I’m writing this a few days after returning home from our anniversary getaway to Highlands, NC and uploading each of these photos is just making me wish we were still there! What a wonderful trip it was…too short, at just three days, but when you have three small kids, you take what you can get! And ALL the gratitude for extended family who kept our three while we were away!

We took the 6 AM flight into Atlanta and its only about a 2.5 hour drive from there. You could certainly fly into Greenville or Asheville for a bit of a closer drive. We stopped at Spiller Park coffee for coffee and toast (honestly some of the best avocado toast I’ve had!) and then made our way north to the mountains. We decided to go to Highlands as our destination for a few different reasons, mainly that we wanted a change in weather and scenery and we could get there without having to travel too far. We also have always wanted to stay at Old Edwards Inn and felt this was the ideal time to do it since we were celebrating a milestone anniversary, 10 years!

We stayed in a suite (The Celtic Manor) in the original portion of the hotel, the historic inn. It was luxurious and charming and while it definitely showed its age in certain areas, there is always something so special about staying in the original hotel. Grabbing lunch at The Wine Garden was our first stop after checking in and while there was a long wait (they don’t take reservations) we enjoyed strolling up and down Main St and the time passed quickly. The setting is so cozy and beautiful, nestled right outside the historic inn, and food was really delicious. If you happen to be staying at Old Edwards, they serve the same menu at the pool as well. We loved the pimento cheese burger and the pecan pie.

For dinner that night, we ate a The Orchard in Cashiers, which is a lovely little restaurant in an old farmhouse with a beautiful outdoor patio. If the weather is nice, I would definitely request sitting outside or in the room overlooking the patio that is full of windows. You most likely will need a reservation to eat here as its a popular place, so plan in advance for that! The menu is seasonal with American cuisine and a nod to southern favorites. I love the trout and Dwight enjoyed a filet with pimento cheese (we ate a lot of pimento cheese this trip, ha!)

We opted to skip out on dessert and grab ice cream from Kilwins-always a favorite!

Breakfast both days was at Madison’s, which I believe is only open to hotel guests for breakfast and its open to the public for lunch and dinner. There was also pimento cheese consumed at this meal too, haha! I particularly loved the homemade granola and berries served with milk.

I headed off to the spa for the morning to get a facial and it was as relaxing and luxurious as I anticipated. My facial consisted of entirely biolage recherche products and my skin just glowed for the remainder of the day. The showers in the locker room were equipped with 14 shower heads and the entire property uses Molton Brown products- a favorite of mine!

While I was at the spa, Dwight played the par 3 course called The Saddle at Old Edwards property, GlenCove. He went on and on about how much he enjoyed it and even had a little possey of 9 year old boys oo-ing and ahh-ing over his golf skills for most of his round which was hilarious and endearing as he was telling me all the funny things they were saying to him like asking for his autograph!

We had lunch by the pool and then headed out to do some sightseeing and hiking. We weren’t looking to do anything too challenging so we opted for Dry Falls, a beautiful, large waterfall that is easily reached by a few flights of stairs. You can walk entirely behind the waterfall, which is an amazing experience to feel the power of the water rushing in right in front of you!

We then went to Glen Falls, which was a bit more of a hike and could potentially be challenging for someone who is not up for a mile walk and climbing/navigating terrain. There are multiple destinations you can stop at, but our favorite was the second stop which allows you to walk right out onto the top of the falls with a beautiful mountain view.

My must eat dinner suggestion is Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley, which was our final dinner of the trip. The view is absolutely spectacular and the food was incredible. I highly suggest getting a reservation as far in advance as you can, as I was on the wait list (12th on the list to be exact) and thankfully got a call that morning telling me they had a spot for us! The open air barn dining hall surrounded by mountains and gardens is truly the most wonderful atmosphere-possibly one of my favorite dining experiences ever. Everything we had on the menu was amazing so you can’t go wrong but we particularly loved the watermelon salad, quail pops, peachy pound cake and the spicy paloma.

Our last day, Dwight was able to play golf at one of his bucket list destinations, Wade Hampton, so I took it easy and enjoyed exploring the hotel property and getting a little reading done. We grabbed lunch at Wild Thyme right there on Main St. before heading out of town and it was a nice way to wrap up our trip.

Our anniversary isn’t technically until the 16th so I look forward to celebrating again here locally somewhere in Palm Beach for a fun dinner because hey, it is our 10th after all!

Blaire

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