A Short Trip To Highlands North Carolina

Hello friends and happy Monday. I know I have been a little quiet over here but as I have said before sometimes life gets in the way and it makes it difficult to keep up even with a bit of writing.

Last week something very unusual happened my husband and I found ourselves having to go out of town at the same time. On different trips for our jobs. I tried to think of a time when this has happened in the past and it hasn’t. He had to be gone Monday through Thursday and I only had to be gone Monday through Wednesday. It threw me into a bit of a tailspin at first because I am so used to him being at home with the babies whenever I have a work trip. It did work out o.k. my niece came up and took care of the kitties. They are all inside kitties and they don’t require a lot of work even though there are five of them.

My trip was to Highlands North Carolina. . I was meeting with The Southern Highlands Attractions Group. We meet three times a year. This particular trip took us into the mountains of North Carolina. It was absolutely beautiful and if I hadn’t had to worry about the threat of snow on my way over it would have been perfect.

I had never been to the Highlands of North Carolina and let me tell you it is quite beautiful. I left out early on Monday morning. My meeting didn’t start until 11:00 AM. I had about a three hour drive and of course there was a slight chance of the dreaded snow. I left about 7:30 AM and went through several small towns and over a couple of mountains before I even reached the Highlands. I did see some snow but there was nothing on the road that threatened travel. I stopped a few times to take pictures but I was in a bit of a hurry to get to my meeting. I knew the name Highlands wasn’t just a coincidence and I would probably be traveling to a much higher elevation. I wasn’t expecting the last fifteen miles or so to be straight up with winding and narrow roads. Luckily there was no snow on these roads.

Our meeting was held at Old Edwards Inn & Spa. This place is spectacular. Old Edwards Inn was Highlands’ earliest boarding house, known as Central House built in July 1878. There is a lot of history throughout the years, owned by John Norton, he and his wife Mattie managed Central House. They were known and loved by everyone. In 2001 Art and Angela Williams of Palm Beach, Florida, bought the Inn and restaurant and begin building on the 132-year-old tradition. Old Edwards Inn & Spa is #2 and #5 + Leisure Top Hotel in the South. U.S. News & World Report #2 Hotel in North Carolina, Conde’ Nast #14 Top Hotel in The South. You can read more about the Inn and all of the properties surrounding the Inn here http://www.OldEdwardsinn.com There are now several houses, cottages, and a motel located on or near the property. We stayed in 200 Main. It was so nice.

Our meeting started with a panel discussion with the Old Edwards lead team members including, the President and managing director, their General Manager, and several of their top directors. The information they shared was so inspiring and informative. The meeting ended around 4:00 and we drove a short distance to 200 Main, the property we were staying in during our stay. Check out this room. I even had a balcony. The weather wasn’t great so I didn’t spend a lot of time there.

That evening we had a cocktail reception at The Barn and then dinner at Orchard House.

A couple of hours of meetings the following day followed by a tour of more of the property. We were taken by shuttle to Half Mile Farm. It was still early when we arrived and quite chilly. The sun was shining and there was frost on the grass making everything look just magical.

After a quick lunch we met in front of the Motel lobby and climbed aboard these vehicles and headed out for an off road trail ride higher into the mountains. Check out the website here: www.highland excursion.Com it was so exciting. We visited Bridal Veil Falls and Dry Falls and they were both beautiful. I can’t say these were the most Comfortable riding vehicles but it was quite an adventure. If you are ever in this area think about booking a tour with this adventure group. The tour guides are amazing. (Check it out here) http://www.highlandexcursion.com

We later visited the Bascom Arts Center. What a beautiful display of art. There was even an area to purchase art made by students. We didn’t have a lot of time to look and that is probably a good thing because I could have spent a freaking fortune there. http://www.thebascom.org.

After we returned to our rooms for a quick refresher we headed into town to Four 65 for pizza and other yummy things.

The next morning we met for a few hours and then everyone headed back to their different areas. I always learn so much at these meetings. The information I gain from other attractions is priceless. But I was glad to get home and back to hubs and the kitties.

How are you? What is going on in your neck of the woods?

Always remember, Love your day your way!!!