July 4th in the Blue Ridge Mountains

We decided to take make a 4-day weekend of the July 4th holiday and rent a cabin just over the GA-NC border in Murphy. David planned some activities on the way and some hikes while up in the mountains. We grilled out, watched fireworks, explored some north Georgia and North Carolina mountain towns and generally just relaxed for a few days.

On the way up to the cabin we stopped at Falls Branch Falls. The road from the west was actually a pretty long dirt road, which wasn't great, but it was just a short hike to the waterfall and it was pretty busy with lots of families. On the way to Blue Ridge, GA we made one more stop to hike Long Branch Trail - which was a short couple mile loop trail through the woods nearby. 

In Blue Ridge, we wandered around downtown, which is mostly cute but does have the occasional confederate flag loving store (hashtag ruralgeorgia). We got lunch at a little Italian place that doubles as a market then went on a ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. This train makes the journey from Blue Ridge to McCaysville and back a couple times per day. You can go on a longer 4 hour tour that includes time to stop in McCaysville and have lunch, but we opted for the shorter 2 hour ride that just goes out and back. It's a pretty ride, and there are multiple classes of cabin that range from essentially sitting outside to an air conditioned (child free) cabin. 

Falls Branch Falls. Stupid name, nice waterfall.

Aww, I see two happy bears! 😉

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway!

Paul's on a train!

Views from the train.

Leaving Blue Ridge, we stopped by the grocery store and headed up to the cabin for the evening. Paul grilled some hamburgers and we just enjoyed the views and relaxed.

Can't beat this view from our cabin!

The main room of our cabin.

Sunset drinks on the balcony.

The next morning (July 4th) we decided to do the big hike of the trip up Chunky Gal trail to Boteler Peak. This hike was a bit of a challenge. We're pretty used to long-ish hikes when we go out west, but aren't as accustomed to them on the east coast. It was pretty warm, very humid and there were a lot of overgrown segments of the trail with thorns. Mid-way up the trail we ran into a man on his way down who warned us about copperheads and thorns. There was also quite a lot of bear scat on the route, which added to the anxiety. When we got to the top, one of the side paths to the north facing viewpoint was so overgrown we didn't bother. We did have some nice views south towards Lake Chatuge. Overall, we'd not recommend this hike in the summer months as it's not well enough maintained due to overgrowth with thorns. Paul was the trailblazer for most of this hike and was pretty scratched up by the time we got down.

Chunky Gal certainly is a unique trail name.

One of the first overgrown parts - it got much worse than this. Thorns and ticks were concerns.

Paul on the trail.

Views while crossing a powerline easement.

Nice view from the top.

David at the top.

After we got back to the car, snake bite free and unmauled by local bears, we drove back down to Georgia to grab lunch in Hiawassee and visit the Bell Mountain overlook. David had seen TikToks about the viewpoint and it did not disappoint. Oddly, people decided to start graffitiing the rocks here which was kinda interesting but also overall a detraction from the natural setting.

Pizza always hits after a long hike.

View from the overlook.

Spray painted rocks.

From Bell Mountain we went back to our cabin to shower and relax. There were some thunderstorms along the way and a huge one blew over the cabin a bit after we arrived - which was pretty cool to watch. After the storm, there was lots of mist coming off the mountains and a thick layer of fog by the next morning. We were also treated to several fireworks displays from residents in nearby communities as well as the city of Murphy's official fireworks display, which was due north of our back porch.

Here comes the rain!

Misty sunset mountains.

Fourth of July display.

The next morning we set off to Leatherwood Falls for a quick hike and look-around. This was a very popular area with lots of people playing in the stream and picnicking, but we had the hike all to ourselves. It was a short loop hike through the woods with some nice stream views. We then drove down to Murphy to explore the little town a bit and grab lunch, before taking a siesta at the cabin. Murphy is a cute town with some nice restaurants and antique shops. There's also a confluence of two rivers and a riverwalk to explore. Just north of the city is a Harrah's casino. We popped in for 15 minutes, lost $60 on the Wheel of Fortune (a family favorite) and then left.

Clouds in the valley in the morning.

People enjoying Leatherwood Falls.

David on the trail.

Quick stop at the casino!

Downtown Murphy.

 

All I see are three friendly bigfeet enjoying a day out on the town in Murphy.

Beer flight at lunch.

An old rail bridge near downtown Murphy.

A boardwalk part of the confluence trail. The water level was high and we saw quite a few flooded trees.

Did we mention there were a lot of deer near our cabin?

We mean a lot of deer...

Even this majestic specimen.

David booked a nice restaurant for dinner in a nearby 1-stop-light community of Brasstown. The Crown was up on a hill and had great views of the Blue Ridge mountains at sunset. Their cocktails were really good and the food was rural community 5 stars (city 3.5 stars). The setting was a bit odd, and there was a nearby camp or something that gave cult vibes... maybe don't linger too late after dark. 😉

This covered porch is actually a solar pavilion. 

Solid cocktail game.

The southern sampler plate.

On our drive home the following day, we decided to route through Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia. We've been here before but never hiked down to the river (which is like 600 steps down). We were actually pretty close to the close-off time due to the heat. After 11am when it's hot they don't let people walk down anymore, and everyone is supposed to be out of the gorge by that time. We luckily got in, made it to the bottom and back up at 10:59am while the ranger was closing it off. Apparently, there is a fine if we were a few minutes later! Interestingly, you can actually get a permit to go further down the river than we did to a place with a natural water slide. Something to keep in mind for the future.

View of the falls.

The big pedestrian suspension bridge crossing the gorge.

Hurricane falls from the bottom.

Paul on the bridge.

We drove back to Atlanta, of course stopping for some Korean food in Gwinnett county on the way. We'll be back up to the mountains again soon!

36 Hours in the Queen City of North Carolina

As season ticket holders, we try to go to one away Atlanta United game per season. So far we've been to games in New York/Newark, Cincinnati, Seattle, Montreal, Salt Lake City, San Jose, and Chicago. This season, our schedule has been a little hectic so we settled on a close match in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina over Labor Day weekend. This was a quick trip, we left on a Friday afternoon and returned on Sunday afternoon. We had all day on Saturday in Charlotte to explore before the 7:30 pm kick-off time. To add to the fun, David's work-friend Suraiya and her husband Jacob joined us for the match! They're Charlotte FC fans (which we didn't hold against them).

On our way to Charlotte, we took the scenic route to see some small towns and counties we haven't visited before. This added about an hour and a half to the trip, but overall Charlotte isn't a long trip from Atlanta.

An 1826 farmhouse house near Honea Path, South Carolina. 

Ware Shoals on the Saluda River in South Carolina.

Before rolling into Charlotte around the time it got dark, we ran into a massive thunderstorm. Luckily traffic wasn't bad, because it was pouring buckets. We checked-in at our hotel near Uptown Charlotte, and wanted to walk around but that was out of the question with the weather. Instead we drove to the nearby Optimist Food Hall for a late dinner. It was a little hard to get there, as roads around uptown were flooded and some were even closed due to the rain. The food hall itself was pretty nice, it was similar to some we have in Atlanta: a trendy urban food hall in a former industrial building. In this case it was a textile mill that was once the largest producer of gingham fabric (there was a big fabric industry in Charlotte in the early 20th century). There were several familiar names in the hall (Honeysuckle Gelato, Bottiwalla, etc) as there is a lot of overlap in regional food concepts between Charlotte and Atlanta. We got some BBQ, dumplings, an empanada, and a half pastrami sandwich to try out. Everything was good and we'd recommend this place overall. We went back to the hotel after dinner to rest up for the full day of exploring Charlotte on Saturday before the game.

Inside the Optimist Hall.

Food time!

David with his very expensive half sandwich.

The rain let up a bit by the time we were leaving.

The next morning Paul snuck off before David got up for some coffee at Summit Coffee, a short drive away in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood. After, we decided to go down to the South End to walk along the Rail Trail and see some of that neighborhood. This area is just south of Uptown, and is rapidly developing along the light rail line. There were, again, many similar restaurants and concepts that we see in Atlanta (like Superica), and a fun farmer's market along the trail. 

Morning coffee break!

Choo Choo!

South End reminded us of West Midtown in Atlanta.

A little market.

After wandering around in the hot sun for an hour or so, we decided to go grab some lunch at an Italian place called Little Mama's in the South Park neighborhood. This is a bit of an urban area popping up around a suburban style mall, south of the city. Pretty similar to some places in metro Atlanta. The food and service here were good, definitely an Italian-American red sauce joint, but they make some of their own cheese and pasta fresh.

After lunch we headed off to the Mint Museum Randolph location to check out their collection of mostly ceramics (and some paintings) from around the world. A pretty small museum, overall, it still housed some nice exhibits and is worth a short visit if you're into this sort of thing.

Lunch at Little Mama's.

Ummmm - what's going on in this vase!?

A cool pineapple teapot.

Neat art.

The artist has definitely seen a dog and cat before.

Likewise, those are totally the proportions of human children.

From the Mint Museum Randolph, we headed back to the hotel for a break from the heat. We then had enough time to walk around Uptown to the other Mint Museum (more modern building and modern art) since our ticket was good for both locations. This is definitely worth a stop if you're into modern art, it had some neat exhibits in an expansive space. We then took a lyft and met up with Suraiya and Jacob at Growler's Pourhouse in the  NODA neighborhood. This was another cute neighborhood with lots of lively folks wandering around and what seemed like a flea market in the main commercial drag.

We walked by the NASCAR hall of fame, which has been somewhat of a failure in terms of visitor numbers.

Uptown Charlotte is sorta like a mix between Midtown and Buckhead Atlanta.

Exhibit at the mint museum.

They had a roller coaster carved out of marble!

Civil rights painting.

The NODA neighborhood.

From Growler's, we caught a ride with Suraiya and Jacob to the Bank of America stadium back in Uptown to watch the Atlanta/Charlotte match. The stadium is also next door to a small baseball field and there was a game going on there too (minor league), so the area was very busy and lively.

Heading into the stadium.

Lots of blue, but there were also plenty of Atlanta people around!

Huddle before the game.

The main Atlanta fan section.

We had great seats for this game, and the stadium felt a bit more intimate than the massive Mercedes Benz in Atlanta - even though it's a similar size, the lack of a dome and the uncovered empty upper decks caused this effect. Overall it was a great experience and Atlanta pulled out a surprise upset win! I think our only complaint would be that it was pretty hot at the start of the game. Most people around us were very sweaty and we got a bit dehydrated because we're dumb and didn't buy any water. After the game, we said our farewells to our friends and started the trek back to the hotel. On the way, we passed a Whole Foods and ran in for bevies and a sweet treat to take back to the hotel. A good end to a fun day in Charlotte!

We also walked by the ACC headquarters.

And caught the end of the Notre Dame season opener win on TV at the hotel.

The next morning we slept in a bit, then started the trek back to Atlanta. We (again) took a more scenic route through some rural South Carolina and Georgia cities. We stopped for lunch in Thomson at a fun pizza/Italian place called Fernanda's Grill and Pizzeria (not sure why we did double Italian this weekend). We also stopped in Covington to walk around a bit in their cute downtown.

Paul with a huge plate of zeppole!

Thomson has painted guitars around downtown.

We stopped by what is supposedly the oldest surviving stone house in Georgia.

Big mural in downtown Covington.

We've been to Charlotte a few times now. It's a fun town with a lot of potential. It has a small, fairly urban core and lots of development seeming to improve its urbanity overall, especially along its light rail line. Overall, it does feel less diverse and colorful than Atlanta. There is so much overlap in architectural style, developers, food concepts and overall vibe between the two cities in some places, but Charlotte lacks Atlanta's civil rights history and hiphop culture. We'll definitely be back, and are looking forward to hanging out in more neighborhoods in this rapidly growing southern "little sister" of Atlanta.