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2A Bourbon Hound 2024
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And great breakfast at their sister place next door, SunnyRock.
Weekend in Boone area… (not Charleston, SC). What "must see" or "must do" things?
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biganimal
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After installing the A/C & ventilation systems in Hall’s and viewing the kitchen in action I haven’t been back to dine there.
Carolinatlc
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Was just coming here to say eat at Foggy Rock. Was just up there a couple weeks ago and headed back up later this week for a couple nights. Even when I'm by myself I always stop at Foggy Rock for a meal. I've never had a bad meal in probably 50+ visits there. It can definitely get crowded this time of year.
To be fair, I’ve been in the back of many restaurants (telco/isp provider) and I’d say 99% of them are like this, once you see the kitchen on a normal (non inspection) day, you won’t want to eat there.
ronn47
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I'm that way about McDonalds.
Back in the 70s my sister dated an asst manager at on on Stratford Road in W-S.
I stopped to get some FFs and he said come around back.
So he gave me some fries for free and we talked for a while.
People inside were sliding across the floor by pushing off on the equip and shelves.
I've never ate at another McDs since and stay away from the other fast food joints too.
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It’s never good to “see how the sausage is made”.
OP
Thanks to EVERYONE who helped with the thread. I've quoted several below, but you've all been very helpful.
First up... based on the comments below, we shifted attention to the mountains.
We set our sights on Boone and Blowing Rock, with Grandfather Mountain being the only "must do" and everything else... make it up as we go along. This is exactly how we honeymooned... went to Atlantic City. Found it to be a sh-thole, picked up and just started driving and staying wherever we ended up. We ended up at Hershey Park, completely unplanned. Picked the spot based on a brochure at a rest stop.
We didn't make reservations. As you approach the entrance there are signs warning no one gets in without reservations.
We weren't the only people who pulled off to the shoulder, made reservations online, and then drove up to the gate. $42 to get in. Well worth it! Thanks for telling us about it.
We did spend most of our time in Blowing Rock. We had gone to Boone first, and found this to be true when we rolled in on Saturday:
We went to Blowing Rock and liked it better, so we looked for a place to stay. We tried a resort-looking place first. No rooms. Fine... not unexpected in a tourist area on a nice weekend. We were just winging-it, so we moved on. We looked at some options, each were booked or not exactly nice. This is our 25th anniversary weekend, after all.
We walked into "The Manor" and loved the place. Figured for sure it would be all booked, but they had one room available. The room in their video below is the room we stayed in.
blowingrockmanor.com
This place was more than twice what we've ever paid to stay in a hotel before, and it was absolutely worth it. We almost felt like secret intruders into high-end classy living.
The service was, as you might imagine, top-notch. Personal and wonderful. I highly recommend this place as a treat worth giving yourself.
We asked the concierge for dinner recommendations. I let him know we like casual, and I'd rather eat a burger than a steak most any day. He gave a glowing recommendation that matches CFF's recommendations:
He recommended a drive in the neighborhood shown below.
If you want to see multi-million dollar homes, with multi-million dollar views... a drive through these narrow streets is worth seeing.
It was Sunday morning when we headed to Grandfather Mountain. On the way, we took @mj1angier 's advice on the 3-ride coaster visit.
Ride 1.... fine. I used the brake some.
Ride 2... no brakes. Violent banging around, not like the smooth coaster ride I anticipated with the tubular track.
- - While waiting for Ride 3, I felt sick. Wanted to bail, but I knew that would spoil my wife's fun.
Ride 3.... rode the brake a lot. My wife was behind me yelling to go faster, as the carts have built-in braking to prevent you from hitting the cart in front of you.
Still.... it was fun.
We had wanted to hit SunnyRock, but they weren't open on Sunday
The original store is a fun touristy thing, with some old items to look at behind the counter.
Along with those things, we also stopped for a "relive something I did when I was a kid" thing. I don't know where I did it when I was a kid, but this place was similar.
You pay $40 for a bucket of junk, sift out the sand and "ugly" rocks, and keep the pretty ones.
What the brochure makes it look like:
What it actually looks like:
My wife thought is was silly (she's right) but I enjoyed it. Our two-gallon bucket netted about a sandwich bags of rocks worth keeping.
Now I'll be following @slow is slow 's thread on rock-tumbling. I already have a quality Thumler's tumbler (thanks to reloading).
First up... based on the comments below, we shifted attention to the mountains.
We set our sights on Boone and Blowing Rock, with Grandfather Mountain being the only "must do" and everything else... make it up as we go along. This is exactly how we honeymooned... went to Atlantic City. Found it to be a sh-thole, picked up and just started driving and staying wherever we ended up. We ended up at Hershey Park, completely unplanned. Picked the spot based on a brochure at a rest stop.
We didn't make reservations. As you approach the entrance there are signs warning no one gets in without reservations.
We weren't the only people who pulled off to the shoulder, made reservations online, and then drove up to the gate. $42 to get in. Well worth it! Thanks for telling us about it.
We did spend most of our time in Blowing Rock. We had gone to Boone first, and found this to be true when we rolled in on Saturday:
We hit up The Mast store (downtown), then got out of the Boone area.
We went to Blowing Rock and liked it better, so we looked for a place to stay. We tried a resort-looking place first. No rooms. Fine... not unexpected in a tourist area on a nice weekend. We were just winging-it, so we moved on. We looked at some options, each were booked or not exactly nice. This is our 25th anniversary weekend, after all.
We walked into "The Manor" and loved the place. Figured for sure it would be all booked, but they had one room available. The room in their video below is the room we stayed in.
The Blowing Rock Manor | 20 luxury suites & dedicated event space
The Blowing Rock Manor welcomes you with modern conveniences and Southern hospitality. Our event space and 20 suites offer five spacious floor plans for groups or guests of all types.
blowingrockmanor.com
This place was more than twice what we've ever paid to stay in a hotel before, and it was absolutely worth it. We almost felt like secret intruders into high-end classy living.
The service was, as you might imagine, top-notch. Personal and wonderful. I highly recommend this place as a treat worth giving yourself.We asked the concierge for dinner recommendations. I let him know we like casual, and I'd rather eat a burger than a steak most any day. He gave a glowing recommendation that matches CFF's recommendations:
That's where we went and we really liked it. While there I struck up a conversation with a local. My wife and I wondered where everyone lives in this town. There's touristy things, but where are the actual neighborhoods?
He recommended a drive in the neighborhood shown below.
If you want to see multi-million dollar homes, with multi-million dollar views... a drive through these narrow streets is worth seeing.
It was Sunday morning when we headed to Grandfather Mountain. On the way, we took @mj1angier 's advice on the 3-ride coaster visit.
This was a good time, except I get motion-sick.
Ride 1.... fine. I used the brake some.
Ride 2... no brakes. Violent banging around, not like the smooth coaster ride I anticipated with the tubular track.
- - While waiting for Ride 3, I felt sick. Wanted to bail, but I knew that would spoil my wife's fun.
Ride 3.... rode the brake a lot. My wife was behind me yelling to go faster, as the carts have built-in braking to prevent you from hitting the cart in front of you.
Still.... it was fun.
We had wanted to hit SunnyRock, but they weren't open on Sunday
We hit the downtown Boone shop on Saturday, and then the other two on Sunday. The "Annex" is nearly a carbon-copy of the downtown store.
The original store is a fun touristy thing, with some old items to look at behind the counter.
Along with those things, we also stopped for a "relive something I did when I was a kid" thing. I don't know where I did it when I was a kid, but this place was similar.
Gem Mining in NC | Sugar Creek Gem Mine | Near Boone NC
Sugar Creek Gem Mine guarantees you'll find precious authentic North Carolina Gemstones in every bucket. Get in on the thrill of gem mining in NC.
sugarcreekgemmine.com
You pay $40 for a bucket of junk, sift out the sand and "ugly" rocks, and keep the pretty ones.
What the brochure makes it look like:
What it actually looks like:
My wife thought is was silly (she's right) but I enjoyed it. Our two-gallon bucket netted about a sandwich bags of rocks worth keeping.
Now I'll be following @slow is slow 's thread on rock-tumbling. I already have a quality Thumler's tumbler (thanks to reloading).
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OP
When we actually hit the entrance, the girl asked if we had reservations. If we didn't, I got the sense it would have been no problem.
Even when we made the reservations, it was about 5 minutes before the timeslot we chose, and the site said there were 167 slots still available for that time. It wasn't busy at all. Which was great. Made the drive up and down pleasant.
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Awesome!
Carolinatlc
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Sounds like a fun time.
$42 for both to visit Grandfather? Wow they have went way up to see some mountains. I heard Biltmore House is $120 without online purchase and $89 online. Glad I did it when it was $45. Even higher during Christmas season. For a children's day Tweetsie Railroad is a very nice trip. Clean and polite people unlike that craphole Carowinds.
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OP
Dang, too bad I missed all of this.
I'm from Boone and the wife is from the other side of the Tweetsie Tracks in the more upscale portion of Blowing Rock.
But it looks like you hit up most everything I'd have recommended.
I'm from Boone and the wife is from the other side of the Tweetsie Tracks in the more upscale portion of Blowing Rock.
But it looks like you hit up most everything I'd have recommended.
Ikarus1
Avtomat Krishna-kov
I loved Charleston in the 90s. Jill and I honeymooned there in 2000. But, its definitely NOT the same charming old South city it used to be. It is a touristy expensive shithole with high crime. Not just no but hell no! OP made a wise choice
Six Pence in Blowing Rock is a great place to eat. We like to just walk around Blowing Rock and go into all the specialty shops. Another vote for Sunny Rock and Foggy Rock
Please pick a time when there isn't a football game and after all the Students have gone back to App St, but still be careful because traffic can still be a bear. Original Mask General in Valle Crucis is a great place to visit
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