WHERE WE STAYED

HH and I spent seven days and seven nights in this cozy one bedroom cabin. The cabin is located on a secluded mountain in Bryson City in western North Carolina. The mountain has only one drivable entrance and is gated for safety and privacy. From what we could tell, the mountain is home to four vacation rentals {including the cabin we stayed in}, two new builds, a few private homes and a bunch of vacant land. {We did a lot of hiking.} And when I say mountain, I mean mountain. Accessing the cabin requires driving curvy rural roads – some single lane, dirt or gravel – and then navigating a steep mountain. Forget about GPS, cell phone coverage and wifi. This cabin is the real deal.

The main entrance to the cabin is on the side. I was a big fan of the cedar siding and shake roof.

The main door opens into a hall with a bathroom and laundry room on the left, an open living space on the right and a back door at the opposite end.

There are a slew of large windows on three sides of the cabin making it feel like you are outdoors when you are in.

The back {or other “side”} of the cabin boasts an attached deck with dining furniture, a hot tub, a charcoal fireplace and a gas grill. This is where we spent most of our vacation.

There is a slab of granite fixed to one corner of the deck railing for preparing and serving food. I thought this was a great idea that could be easily and cheaply DIY’d with a solid surface countertop remnant.

Just off the deck is a fire pit surrounded by gravel. Again, another DIY-able feature.

The one thing that couldn’t be copied though was the scenery. Throughout our stay, I couldn’t get over the vast landscape and my camera doesn’t do it justice. Our deck overlooked a deep ravine with a large stream running through it at the bottom. The constant sound of the running water was glorious and that’s all we could hear. No traffic, no sirens, no neighbors, no dogs barking…nothing but that soothing stream.

There is a stone and gravel path that leads down to the stream and a waterfall where you can sit on a bench and be hypnotized by a water wheel. A trail follows along the opposite side of the stream. HH and I hiked it one day and it reminded me of my childhood. I grew up on 12 acres of hilly country and was free to roam and explore.

That’s the view of the cabin from the stream. Pretty amazing.

The cabin was perfect for us. If the thought of being on a mountain with one other person and no phone/internet service makes you nervous, this isn’t the vacation spot for you. And while the cabin itself is family-friendly {there is a king bed, pull-out couch, modest full kitchen, laundry room, TV, DVD player etc.}, the steep drop-off outside isn’t exactly childproof. I wouldn’t trust my kids here.

My only complaint was the decor {think country} but it wasn’t awful and we weren’t there for the decor so it wasn’t a big deal. See more of our cabin here.

WHERE WE PLAYED

We spent most of our time at the cabin. We exercised on the deck some mornings. {HH likes P90X Yoga X. I’m a Tracy Anderson girl.} We played a lot of Blokus. {I like to think of it as rearranging furniture on a small scale.} We read. We watched a few movies. We hiked around our cabin. We sat in the sun and listened to the stream. We tried not to talk about the kids but completely failed. And we did other things that two people who have been married for ten years with three kids do when they’re alone on a mountain. Wink, wink.

We ventured down from the mountain to check out a few local outdoor attractions – Nantahala Outdoor Center and Tsali Recreation Area. HH and I had our first zip lining and white water rafting experiences at NOC. The zip lining was our favorite. It’s a two-mile course and includes one half-mile zip over the Nantahala Gorge 300 feet above the forest floor. Breathtaking! Our zip guides were Charlie and Tom and they were awesome. Super knowledgable and cautious yet comedic which helped take the edge off. I was actually more fearful of the rafting than the zipping but the raft ride was pretty mild. Just class II and III rapids. We did get soaked but no one fell out of our boat. We opted for a fully guided river tour for the rafting because, up until a week ago, HH and I had zero experience white water rafting. It took us two hours to paddle/float an 8-mile stretch of the Nantahala River. Once again, the scenery was indescribable.

NOC is great. You can do all the outdoor adventure stuff there and they have two on-site restaurants and a little beach area for smaller kids. There are shops, too. We easily spent an entire day at NOC. We’d love to take our kids there someday.

On our first trip to Bryson City a few years ago over a long weekend, I completed my first mountain bike ride at Tsali. It was one of the easier trails and I did pretty well so I agreed to go again this visit. {HH used to be an avid mountain biker.} Well, the “easy” trail was a designated horse trail on the day we showed up. HH mentioned something about it but was kinda nonchalant so me, being the trusting wife I am, followed along on my bike. A few minutes into the ride, I knew something was different. It was difficult. Like, really difficult. Steep hill climbs, sharp turns, rocks, water, mud, crazy narrow “bridges” – if you can call a piece of wood laid across a stream a bridge. I asked HH how long this particular trail was.

HH: 11 miles.

me: You’re joking, right?

HH: Nope.

me: Eeee-lev-en miles?! You do remember that this is only my second time mountain biking, right?

HH: You’ll be fine.

Well, I was fine. For about 5 miles. Then I was toast. I hadn’t eaten breakfast that day – just juice. It was after 2:00 p.m. and we weren’t even halfway through the course. I was having problems with my vision. My feet kept slipping off the pedals. My steering was getting sloppy. I was covered in mud and sweat. I started pushing my bike on the inclines. My water bottle was empty. We had no food. I had nothing left. I was trying not to pass out. HH kept encouraging me to stop and take breaks but I just wanted it all to be over and the only way to make that happen was by finishing the course. I was mad. In the midst of my low blood sugar turmoil, I may or may not have told HH that I hated him. I blame the hypoglycemia. I noticed several empty energy powder packets on the trail and thought about picking one up and licking the inside. The last few miles were a blur.

Eventually, we did finish. It was nearly 4:00 p.m. I headed straight for the water fountain and chugged a bunch of water then splashed some over my beating face. I thought about the dude from 127 Hours.

I would have died.

HH told me he was really sorry and that he didn’t mean to make me miserable. I curled up in the fetal position in the back seat of our car and HH drove into downtown Bryson City. {HH later told me I was unresponsive and he started to worry.} He parked outside a local brewing company and I walked on sea legs inside where we were promptly told they didn’t serve food. I wanted to cry. Then we walked two or three blocks to a sandwich shop and I stuffed my face.

We drove back to our little cabin. I have never smelled so awful. But I had no energy to stand in the shower. I did a face plant onto the bed and slept for three hours until the stink that was myself woke me up. I took a shower and felt a little better. HH apologized again.

me: Remember when you took me mountain biking for the second time ever on a difficult 11-mile trail on an empty stomach and then you took me to the only restaurant in town that doesn’t serve food? That was awesome.

Then we laughed and he massaged my butt and legs until I forgave him. Sometimes romantic getaways aren’t always romantic.

In summary…NOC is the bomb. Tsali really is gorgeous but, gentlemen, if you’re thinking of taking your lady friend on her second mountain biking trip stick to the easy trails and feed her.

WHERE WE ATE

We bought groceries on our way into town. We packed our juicer and juiced breakfast, had salads for lunch and grilled out for most dinners but I did no real cooking for the week. The day we went to NOC we were surprised to learn they had a few decent places to eat on-site. We ate at Slow Joe’s Cafe – a BBQ joint. Here are a few other restaurants and eateries we loved:

*Lulu’s on Main {Sylva, NC}

*Cork and Beans {Bryson City, NC}

*The Burger Basket {Bryson City, NC near NOC}

*The Filling Station {Bryson City, NC}

*Jack the Dipper {Sylva, NC}

*Speedy’s Pizza {Sylva, NC}

Even though we technically stayed in Bryson City, we prefer Sylva. Sylva is a bit easier on the eyes but they are both small podunk towns so don’t expect much. Either way, they each offer some great places to grab grub. Our favorites were Lulu’s and The Burger Basket – we ate at each of them twice. Lulu’s makes everything from scratch. The Burger Basket looks like a trailer on the side of the road but don’t pass it up! The burgers and fries are made to order so expect a wait but it’s so worth it. Cork and Beans has a great local organic menu and such a wonderful vibe with exposed brick walls, reclaimed wood ceilings & floors and statement lighting. {I posted a pic of it on instagram.} The Filling Station is a good lunch choice with hot sandwiches. Get the Cuban! Speedy’s was a last resort option one night when we waited too long to go out for dinner. It was the only place open. We got the Go Green Pizza and were impressed. On our final night in North Carolina, we discovered Jack the Dipper’s. Waffle cones are made to order and they have a huge ice cream selection. To be honest, I’m usually not much of an ice cream girl but the cappuccino crunch in a fresh warm waffle cone was over the top. So, so good. I wish we would have found this place earlier in the week.

And that’s our getaway in a blog post. Some of you asked about things to do with kids near Bryson City. After making two visits without kids, I don’t know that we’re the people to ask about that. There is a Smoky Mountain train ride that everyone raves about and even if smaller kids aren’t big enough to do everything at NOC it’s worth it just to walk around, check things out and let the kids play in the river. We’re hoping to take our kids – maybe next year?

Here’s the thing about Bryson City. It’s a true getaway. You don’t have to worry about what to wear, how to fix your hair, putting on makeup, checking boxes on your touristy list or having concrete plans. You just go and do whatever and stare at the mountains and breathe easier.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking