Getaway in Asheville

#weekendgetaway #hiking #roadtrip #PisgahNationalForest #mountains #foodie #adventure #romanticweekend

After being cooped up on campus for two months, we decided our need of adventure and exploration was long overdue! I like to call it a "weekend getaway," however, with my strict EMT schedule of classes 8-5pm on a Saturday, it was more of a mid-week getaway as we left on a Tuesday and came back on a Friday. Honestly, kind of the way to go as hotel rates were significantly cheaper, and we only struggled our last night to get a dinner reservation!

Top 3 favorite adventures of the trip:

1. On our second day we hiked Looking Glass Rock, which was steep and I would say a moderate-hard hike, but totally worth it!

2. On our third day we drove along BlueRidge Parkway, which had a stunning view on both sides of the road.

3. On our first day, we stopped a little East of Asheville and hiked up a waterfall to enjoy very fancy turkey and cheese sandwiches at the top, made by yours truly :)

Top 3 foodie spots of the trip:

1. Modesto: I was treated to a birthday dinner here where we enjoyed their variety of pastas, artichokes and of course the tiramisu and house made limoncello!

2. White Duck Taco Shop: After the first day filled with long hikes we decided lots of loaded tacos and margaritas would be the best way to end the day. We also ended up going here for lunch on one of our final days as we would not get enough of the fried chicken BLT taco... YUM

3. Ultra Coffee Bar: I guess we are bad explorers, but we also went here twice! Two mornings in a row for yummy avo toast and lattes with homemade syrups!

Day 1: Elon to Asheville

The drive is only about 3 hours and we broke it up by stopping by Old Fort to do a couple of hikes, one to the top of the waterfall for lunch and a second of just pulling off on the side of the road when we found a random trail. Today was a good day because we knew tomorrow would have a hefty hike in store and we just wanted to get a sense of the area and warm up our legs for tomorrow's hike.

Old Fort Hiking & Water Fall

After roaming around, we checked in at Hotel Indigo. I loved staying here for our first two nights. It had a rustic, European vibe with a beautiful view of the mountains. It's location is perfect as Hemingway's rooftop bar is located inside of the hotel, and the hotel is walking distance to all of downtown Asheville.

Hotel Indigo for the first two nights!

Day 2: Asheville to Looking Glass Rock & Falls

The drive is only about 45 minutes away. We knew we needed to fuel up, so stopped at the Moose Cafe, for a yummy breakfast with infinite biscuits and jam! This hike probably took us 3 hours, but we took some time to free rock climb and hang out at the top to appreciate the incredible view. After the hike, we found ourselves at Looking Glass Falls, which is a pretty cool view, but nothing could compare to how incredible the view at the top of our hike was. The area around here is really cute in Pisgah National Park. We stopped at a little mountain shop so I could by the guy a hat (a new tradition we started after California) and we got coffees from a cutesy food truck.

Looking Glass Falls, NC

Day 3: Asheville Exploration

We roamed around the Arts District then decided to spend some time driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is so worth it and a perfect way to have our scenery even after our legs were toast!

One of the pull off pots for pictures along Blue Ridge Parkway.

Night 3 / Day 4: Omni Grove Park

Our final night we treated ourselves to a stay at the Omni Grove Park. We enjoyed cocktails and believe it or not, pizza delivery to the hotel by a fire pit. We stayed outside from 5:00-11:00pm just watching the sky and enjoying the lovely scenery at the resort.