So I pretty much went straight from San Diego up to the Rocky Mountains in GA and TN. We got a quick flight up to Greenville, SC and drove a couple hours to Clayton, GA for the night… white water rafting in the morning! I’m not going to lie, my BF and I were totally unprepared for how chilly it got at night. Thank goodness I had grabbed a jacket on the way out the door!
We staged in Clayton for the convenience of it (the rafting outpost was 20 min away) and so were not expecting anything of the town. It was actually a really cute town with a historic main street… there are a few cute bed and breakfasts and enough restaurants that it would make for a good weekend, 2 night, destination. This is actually where I had my best meal of the trip. Dinner at Fortify Kitchen and Bar was awesome, and I highly recommend going there if you are ever in Clayton, GA.
The next morning we woke up at the crack of dawn and headed to the rafting outpost. We had opted for a 5 hour raft down the Chattooga River… hitting class 2 – 5 rapids. They provided us with “splash jackets” that were VERY necessary. This trip was really neat and definitely worth the money. We got to get out of the boats at a couple locations and see some stunning waterfalls (didn’t get any pictures of the falls 🙁 ).
After rafting, we drove through the mountains to Asheville, NC for a couple nights, staying at the Grand Bohemian AC Hotel (on points!!) in the Biltmore Village. This hotel had a “lodgy” feel and has a MASSIVE fireplace in the lobby that they run from about October through March. They also have tons of art in the hallways and rooms that are actually for sale. Go have a drink here just to check out the décor.
We got to check out a festival and some really neat rooftop bars during our stay. Top of the Monk was a cool bar with a very limited occupancy… which meant once you got up there, it was quiet and intimate… really nice for a date night 🙂 We also checked out the top of the AC Hotel in downtown Asheville where they had a view overlooking the city, including the sunset. I’m a total sucker for a good sunset (I have cried before because I was going to miss one… but that’s a story for another time 😉 ).
Our final adventure in Asheville was visiting the Biltmore Estate. I really seriously debated this one because it comes with a pretty steep ticket price. I am SO glad we bit the bullet and went! The Biltmore is one of the Vanderbilt’s homes and was converted to a public museum directly after it was used as a living space. This means that all the furniture, etc is either original or restored to be exactly as it was. The scenery and the gardens surrounding the house were breathtaking… probably more so than the house itself. The self-tour ended with a complementary wine tasting (yay!) and we were off to the airport and back to real life!
I was so happy to not have to think about work through this adventure… definitely a great weekend getaway.
Stay happy 🙂
-PG