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We'll be spending the week after Christmas in and around Boone, NC. For the uninitiated, Boone is at the top middle of North Carolina, very close to the border with Virginia. I'd appreciate your ideas on things we can do. Nothing extreme like skiing, as we will have littles (4 years and up) with us, but light hiking is definitely on the menu. We would love checking out any picturesque small towns in either state (NC, VA or TN) that aren't Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. Visiting lumber mills, General Stores, whisky distilleries; we really value having unique experiences. We already have the following: - gem mining, trout fish farm (in Banner Elk) - spelunking (dont know which cave system yet) - falls hiking (Linville Falls in Boone) - mountain hiking (Grandfather Mtn in Boone) - Colonial Williamsburg, VA (did this as a kid and it was a neat experience)
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Oct 11, 2015 23:23
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 02:24 |
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In Boone, check out Mast General; its a bit of a tourist destination and there are a half a dozen or so locations in NC/SC. The original location is in Valle Crucis. They have a frontier style decor, all the outdoor gear/clothes you can imagine, and a huge section of candy barrels with tons of old fashioned candy. Other Southern novelties like homemade apple butter, chow chow, etc. They've been around since like the 1850s. Blowing Rock is a nice town about 20 minutes from Boone. Has one of those classic mountain tourist downtowns, with some decent restaurants (eat breakfast at Southern Comforts), good paths/parks/plazas for kids to run around, and excellent mountain views. If you're into historic homes, go to Cone Manor. Linville Falls and Grandfather Mountain are both great choices; prepare to pay $18/person to get into Grandfather Mountain Park. If it's open in the winter (could be really icy), walk across the suspension bridge to the overlook. The mountain park is also a kind of half-assed zoo that used to have bears, not sure if they're still around. I think most of the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed during winter months, but if not, there are tons of great overlooks and short hiking trails if you're willing to drive an hour or two south along the Parkway. Also - Williamsburg is almost a 6 hour drive from Boone, so unless you're headed in that direction already, prepare for an overnight (especially if you have kids).
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Oct 14, 2015 21:25
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I will be in the area as well, we have a cabin nearby. If you can spare some time, check out Asheville.
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Nov 18, 2015 04:46
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Thank you both. I appreciate the advice, especially the Boone-centric suggestions. Yeah my wife nixed the Williamsburg idea pretty fast. She's right though, its not something that would appeal to the kids as much as it did to me. I looked up Asheville and unfortunately it puts us beyond our driving range while we're there. The wife and kid's won't tolerate a two hour drive, so we're going to stick with places 30-45 minutes away. I might be able to sway them into seeing Mabry's Mill in VA, but that's a long shot since its a two hour drive. But we have enough to keep us busy between mountain/forest hikes, snow tubing, and "gem mining".
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Dec 10, 2015 20:46
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