Friday, July 6, 2012

A Get Away to Flat Rock, North Carolina









Roland and I took off for a three days to enjoy a little nature.  We chose Flat Rock because of some pictures I saw posted by a friend on Facebook--and its just two and a half hours away.  We stayed at the Highland Lake Inn, which is a delightful, secluded place on a lake.  There we were able to enjoy canoeing on the lake on the property and some great food at their renowned restaurant, The Seasons.  Southern Living Magazine has sung its praises, and we had our humble voices to that praise!  We arrived on Monday, July 2 and stayed on the property of twenty-four acres the first day.  Then Day Two we headed over to Dupont State Forest, the filming location of The Hunger Games.  It was lots of fun hiking there, enjoying the numerous waterfalls, and imagining which locations were used in the film!  We also took a hike to Lake Julia and while there and Roland took a dip in that beautiful, secluded lake.  Then the sky got dark and the lightening and thunder began.  We started a rapid hike for our car, but the storm seemed to be passing us by.  Then, all of a sudden, the rain came pelting down.  Fortunately, we reached a shelter just in time and joined in with lots of hikers.  We were on the fringe of the shelter, so the wind blew the rain in on us and we still got wet.  Yet, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  The came the hail!!  Wow, how appropriate that it should happen while we're hiking in Hunger Game territory!  When the hail stopped and the rain let up a bit, we took off for our car.  A good hike in the rain is always refreshing.   After cleaning up at our cabin, we took off to see Carl Sandburg's home.  Carl Sandburg is a great American poet, journalist, and advocate for the American laborer in the 40s.  When he passed away, his wife sold the property, home and belongs to the National Park Service.  We had a great tour guide who helped us get to know this unique couple.  That night we ate a little place in Hendersonville--the Tractor Barn(?).  It had real, fine home style cookin'.  And we were hungry and it was delish!  On Day 3, we headed over to see Table Rock.  The temperatures were sizzlin' and granite gets hot, but we can check it off of our list of things we want to see in North Carolina.  The Park Service Staff there was wonderful and encouraging in our efforts to beat the heat.

It was a great get away.  We're a little tanner now.  The only injury was a blister on Roland's big toe.  And we have a few pictures to add to our collection.