeous: similar in feel to the Blue Ridge Parkway, with curving roads that hug the mountainside and expansive vistas dotted with blazing foliage.
After finding a parking spot (tough on a beautiful fall day!), we set off on the Forney Ridge Trail around 2pm. AllTrails describes it as having a “captivating forest atmosphere,” and I couldn’t agree more.
We trotted along mossy stone steps, across wooden beam walkways, and through sunlit-filled pine forests to reach Andrews Bald about two miles and one hour later.
John selected this hike especially for me, as I’m always pestering him about visiting balds – unique mountains in the Southern Appalachians that are topped with treeless, grassy meadows instead of rocks or trees and thus boast incredible views. Andrews Bald did not disappoint: it was glorious to sprawl on the grass and snack on apples, peanut butter crackers, peanut m&ms, and mini Chomps before turning around.
But we weren’t done yet!! Two miles later we made it back to the parking lot and were all ready to sit down – but we were at the start of the Kuwohi Observation Tower trail, and we (or at least the parents, ha) wanted to make it to the top. Like Mingo Falls, we were in for another short, steep hike – this time, .5 miles each way and 337 feet of elevation gain. It’s a paved trail, but man, it was a rough add-on after the afternoon’s hike.
But also worth it! We hoofed it up the trail, the kids trailing comically behind us, and eventually made it to the top to enjoy the 360-degree views.
But only for a few minutes :) Back in the car and looking at the clock, we debated whether the timing was too tight to go back and change before our dinner reservation, but agreed that if we could be in and out of the house in ten minutes we could arrive within the grace period. Cut to the five of us sprinting and giggling through the house to get out of our hiking clothes and into mountain dinner appropriate attire as fast as possible :)
Our reservation was at the Fryemont Inn’s dining room, and it was a trip. Think summer camp dining hall, think big stone fireplace, think 100+ year old history. All dinners include the soup of the day (BLT soup on the day we visited!), a mixed green salad, the entree of your choice, three family-style side dishes, and dessert. (Plus soda for the kids, a thrill!) Was it the most delicious, creative food I’ve ever eaten in my life? It was not. But it was homey and memorable and a perfect way to cap off a mountain-y day.
MONDAY
We slept in, then packed up the house and drove to brunch at Mountain Perks, which had delicious bagel sandwiches and the kindest staff.
After browsing a few more shops, we ended our time in Bryson City with a visit to Darnell Farms. Nestled right against the Tuckasegee River, it had swings, a giant hollowed-out tree, knobbly pumpkins, a farm shop, and a hay maze to explore.
And that, my friends, is our trip to Bryson City! While BC is a bit rougher around the edges than some other mountain towns we’ve visited, it is so lovable and we were so grateful to get to visit it – and our beloved mountains – in this unusual fall.
If you’re planning a trip to Bryson City, I hope this recap was helpful! Any questions, I’m happy to answer – just leave them in the comments! (And if you’d like to see this weekend in motion, I had fun making this little video.)
Visiting the North Carolina coast on Father’s Day weekend has become one of our favorite family traditions. It helps that three years in, the weather has been pretty darn perfect each time (there must be something about that weekend in June!). Perfect weather or not, it’s a delight to discover new corners of this state we love in honor of our favorite dad.
This year’s trip was to Bald Head Island – come take a peek, if you’d like!
Longtime readers may remember that John and I have been to Bald Head Island just once before – almost 10 years ago, when I was pregnant with June! BHI is accessible only by ferry, and the only civilian vehicles on the island are golf carts, which makes it relatively inaccessible but delightfully relaxing. We left on Sunday afternoon after church and headed home around noon on Wednesday. It was the perfect amount of time to explore the island!
The first order of business when planning our trip was deciding where to stay. While there are lovely homes on the island, most rentals are for a week. Since we were staying just a few days, we opted for the Marsh Harbor Inn, which is an easy walk from the ferry. We stayed in one of the Shipwatch Suites. While the free-flowing popcorn in the dining room, the Fruit Loops every morning (a continental breakfast was included with our room), and the golf cart (also included with our room) were all highlights, the kids were UTTERLY ENTRANCED by their accommodations: three built-in bunk beds in the tiniest nook of a room. This was Annie’s first time sleeping outside of a crib or pack and play, and she was in heaven.
As for our itinerary, it was quite laidback. We arrived on the 4pm ferry and took the tram, which is included with your ferry ticket, to the Inn with our luggage. We got things sorted (and had a major squeal-fest over the bunk beds), then took the golf cart out to East Beach, on the far side of the island.
Almost everyone had gone home for the day, so we had the sand pretty much to ourselves to run and play.
We had dinner at Jailhouse Provisions (our first of several visits over our short stay!) then cruised home at sunset to watch the Olympic swimming trials. It’s funny how random things get associated with particular trips – the swimming trials will definitely be linked with this one!
Monday was a beach day – we headed back to East Beach and set up our Shibumi amongst 25+ others (!). While the waves and undertow were fairly serious, the shifting tide created the most perfect “ocean swimming pool.” It lasted all day and made going in the water much more accessible, especially for Annie (2). For lunch, we ate snacks from Maritime Market – cheese, salami, crackers, and pickled veggies.
We headed back to the harbor in the late afternoon, then cleaned up and walked over to the marina park where there was a kid-friendly DJ, hula hoops, and corn hole set out on the grass. Dinner was burgers, dogs, and pizza from Will O’ the Wisp. (I was not overly impressed with the pizza.) We walked over the dunes to West Beach to watch the sunset before turning in for more swimming trials. Here’s John in vacation mode at dinner :)
Every time we crossed over the marsh bridge in our golf cart Annie would shout “hey, Baldy!!” and Tuesday morning was her chance to go inside! Old Baldy is the lighthouse on Bald Head Island (the oldest in NC!), and we all bought tickets to climb the 108 stairs and peek out the top.
I’ve now proudly crossed three NC lighthouses off my bucket list – Currituck, Cape Lookout, and Old Baldy!
We also toured the small attached museum (including some Coast Guard history!) and spent a few minutes inside the beautiful Village Chapel right next door.
Then, in classic dad fashion, John led us on a few short hikes off North Bald Head Wynd (the main road). It was hot, but shaded, and we saw some impressive live oaks for our trouble. We also discovered the BHI Conservancy’s scavenger hunt, which June and Shep enjoyed completing over the next 24 hours.
After lunch at Jailhouse and stocking up on more snacks at Maritime Market, we set up camp at East Beach once again. More sandcastles, more wave hopping, more swimming in the giant tide pool, more beach reading.
Then back home for showers, dinner at Jailhouse (yes, twice in one day – we all agreed to choose a different meal than at lunch, ha!), and ice cream while cruising home in the golf cart.
Before we called it a night, we saw two beautiful things: one, a sunset over the tidal creek, with towering pink-tinged clouds. (All weekend, John and I debated whether our hypothetical BHI home would be on the creek, in the maritime forest, or on the beach; seeing this creek sunset clinched John’s choice.)
We also stopped by the wildlife overlook off Stede Bonnet Wynd and came upon an other-worldly scene: dozens (hundreds?) of snowy ibis and egrets roosting for the night in the trees ringing the pond. Everyone watching was hushed; it was just magical.
We took advantage of our last few hours with a golf cart on Wednesday morning by collecting the final scavenger hunt clues and turning in our sheets for small prizes. After our luggage was picked up by the tram, we walked around the harbor and watched the boat traffic coming and going before it was time to hop on the ferry ourselves and wave goodbye to another wonder of the North Carolina coast.
I’m feeling grateful, friends. These years with our kids (8, 5, and 2) are just incredibly sweet, and I’m savoring them. Thanks for letting me share!
P.S. Where should we go next?! Any NC coast recommendations you think we’d love? Please share!
You know those podcast episodes that you hit play on as soon as you see them in your feed? Today’s post was inspired by one of them – a recent Lazy Genius episode. In it, Kendra shares 20 helpful decisions she keeps repeating across four areas of life: personal, kids, food, and money.
“Decide once” is probably my favorite Lazy Genius principle – it speaks to my heart which loves both efficiency AND intentionality – and though I’ve written about some of my “decide once” decisions before, we’ve never discussed money-related decisions specifically. Since I loved hearing Kendra’s, I thought it might be helpful to share some of John’s and mine, especially since we love chatting personal finance around here :) Let’s do it!
P.S. This is probably obvious, but “deciding once” means making one decision about one thing and continuing to make that decision over and over until it doesn’t work for you anymore. Boundaries AND freedom!
A mostly unrelated photo, but you know these Articles Club gals are a great source of riches in my life!
1. I sign up for every Meal Train that crosses my path, and I bring a prepared meal from a local shop. In this season of young kids, trying to prepare and deliver two meals in one day (for my family and the other family) was causing enough stress that it had begun to dissuade me from signing up in the first place. While it’s more expensive than cooking from scratch, I love that I can choose a meal that matches the family’s needs with ease (gluten- or dairy-free, vegetarian, etc.) and support a local small business, too.
2. When a school or teacher asks for money, we give it. Our oldest attends a public elementary school, and our middle will soon join her. We believe strongly in the importance of a vibrant and healthy public school system, and because I’ve done the mind-numbing math of what we’d pay if we sent our kids to a private school, it feels comparatively easy to drop by the store or send money on Venmo whenever a request circulates.
3. When we can help a foster family or a family in need, we do. Similarly, our church helps support foster families and at-risk families in a few different ways (buying diapers or baby gear for vulnerable pregnant moms, buying backpacks and school supplies for foster kids), and we always say yes when asked. Caring for the orphan, the widow, and the generally vulnerable was near to Jesus’ heart, and because we will likely not be a foster or adoptive family ourselves, it feels like a duty and joy to tangibly help those who are.
4. We will keep John’s car as long as we can. John’s Ford Focus is currently 12 years old, with less than 100k miles on it. He drives it to and from work twice a week… and that’s about it. While it does have power windows and AC (ha!), it’s a basic trim level and nothing fancy.
But that’s kind of why we love it :) It’s been paid off for almost a decade, and it works just fine. We have money sitting in an account for his next car, and it will be wonderful when he gets it, but that day won’t be until this one needs repairs that no longer make sense. Until that day comes, we just don’t think about replacing it.
5. We have a date night every month. And we almost always go out to eat, because the Triangle has incredible restaurants and all we really want to do is talk to each other :) Both the restaurant bill and the babysitter are expenses, but it is a non-negotiable for us and has been since June was small (back when it was a lot harder to fit it into the budget!).
6. We give 10% of our income each year to our church. While not a command to Christians, we believe this guidance is to our benefit, and a way God graciously cares for us as He partners with us to care for others. It took us several years of slowly increasing our percentage until we hit the 10% mark; we hope to increase it over time from here.
7. We give annually to our college. This feels like a direct inheritance from my maternal grandmother, who was a devoted alumna of her school (and heavily involved with my grandfather’s college even after his death). There was never a question of whether I’d give after graduation, and I’ve done so every year since. (I think I gave $50 the first year!) While it’s debatable how much of an impact my four years of undergrad had on my professional trajectory, I nevertheless feel incredibly grateful for my career path – and this is one way to pass on that gratitude.
8. We max out our HSA. While a bit more arcane, we prioritize this over maxing out our 401ks in this season, and have for many years. (I wrote a post about it in 2018!) It’s simply a part of building our budget each year: we look up the maximum contribution limit, then plug that into our budget.
9. We save a certain amount in our Home Free account each month. When I think about decisions we don’t think about, this is a big one. In fact, in many ways, it’s best not to think about this too much :) And luckily, we don’t have to! The money is automatically transferred from our checking account to our investment account each month. After almost a decade of doing so, we don’t miss it – which is very much to our benefit, as it quietly adds up in the background.
10. We make a budget every year. I know I’m a particular type of person, but it is truly hard for me to grasp how people maintain their mental health without a budget. Our budget is a plan. It reassures me that we’ve taken care of everything that we need to, and that if we stick to the budget, we are free to spend money without guilt, we’ll be able to pay our bills, and we can rest assured that we’re making progress on all of our savings goals. A budget has worked for us when we’ve had little money and when we’ve had more; it has helped keep our marriage (and minds) happy and peaceful in every season. I am so grateful.
Now I’d love to hear from you, friends! What’s on your financial “decide once” list?
Writing about your own generosity is a tricky thing, isn’t it?
On the one hand, there’s the very real fear that you’ll come across as prideful, a show-off. Or that you’ll needlessly make others feel bad about their efforts – which might represent a real sacrifice – or feel shame about the gap between your generosity and theirs.
So why risk it?
Of course, there’s also this, just one chapter later – also from the mouth of Jesus:
Giving in public = bad? Giving in secret = good? If only it were so easy :) The Christian faith is not interested in being simple; it’s interested in being true. In the end, the motivation of the heart is what categorizes the same act as either a treasure or a disgrace in the eyes of God, which can make it confusing to know when to share. However – as long as I can feel reasonably confident that I’m sharing to reflect the light and love of God and not to be praised by men blog readers, I want to do so.
Also, we hear a lot about Christians behaving badly. But there are many, many, many more stories of light that go untold – stories of quiet, unsung acts of selflessness, compassion, and generosity. We need those stories, too, to remind us about the beauty, grace, and truth of a life spent imitating Jesus (imperfectly, always, but earnestly, too).
Finally, on a practical note, I like hearing about the positive things others are doing! It inspires me to be better, to do more, to stretch my conception of what I think I’m capable of and comfortable with – and it gives me ideas for how to do so! It reminds me that people everywhere are doing their best to make people feel loved and the world a better place. It buoys my hope and optimism about my fellow man and the world we inhabit together.
So — with that lengthy introduction, I submit to you three ways we’re trying to live generously this Christmas season – written with humility and love!
We’re giving generously to our kids’ teachers.
Currently, Annie and Shep each have two preschool teachers, while June has her second-grade teacher, her math teacher, and a student teacher. In past years, we have given physical gifts to preschool teachers, like fresh wreaths, snap totes, and Cultivate goodies. I love all of these ideas and may return to them!
This year and last, however, we’ve moved to giving gift cards (accompanied by handwritten notes). Last year we gave each preschool teacher a $15 gift card to a local ice cream shop. This year, we’re giving them $50 gift cards to a local gift shop I love, and the director (who is also a teacher in Shep’s classroom) a $100 gift card to our favorite local restaurant. It’s been a challenging year in their school, and we want her and her husband to enjoy a fun dinner out.
For June’s main teacher, we’ll do a $75* gift card to either a local garden store or the same local restaurant – I haven’t decided yet! (I always try to choose based on their hobbies – last year, we gave her first-grade teacher, an avid runner, a gift card to Fleet Feet.)
*I had planned to do $100, the same as our preschool director, but our district put a $75 cap on gifts this year.
For her math teacher, we chose a 3-month subscription to the Book of the Month Club, and her student teacher will get a Cultivate tumbler stuffed with crinkle paper and a $50 coffee shop gift card.
Again: I include the dollar amounts not to show off (blerg), but to gently encourage. Last year, $15 for five preschool teachers felt like a stretch. My understanding is that even the smallest gift card is appreciated, and if $5 per teacher is what’s possible, it will be gratefully received.
This year, we can do more, so we are. When I think about what it would cost to send our three children to private school (I did the math right here), $100 per teacher feels like a drop in the bucket. Excellent teachers are the lifeblood of our schools and I’ll do almost anything to help them feel appreciated.
We’re giving generously to our pastor.
Moving on to our next category of challenging jobs :) Full-time ministry – whew! It is not for the faint of heart, for the pastor or for his or her family. They (joyfully!) sacrifice so much for the people in their care, and last year, John and I felt compelled to share one of our very favorite traditions with our pastor and his wife.
We wrote them a note explaining our end-of-year celebration dinner – what it is and what it has meant to our relationship over the last many years – and included a $100 gift card to a local restaurant in the envelope. We wanted to make it easy for them to start their own tradition, if they wanted to. We’ll do the same thing this year. Sowing into their marriage feels like sowing directly into God’s Kingdom, and we’re grateful to do it.
We’re giving generously to our garbage and recycling guys.
This is one I come by honestly – it’s straight from the brain of my mom :) Growing up, she’d always leave a Subway gift card and bag of peanut butter balls on top of our trash and recycling cans in December, and honestly, I thought it was weird – ha!
But I also just thought it was normal, and sure enough, when we moved into our own home a decade ago, I taped a colorful (eye-catching!) thank you note, a Jersey Mike’s gift card (we usually do $20 – enough for two guys in each truck), and a bag of peanut butter balls to the top of each can one Wednesday in December. I can only hope my children will think this is weird and then grow up to do the same thing, too.
Of course, I’d love to hear: big or small, how are you being generous this season? This group always has the best ideas.
