Around Every Curve--Surprise

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

One of the many nice things about living in the mountains of western North Carolina, other than our beautiful mountains and all that comes with that, is there is always something new around the next curve. Our weekend outing was a testament to that.

As an author, I have accounts on many social media sites, and I have this weekly blog. To keep my posts fresh and to have relevant photographs to accompany these posts, I like to take my own photos. An advantage to this is, I don’t have to worry about copyrighted material. And, I add my own watermark so that my work cannot be used without my permission. Honestly, I don’t think I need worry about that as I am not a professional photographer by anyone’s stretch of the imagination. But, I do okay for someone who is clueless.

A Scenic Drive

Saturday, Hubby and I set out around one in the afternoon. We’d skipped lunch so eating was our first order of business. Now, we were headed to backwoods roads and knew it would be a little while before we were likely to come to a town large enough to have eating establishments.

We failed to consider that the Green River Gorge  isn’t that far from our home and all those people need a place to eat when they come out of the water or off the zipline. We rounded a curve and voila, there was Green River BBQ. Now, y’all don’t get all up in arms over this, and remember, we’re from Alabama. We just don’t like North Carolina-style BBQ. The vinegar sauce just isn’t for us. We’re used to that tomato-based, sweeter sauce. So, we hesitated for about a millisecond, but decided if Hubby didn’t eat soon, he was going to pass out . . . literally. He’s hypoglycemic. https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/green-river-gorge/

Oh, my word! If you haven’t found this little gem tucked away in the hills of Saluda, North Carolina, you have no idea what you are missing. I ordered a veggie plate. I know, I know. It’s was a BBQ place. But for health reasons I’m trying not to eat so much meat. Hubby ordered a BBQ wrap that he said was delicious. Wrapped in a jalapeno tortilla. My veggie plate was outstanding. I know you’re thinking, “What about the sauce?”. It was the best we’ve had at any BBQ restaurant we’ve tried here in NC. And we’ve been to all of the famous places plus a few others.

Then we drove into the little town. It was so cute. One of those little places where you can park your car and take a leisurely stroll down the street on one side and come back up on the other. Quaint, for sure.

From there we drove on to Tryon. This town is a bit larger, but equally charming. It is the site of a big equestrian event, hence the many statues of horses up and down the streets.

Family-They're Everywhere!

This is where we followed signs and found ourselves in front of the Lanier Library. Now, if you know anything about me, you know I’m related to the family of Laniers which includes my first cousin, eight times removed, Nicholas Lanier, Master of the King’s music during the reign of James I. (See portrait by Anthony Van Dyck here.) His Grandfather, Nicholas Lanier the Elder married Lucrece Bassano, and they are my ten-times-great-grandparents. Great-Grandpa Nicholas was a flautist in the court of Elizabeth I.

The library in Tryon is named for former Poet Laureate of Alabama, Sydney Lanier, a descendant of my Lanier line. I took a photo of the plaque on the front of the building. The library will host a Mystery Festival in October, complete with characters from the board game, Clue, which will be celebrating its seventieth birthday in October. What a coincidence. I’ll be celebrating my birthday in October, too. I’ll let you guess which one. https://thelanierlibrary.org/upcoming-events/the-lanier-library-mystery-festival/

It's No Bull-Photo

Along the way, we spotted several buildings which afforded opportunities for photos. I photographed a quilt barn, an old church, lots of old abandoned barns or buildings, and beaucoup flowers. But we also saw the most unusual cow I have ever seen. A banded, not spotted, cow. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to snap a photo of a bull who, for the life of him, thought he was Ferdinand. I’m so disappointed that I didn’t do that.

See—surprises around every curve in the road. We love living in western North Carolina. There’s always something new and exciting to catch our attention. Be sure to put our area on your list of vacation spots. You will not be disappointed.

Join our conversation. Have you had the great fortune to either call this area your home or to vacation here? Share your experiences with us. And come visit—our doors are always open.

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By the way, the Lanier family, a fictitious one, will be featured in my upcoming first novel, Grave Consequences, A Charlotte Graves Southern Mystery. If you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up for my newsletter over to your right. See it there? You will be among the first to hear about the goings on with Charlotte and her friends in friendly little Loblolly, Alabama.