Pisgah Forest, Pines Country Inn, and the Parkway

Our first stop on our cross country trip was Pisgah Forest, North Carolina. Pisgah Forest is a community just outside Brevard. We met our daughter and granddaughter at Pines Country Inn to celebrate our granddaughter's 22nd birthday. There are eight guest rooms in the main building of the inn which was built 1883. A country breakfast is served daily in season. There are also cabins available. We spent 3 nights at the inn and loved the panaramic views from our room and attached porch. Craig was happy to be able to assist with the project of the week, reflooring the front porch of the main inn. Brevard offers numerous restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops and gift shops. We had several meals and all were good but our best meal was at Square Root, where we enjoyed Addie's official birthday meal. We ordered 2 appetizers to share, Wok Fried Brussel Sprouts and Southern Fondue. The brussel sprouts with chilies were tossed in a sweet ginger chili glaze finished with orange zest. The Southern Fondue was house made warm pimento cheese with hushpuppies, pickled okra, bacon braised collard greens and crispy fried black-eyed peas. Everyone agreed they were "order agains" or try to duplicate in our own kitchens. Our entrees were very tasty also. Two of us had Fried Green Tomato BLTs and two ordered cooked to temperature burgers. Driving up to the Parkway from Brevard is a beautiful drive with soaring vistas and waterfalls. There are multiple places to pull over and explore the Davidson River that runs parallel to the highway. Our granddaughter always enjoys getting into the icy water but that activity is not for the faint hearted. The Blue Ridge Parkway has many overlooks and several tunnels. It feels like you are at the top of the world. These three days were a great way to launch our trip. Our next stop is a Boondocker's Welcome stay in Cosby, Tennessee.