We Made it to Asheville!

After spending two very restful days with family in Rusk County, we packed our car and headed to Asheville, North Carolina, via Little Rock and Nashville. J was with us, which made it more exciting. The car and car top carrier were full! We headed out around 9am Wednesday and arrived to Little Rock just after lunch time.

As soon as we pulled into town we wanted to stretch our legs and see some of the beautiful scenery, so our first stop was Pinnacle Peak, an Arkansas State Park. We hiked a mile and a half total, not very far but it was very steep. The views at the top were beautiful, plus we were able to visit with some people who were making the journey as well.

Afterwards we checked into our hotel then headed out to grab some supper at Gus’s Fried Chicken, which was recommended to us by my brother. It was pretty good, a bit spicy though. This restaurant and our hotel was located downtown near the river – a very nice location.

The next morning, around 9am, we grabbed some coffee and headed toward Cookeville, Tennessee with plans to stop by Nashville to look around a little bit.

When we arrived in Nashville we parked near Broadway Street, which is also known as Honky Tonk Row. It’s a long, loud street filled with restaurants and bars where people are playing live music all day long. I heard it’s because they are hoping that they will “get discovered”. We had lunch at Jack’s BBQ, not as good as Texas brisket but at least it was twice as expensive. We left Nashville and drove an hour east to Cookeville for the night.

Friday morning it was on to Asheville! It was less than four hours away so we had plenty of time to see some of the Great Smoky Mountains. We headed toward Knoxville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg then into the National Park. After stopping by the visitor’s center we took Highway 441 which seemed to cut right though the park from north to south. We stopped at several overlooks including Clingman’s Dome. At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the highest point in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi.

Today is Saturday. After arriving yesterday afternoon we unpacked then bought groceries at Harris Teeter. J’s fiancé arrived from Charlotte and will be spending the weekend with us. I’ll write more about that later!