Days Seven and Eight

Note: We're back home. Safe and sound. Now comes the task of finishing up posting the happenings of our last few jam-packed days and editing all the photos we took. Get ready for bombardment. 

Day Seven: The Great Smoky Mountains and Spruce Pine

We slept in quite a bit this morning...perhaps we needed it. Waking up in Jellico was amazing. The house we were staying in was at the edge of a creek, surrounded by trees, mountains, and the most amazing nature we had seen. 

The home of our gracious hosts near Jellico, TN

We began our journey for the day heading straight for the Great Smoky Mountains. But before reaching the scenic tour, we had to travel through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. 

Now we had been told to drive through these towns by Maribeth and Ken, they had done the Tennessee trip years earlier and their travel stories were enviable. So, we took their word and added these towns to our route. The best way we knew to describe these places was Las Vegas for children. We stopped at a place that promised to show us REAL Moonshine barrels. Perfect. Just what we needed to see. The most thrilling backyard junk/historic barrels we had ever seen. 

The place was the perfect drive, but neither of us wanted to get out of the car. Even on a weekend in November the streets were flooded with families. Pedestrians haphazardly crossing streets and multi-tasking...losing track of their kids. 

The only place we stopped in Pigeon Forge: Hillbilly Village

The scene began to change as we neared the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain drive we would be taking: Newfoundland Gap. It would take us about two hours. The fall colors had just about finished dropping, but the views were not lacking in any way. We were stunned when we came upon overlooks, patches of snow, an infinite number of mountains. We stopped and got out to breathe the fresh air and take some photos. I will use this word again, as I feelI have been using it quite a bit on this trip, but there is no other word that better describes our views: breathtaking.

The roads weren't too crowded, but there were a few people on the side of the road, kids playing in the tiny bits of snow, photo ops left and right. I felt as if we were all experiencing this beautiful thing together. We were all so in love with our experience. Everyone smiled, gasped, and laughed together. Cheesy, yes, but this is America. We get to be cheesy about things like beautiful views in America.

We ended our drive through the park and headed to Spruce Pine to see Michelle Moode. Our stopping point between here and there would be Asheville. Thrilled once again to get out of the car, we set our feet onto the streets of downtown Asheville. it was getting late and was a Sunday, so many of the stores were closed, but we found a bookstore that looked interesting and spent some time inside. Hungry, we stepped into what we figured was a perfect example of Asheville: vegetarian,down home cooking. We ate fried pickles, tofu and greens,and cole slaw and drank homemade Kambucha on tap. 

Spruce Pine is a precious place, tiny streets, sweet little houses, and Michelle. We spent the evening chatting and giggling, then had another good night's sleep. 

Day Eight: NC to DC

Penland School of Crafts with Michelle

We began the day with a tour of Penland School of Crafts, an expanse of land housing artist studios and printing labs, textile arts rooms,  glass blowing and clay facilities, and a cozy coffee shop. The school was quiet as winter is not their season, but it was beautiful, and each person we met was beautiful. Being in a space designed for creativity is so inspiring, and Laura and I left with brilliant ideas for the garden at home. 

After leaving Penland, we began what would be our last day of driving. This fact alone caused us to tire quickly and for the first time on the entire trip, we were bored. Bored stupid. Our jokes were getting old. 

We hit 3,000 miles!!

Desperate for a break, we got off the highway for some food. We had seen a sign for Bojangles Famous Chicken and Waffles and knew we were decided. The woman at the counter was excited for us to experience Bojangles for the first time and helped us through our order. Fried chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes, dirty rice, and sweet tea. Delicious in that sickening way... Where all of a sudden you have realized what you were eating and of how greasy your hands were. 

Back on the road, we made our way to DC. Found a place to eat... American food, appropriate for our first meal in the nation's capital. A very tasty kale salad and pasta meal later, we called it a night and found our way to Kristen's house on Capital Hill. A little chatting. A lot of sleeping.