Nerding out in the Mountains

Last Sunday, while lazing around on the couch, the Mrs. and I were contemplating what to do with ourselves the following weekend. We talked about DC and that we'd like to go up to the mountains. As I flipped through the travel section a small article caught my eye. It was an announcement for a quilt block scavenger hunt rally up in Mitchell and Yancy counties. It was perfect. The premise is that there are 170 painted quilt blocks hanging on buildings as part of the NC quilt trail. You meet at a designated place and get a list of 12 of those blocks as well as a couple of other tasks to do, a quilt trail map of all 170 and some information about the area. You then have to find and document all of the blocks on your list in the shortest mileage; they check your odometer in when you arrive. You have from 10am to 5pm to finish or get as far as you can.

Knowing the event started at 9 am we drove up Friday after work. We took a little bit of a detour so I could finally check out the Pisgah Brewing tap room. It is a little hard to find, and as soon as we pulled up I had a flashback of pulling up to Duck-Rabbit and my heart sank. It is in a small industrial park that is not the most welcoming. Then I started to see a little life around back and we decided to check it out. As soon as you open the less than friendly front door you are greeted with the sounds of a lively crowd and a pumping sound system. It happened to be the one year anniversary of Micheal Jacksons death, so his greatest hits were washing over the crowd covering us in a nostalgic glow. We surveyed the choices and The Mrs. said "just pick something for me". I nearly fell over. She is trying very hard to enjoy beer but a glass to herself was a big step. I myself went for the Vortex II and got her a Hellbender barleywine. She was not in love with the Hellbender so I let her try the Vortex and did not get it back. The Vortex II is a Russian Imperial Stout that is sweet and surprisingly light on the tongue. The Hellbender is quite a bit sweeter than other barleywines I have had making it much easier to drink without the long aging that most of my bottles get. It too was lighter than expected making it a nice summer evening beer. I went back for one more before we left, I ordered the Doppelbock, not considering what I had just put my taste bud through and the whole thing was lost on me. I should have known better. Then it was on to our hotel, The Skyline Village Inn. It was nice enough, we got in a little late and I found the owner, Mike, as I was wondering around. He quickly checked me in and we had a chat. The lobby doubles as a beer and wine store. They also have a small restaurant that, thankfully, was still open. We dropped off our bags and took in the stunning view from our room. Then quickly made our way down to dinner. We sat on the patio and I ordered a chicken parmesan sandwich. I was a little surprised when it came out, it was not fried, It was chunks of seasoned and broiled chicken breast. It was very tasty. The onion rings more than made up for the chicken not being fried. To drink I had an Osker Blues pilsner, I am neither a huge Pils or Oskar fan, but it fit the meal just right. When we went to bed we found the bed itself to be less than comforting and neither of us had a particularly good sleep. So, we awoke on Saturday, feeling less then our best, but determined to enjoy ourselves. We got moving quickly after finding no sight of breakfast, or any signs of life at all. After loading up we headed toward the bustling metropolis of Spruce Pine, NC, in search of coffee. It too was devoid of humanity. I thought for sure by 8 am a tourist town would be getting it's day started, not so much. So we finally found the one local cafe that was open got coffee and a bagel and headed for our rendezvous point, a high school in Burnsville, NC. With only one turn around we found our way, and hoped that was not an omen of how our day would be. Obviously, we were the youngest people there. By a long shot. Actually, at the end of the day we met one other young couple. There were 25 cars entered and we were split into two groups that had different itineraries. Each group competed within itself. We had so much fun driving the twisting and turning back roads. Admittedly, it was more fun for me than The Mrs. Since we were judged on mileage and not time, we had the opportunity to take in the little towns and shops and food. Once we got our package we sat in the car planning our attack. And 45 mins. or so later we were on our way. First stop a block in the middle of nowhere, this would be the story of our day, then it was off to downtown Burnsville for a couple of blocks and lunch at the Garden Deli, where The Mrs. got a chicken salad sandwich and I had a delicious pit smoked ham and swiss sandwich on rye. But, the draw here is that the entire patio is under a giant tree canopy, it was lovely. While in town we also checked out the sundial quilt block. It's so weird it gets its own pamphlet. Then we set off into the wilds of western North Carolina. Up, Down, Left, Right, "Ohh God, don't hit that deer" Up, Down, Left, Right, "Aaahhhh, another deer". Up, Down, "OOOhhhh". Until we got back around to Spruce Pine. We really wanted a piece of buttermilk pie from a restaurant that we had seen that morning, but was closed. It was totally worth it. Homemade, gooey and delicious. We chatted with the locals and got a hint on some good coconut pie that we should check out next time we are in town. Back on the road with the up and down and so on. We hit an orchard that was having a hootenanny and picked up drinks. We also ran into a couple of fellow competitors and then made our way to the end point. We thought we had a shortcut, but as it happened, the roads did not actually intersect. It didn't cost us much but we thought we were so damn smart. The end point was a vacation community that was in the process of being built and when we got the information package when we arrived I was a little leery. Luckily, we did not get the sales spiel while we were there. As we were leaving they offered to show anyone around who would like. "No, Thanks". The food was really great BBQ from a local place called 'Bama Que. We got Pulled pork, ribs and half chicken as well as all the requisite sides. And, yes I had a little of everything. As the party winded down it was time to award prizes. We got second place in our group by one stinkin' mile. The not so short cut got it's revenge. But we did get a lovely piece of local pottery. With that, we decided to make our way home. On the way out of town we saw 'Bama Que, so we know where it is for next time my in-laws are in town. and then almost directly across the street was The Shepperd's Table, the place with the coconut pie. The Mrs. convinced me to turn around to get some pie. Sadly, they were out of the "magical" pie. They did, however have a homemade blackberry cobbler with fresh local blackberries. Warmed up, with some vanilla ice cream. Yeah, it was really good, and we'll be going back to check out the coconut pie, despite the jesus-y nature of the restaurant. Then it was back home to get a good night sleep. Sunday is "Pops in the Park" and our audition for the neighborhood supper club. Fingers crossed.