Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Brevard, NC

September 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Brianna in Slideshow Pictures | The Places We've Been | United States

Renners and KietzmansWe fell out of the car Wednesday night after 15 hours on the road to land in Brevard, NC (check out our photos below) at the cozy and naturally luxurious abode of our friends, Kate and Bart. I will admit that as we cruised in on the main drag, I was surprised to see that the town was larger than my baseless expectation for a few houses and a Transylvania County Extension Office on the side of a mountain, but none of the modern conveniences or 6,789 folks inhabiting the area take away from its comfortable feel and small town warmth that are soaked right up with the beautiful scenery engulfing the neighborhoods.

Just over 30 miles south of Asheville, Brevard is bordered by the Pisgah National Forest, and one can be out of town and well into a hiker’s haven in less than five minutes. About 17% of the Pisgah was originally part of George W Vanderbilt II (you know, the guy with the house)’s estate, and he there established America’s first school of forestry. In 1914, his widow sold those 80,000 acres to the United States for the purposes of preservation and public enjoyment. After working into the early afternoon from the front porch hammock at the Renner’s Thursday, we grabbed the dogs and headed west on US 276 for a short trek or two. Though we didn’t venture out for long enough to tackle anything very strenuous, there are certainly many opportunities to do so, and those interested in a full day of exploring or weekend of camping are in for a treat. For the cliff notes version, try Moore Cove and Looking Glass Falls. The Moore Cove Trail is well marked and maintained, taking visitors about three quarters of a mile in for a look at a lovely waterfall and other small gems along the way. Looking Glass is right on the main road, requiring no hiking for a nice view and just a flight or two of stairs for those wishing to get a bit more up close and personal with the crashing water. One crazy dude was even swimming in the pool at the bottom which would probably have been mighty refreshing had it been 40 degrees warmer.

As if the beauty of the heavily wooded mountains around us weren’t enough of a treat, Kate and Bart’s house itself sits nestled beyond a fabulously overgrown driveway with beautiful vegetation overflowing into the big yard. The dogs ran happily around in the unfenced space, quite unaffected by the chickens, but entirely concerned with the rabbits. Teetering on the edge of autumn, I couldn’t help but feel like nature itself was as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve – giddy about the season to come and presenting at its best in anticipation.

 

 
One more thing – If you know Kate, offer her $500 to make you crab cakes. It will be worth every penny.

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