North Carolina and Tennessee

March 1-25, 2021

TL;DR: This fast and furious tour of North Carolina, The Great Smoky Mountains, and Tennessee was pretty awesome, especially since we had Miss Dunes with us. Got a really nice taste of many of the towns, big and small, drank a LOT of beer, got a good feel for nature, and, per usual, were frantically driving away from a storm to get back to Craig and Hil’s!

The sights

Wilmington, North Carolina

Very into this cute little town. Seems a little older and grittier than Memphis, but more costal obviously, with lots of cute restaurants and shops interspersed, and a collection of great breweries. Also saw historic houses everywhere.

Settled on Edward Teach in the Brooklyn Arts district, and it was $3 pint day, so that was a delight. Tried pretty much every beer and they were all good. Took a quick jaunt across the bridge over Cape Fear River, but not much to see. Also found Rumcow (see Roadfood), where we proceeded to drink rum cocktails whilst waiting for what would be the greatest fried chicken sliders ever.

Carolina Beach State Park was a beautiful spot to stay and easy to get to town from. Caught an epic sunset.

Durham and Chapel Hill

Very cute and college-town-y. Went on a river walk with Dunes at Umstead Park which was super nice. Great weather, fun murals, lots of people who looked like they were being pretty safe (the new indicator of a good town). However, we intentionally did NOT visit on Saturday, because Duke and UNC were playing in basketball and we knew it would be nuts.

Raleigh

Didn’t get the best feel for Raleigh as there were quite a few aggressive-feeling protests going on downtown, so we didn’t loiter. Did have a good crab roll and oysters at Transfer Co. Food Hall, and one of the best bounties of baked goods at Boulted Bread (see Roadfood). Glenwood Avenue reminded us a bit of Rainey street, but we didn’t end up stopping. Lots of young people everywhere, and even a guy checking IDs in the middle of the day on a week day. So apparently Raleigh parties.

Greensboro

Drove around a few neighborhoods here, including by Fisher Park, which was cute. Also went to Stamey’s drive-thru for “Lexington-style” BBQ, which means they only cook pork shoulder, and smoke it over oak/hickory wood chips and serve it with a super tangy mix of vinegar and tomato. Was good! Ordered collard greens and somehow got cheese fries?

Popped by Boden’s Brewing Company, which had good beer and a neat inside space but the outdoor tables were right on a busy road so we didn’t stay long. Headed over to Natty Greene’s which was on a slightly more picturesque setting on the south side of town on Elm Street. Also had our eye on Joymonger’s, but they weren’t open yet.

Winston/Salem

Drove around for a bit and ended up by Wakeforest, which was bustling with kids. Stopped at Renalda Gardens and walked Dunes around the grounds for a while. Apparently the entire space was owned by the Reynolds family, who had a pretty strong hold on the tobacco industry and owned 114 buildings.

Drove downtown to Incendiary Brewing, which was in an industrial kind of space with old train track columns (apparently it was an old power plant?).

We ordered coffee to pick up right across the street and ended up going next door to The Butcher’s Block, which had just opened the day before and had the most beautiful selection of meat and fish, all very well-priced. Also got two different kinds of bacon, and three different types of pimento cheese.

Neighborhoods were actually pretty cute, and seemed like there were plenty of places to go. Also a very cool location because they’re three hours from the mountains, and three hours from the ocean.

Charlotte

The highlight of Charlotte was seeing our good friends Steph and Matt, and Duna meeting their adorable dog Bailey, who most certainly had a huge crush on Duna. Duna was totally flirting back.

We also got to go to Optimist Hall, which had all sorts of food options, from burgers and grilled cheese to sushi, dumplings, and Indian. Also a really cute little paper shop. You order most of the things online and they text you when it’s ready. Brilliant! Also has a lower level with a brewery. Bri got a Flaming Hot Cheetos Sushiritto, which was pretty great? Jess got some delicious Indian food. They also had an excellent bar with a “sweater weather” slushy with bourbon, local cider, and lemon that was refreshingly boozy.

Drove through the Noda neighborhood, which was very charming, if packed with people. Sat outside at Wooden Robot Brewery, just past the Panthers Stadium (looked like it would be a very good time).

Explored northwest a bit by Lake Norman (skipped the Carolina Raptors museum with 30 birds 🙁 ), into Mooresville on the northeast corner of the lake, where apparently a lot of NASCAR teams are headquartered. The lake had peninsulas everywhere and 500 miles of shoreline, so lots of nooks and crannies for houses, which is cool. Visited King Canary Brewing about two minutes after they opened.

Swung through Davidson, a cute little college town, then at Lost Worlds Brewery in Cornelius, where we had a few more beers and a pretty epic pork shoulder mac ‘n’ cheese grilled cheese.

Overall, Charlotte feels a little like Austin with a fun downtown and lots of stuff to do, good sports team, lots of breweries, and a lot of unique little neighborhoods. Plus, it’s growing really fast, is close to the lake and Smoky Mountains. The people seem friendly enough.

Asheville

Got a chance to drive some of the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, which was really neat, with tons of overlooks and not too many cars. Also got to drive through quite a few cool neighborhoods on our way there. Mountains are indeed blue, and it was relatively clear even though there was a small bit of “smoke”/clouds/fog.

Walked to the summit at Mount Mitchell State Park, which is the tallest peak east of the Mississippi, and were treated to a 360-degree view.

Decided to take the “nature path” back which was absolutely gorgeous and so lush and green, with this beautiful light filtering through the trees.

Bri took Jess on a pretty glorious surprise outing to a Shoji Japanese Spa which was just amazing. Perched on top of a mountain right in the middle of a forest, complete with an open-air hot tub, tea and sake service, and these amazing sweet/salty/crunchy/puffy cookies and the cutest little honey package. Also got a glorious couple’s massage, then picked up Itto’s sushi on our way back to complete the experience. Heaven!

Went to a few breweries, including Burial, which also had excellent food (see Roadfood).

The Great Smoky Mountains

Even though it was raining most of the time we were here, we were so happy to finally be able to explore a bit more. Our campsite was lovely, and since two of the sections were closed off, it was a good spot to take Dunes on lots of walks (she’s really loving the nature).

Took the three-mile walk along the river by the Visitor’s Center, which passed right by a huge herd of elk and ends at the Cherokee Reservation. Duna was much more restrained than the first time she saw elk, which was good, since they were MUCH closer this time.

Again, the hike was super lush, with lots of greens and mushrooms here and there.

Our big hike here was the Alumni Bluff/Caves trail, which was approximately 11.42 miles and 3,069 feet of elevation (!). Was pretty packed when we got there even though it was still relatively early, but the trail itself didn’t feel too busy. First part is along the river, with these beautiful rocks and trees and baby waterfalls.

Got to the Alumni/Bluffs/Caves, which was cool, but a little busy with people stopping for photos. Kept on going and it opened up to more expansive views of the mountains and valleys. Slowly got snowier and snowier, but was pretty perfect weather.

Knoxville

Surprise favorite! Nice size town with lots of spots to eat and drink. We started with Balter Brewing, where we had a really delicious lunch and beer. Tried to go to Glitterville across the street but they were closed so we had to settle on window shopping.

Then Bri spotted Knox Whiskey Works, which was a tiny little bar-type tasting room manned by Whitney, who was just the cutest button the whole time. Great, colorful branding, and they had $10 tasting of all their spirits, so we thought why not? We had:

Vodka and gin
Gin aged in merlot barrels
Whiskey and bourbon
Coffee liquor made with local beans
Elderflower liquor
Rum that tasted like butterbeer (!!!)
Clear whiskey/moonshine type situation
Orange flavored vodka
Honey habanero whiskey

We got six bottles and a bandana, so I’d say we liked it. Also swung by the nearby dog park for Dunes, then Honey Bee Coffee for some beans (the same coffee that the aforementioned liqueur is made from). Picked up dinner from Stock and Barrel (see Roadfood), and drove a little downtown. Really cute! Theaters, breweries everywhere. Definitely still being developed, but looks like it’s up and coming.

Columbia

Super small, but very cute little town. Stopped at Buck and Board for lunch and some wine, which was really lovely if quite slow. Felt like we heard the gossip of the town from there. Town square had tons of restaurants and shops, but we think just a little too small.

Drove the Natchez Tres parkway, which was pretty, and pretty empty. It goes 440 miles through Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. Drove through Lieper’s Fork, which was over in a minute.

Made our way to Franklin, which felt very family-oriented. Got coffee at The Factory, which is a cool industrial building with shops and restaurants. Looks like one chef/company owns many of the restaurants in town (sort of like Beretta and co. in SF).

Tried to take Dunes to a dog park but could not for the life of us find it… eventually did, pretty much on accident because we were heading out of town and saw it.

Details, details, details

We got our second PPE loan! Yay!

The mushrooms at Carolina Beach State Park were fascinating to watch change over the course of the day, from the morning walk, to the evening walk.

Drove with Dunes south through Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, then took the ferry to South Port, and drove back up past Wilmington to Wrightsville Beach, where we took Dunes for a pretty joyful beach run.

We attended a virtual Kygo concert with our friends Megan and Franco one night and it was pretty awesome? He was on the top of a mountain in Norway, and had pretty epic pyrotechnics. He also flew in a glass piano, and had two live performances with Ruben and “Highasakite.” Would do again, but sort of just made us want to really see him in concert again.

At King Canary Brewing north of Charlotte, the bartender said that 109 people were moving to Charlotte a day (!).

Both of Jess’s parents are vaccinated! (Bri’s too!)

Once we accepted the fact that we didn’t have ANY service in the Smokies, it was actually super amazing to not be bound to our phones and just hang out together without that distraction.

When we were gone on our 11-mile hike in the Smokies, Dunes didn’t touch her food the entire time. Once we were there, she gobbled it right up. Sweet little lamb!

Fun fact: “Balter,” which was the name of one of the breweries in Knoxville, is a verb that means to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill but with enjoyment. New favorite word!

And then this happened…

Jess found a tick on the floor. Cool.

Bri was on the phone with H&R Block for three hours. He did eventually get the answer he needed, though, which is good.

We watched Tenet. Have you seen? It’s good. Complicated. Almost too complicated?

Duna is very wary of any kind of grates, but ended up making it pretty gracefully down a set of grated stairs!

When we were in Charlotte, the RV park was right next to a storage unit, and for the last two nights, the alarm was going on nonstop.

Duna got groomed finally. Poor thing could barely see and now looks a bit like a Skeletor and has “poodle feet” because she was licking her fur too much, but it’s definitely for the better.

The first bar we went to in Asheville turned us away because we didn’t have North Carolina IDs (!). Covid safety gone extreme.

North Carolinians are savage drivers. Don’t use turn signals, are in a huge hurry, and have a tendency to tail, cut people off, and speed.

While we were in Asheville, an Intent pulled up RIGHT next to us. Same exact model, except it had red paint instead of blue on the outside. Of course they came over to chat with us : )

There was a pretty cool art installation in Asheville called Wake, and as Jess was taking a picture she realized it was moving and it totally freaked her out.

Jess now officially has a business! She is the president and founder of The Write Call LLC, thank you very much.

Right when we got into the Smokies, we saw a HUGE herd of elk and Duna absolutely freaked out. Our protector!

One of the days in the Smokies, the winds were so high—over 70 mph on the ridge—that they closed the route to Gatlinburg, which is the main road through the park.

The ride out of the Smokies was relatively painless, if quite windy, until we realized that the leveler wasn’t completely up, so Layla kept trying to retract it, but couldn’t do it even when we pulled over. So now the leveler starts beeping every two minutes or so and we have to tap ‘Enter’ to get it to stop for the next two minutes. FUN.

Had a very close call on I-40 in Tennessee when a trucker turning onto the onramp prematurely dipped into our lane and Bri tried to get out of the way but there was a truck to our left, and we definitely nicked it with our left side mirror (!).

Once again, we were racing away from a storm to get to Craig and Hil’s because there was a tornado/hail/rain watch. So we left at about 4:30 AM on our last day and got the hell out of dodge. Missed tornadoes in Birmingham by thaaaat much.

Now we know

Duna will eat anything wrapped in American cheese, including flea and tick medicine.

The power lines were very low on our way from Asheville to The Smoky Mountains. Close-call low.

We scouted the RV-only section of Smokemont Campground, which was closed while we were there, and have decided that 40 is the choice spot for next time. Big, level, and right on the river.

Pigeon Forge, which is on the north side of the Smokies, was packed when we went through, and looked insanely touristy, complete with Dollywood, which is likely pretty great.

We drove through lots of really pretty farmland between Pigeon Forge and Knoxville.

The roads in Tennesee are awful. Especially I-40, which has divots and potholes everywhere. Likely because there are just SO many truckers.

Roadfood

All you need to know about Rumcow is the Southern fried chicken sliders served on honey cornbread with pickled tomatoes and pimento cheese. Order two batches.

Heavenly (warm) chocolate chip cookies, croissants, an epic morning bun and so much more at Raleigh’s Boulted Bread.

Not only did Burial have great beer and a stout slushy (!), but the most amazing fried trout sandwich and fries.

Where we stayed

Nights one through three: Spot 46, Carolina Beach State Park outside of Wilmington, NC

When we got here, our original spot was 77, but it was super tight and not going to work. So we took a loop in Eric and scouted out the spots, and 46 was perfect. We could walk right from our spot onto the loop around the campground, which was great for Dunes. Also a good spot for a campfire.

Nights four through seven: Front row, 7, Raleigh Fairgrounds, NC

Were a little confused where this was at first since it’s in the back of the Fairgrounds, but eventually found it!

Night eight and nine: Spot 2, Tanglewood Park, Winston-Salem, NC

This is a pretty sweet county-run, 1,000-acre park with a great path and a dog park (Tanglewoof. Giggle). Confirmed that our hosts Martha and Gap are extremely lovely people who have hosted for four years.

Nights 10-12: Spot 6, Phil Jackson Auto Shop, Charlotte, NC

Sort of a weird place right behind the auto shop, but definitely was in a good spot to explore Charlotte.

Nights 13-16: Spot 15, Wilson’s RV Park, Asheville, NC

Right along the French Broad River and a really nice, paved river-side path that was quite convenient for Duna walks and runs.

Nights 17-20: Smokemont Campground, spot B23, Smoky Mountains, NC

Half the campground was closed (for Covid, we assume?), but it’s such a gorgeous location. Absolutely no service, which definitely adds to the appeal (unless you have a deadline, in which case you can drive to the visitor center for a bar, turn it in, then go back to peace and quiet).

Nights 21-22: Spot 51, Anchor’s Down, Knoxville, TN

Pretty gorgeous spot overlooking a lake with many names. Some of the spots have actual fireplaces for fires, which would have been cool, but ours still had a pretty great recessed one.