So excited! Counting down the days! We are road tripping up to the Virginia section of the Blue Ridge Parkway and staying near Shenandoah National Park. We have never been to this park or done the northern part of the Blue Ridge so we are looking forward to seeing some new places. If anyone has hiking trail recommendations in that area send them my way. We are trying to find a couple of easy day hikes.
Around this time last year we did a Blue Ridge trip to the section near Asheville, NC. Since Asheville can get expensive fast we stayed in Waynesville to save money. Waynesville is about a 30 minute drive outside of Asheville and it's just a super cute little town. We rented an apartment from VRBO that on the second floor above some of the shops downtown Waynesville. We could walk every where in town including to a couple breweries! I loved BooJum Brewing. I really liked their Graveyard Fields coffee porter with a hint of blueberry. They named it after a popular hiking spot near by Graveyard Fields and yes wild blueberries do grow on the side of the trail.
We also spent some time hiking at at Craggy Gardens and Mount Mitchell State Park. Mount Mitchell is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains at 6,684 feet above sea level. I want to go back to Mt. Mitchell someday soon. I didn't get to spend enough time there.
Asheville is very veggie friendly. There are several good vegan restaurants. On this trip we went to Bean Vegan Cuisine for lunch one day. They have a solid menu with lots of sandwich options. They also have a location in Charlotte, NC. It's always fun going to a vegan restaurant and being able to pick from the whole menu. I wish we had one at home in Birmingham.
Our last night in Waynesville we went to Frog Level Brewing. Their beer was also amazing and it was just a chill location. They have a big shady patio area out back that sits right up on the creek. When we were there they had a coconut porter that I fell in love with. We also tried a beer they had brewed with Carolina Reaper Peppers it was as hot as it sounds. Here is a pic of their Raspberry Shandy with the creek in the background.
We drove home through Chattanooga, TN. When you are in Chattanooga you have serious decisions to make like which delicious vegan restaurant to go to Sluggo's or Cashew? It's a tough decision sometimes. On this trip we stopped at Sluggo's and I got my usual The Berliner sandwich which is like a ruben sandwich with seitan.
Anywho on the road trip we are planning to Virginia I think we are going to try to stop at a Vegan place in Knoxville, TN on the drive up but hopefully we can hit Sluggo's again on our way home. It's always worth the stop.
