Fiona Harper
Where to pick blueberries in North Carolina's high country
Travelling through the USA for one month I was endlessly disappointed whenever I ordered a chai latte. Americans, it seems, just don't know how to make a good chai. Then I stumbled upon a foodie gem in the high country northwest of Raleigh and found a cafe who knows how to make chai!
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Hammock swinging is almost an Olympic sport in the Appalachian mountains
Heading northwest from Raleigh, we’re bound for West Jefferson at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The only thing I know about our destination is that there will be a hammock strung between two trees. Not for sleeping in, mind. No, it seems that hammock swinging on the side of a mountain is a contender for a burgeoning Olympic sport in these parts. I’ve no complaints. In fact quite the opposite and I make a mental note to bring my best hammock game to West Jefferson.
As the late afternoon sun filters through the leafy canopy overhead, we string a hammock high on the ridge and have a calming view down through the valley and across to forest-clad mountains in the west. After a busy couple of weeks travelling through eastern USA, attending a crazy-busy travel media conference in Orlando, contracting COVID-19 and coming out of recovery, a long weekend in the mountains was exactly what my body and soul needed.
As enticing as it was to laze around watching clouds skid across the sky, there were mountains to be explored. Mountain men to meet. Blueberries to be gorged upon. And North Carolina’s best chai latte to be discovered – what an unexpected surprise that was! (hint: you’ll find North Carolina’s best chai latte at The General Store in Lansing). There was also delicious Pie on the Mountain Pizza to be devoured, Molly Chomper Cider to be slugged down and an adorably cute puppy at our friends’ home which needed cuddles and a lap to lounge upon. Who am I to deny such a creature such attention?
As to the rest of the long weekend traipsing around Lansing and North Carolina? Well, there was so much to see and do, I’ll let these pictures tell a thousand words…
Enjoy these photos from Lansing and West Jefferson amidst the foothills of the Appalachian mountains.
Exploring the mountains of West Jefferson & Lansing, North Carolina
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