Blowing Rock, NC, and Home

Foggy view from Blowing Rock

We left Asheville and got on the Blue Ridge Parkway, hoping to take the scenic route through North Carolina and into Virginia. I wanted to stop in Blowing Rock, NC, because I have a friend who absolutely loves that town, and also because it is the town the author Jan Karon lived in when she wrote her Mitford series of books, and her fictional town of Mitford is supposedly based on Blowing Rock. So of course as we were driving into town,  I was looking for  Lord's Chapel, where Father Tim was the pastor, and Lilac Road, where Cynthia lived in her little yellow house.  I didn't see them, but Blowing Rock is a really sweet little town. I was surprised how upscale it is, the homes we saw were just beautiful, lush gardens, lots of stone walls,  and it seemed like a thriving little town.

And yes, there really is a Blowing Rock, a rocky cliff, which is open every day of the year, weather permitting. Well guess what, the weather wasn't permitting this day, so we weren't able to see the blowing rock, but we did see some pretty views. I can imagine in nice weather the views are breathtaking as you are really up high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Nice homage to the Blowing Rock Garden Club

Blowing Rock Library

We walked around the town for awhile (thankfully it had stopped raining), stopped in a cafe to have some French onion soup and a sandwich, and then were on our way. We continued on the Blue Ridge Parkway until we got into Virginia, but then because the weather was so bad and we couldn't see much of the scenery, we hopped on 81 and took that miserable highway home. Of course there was an accident on 81, so we had to detour for awhile. We finally got back on 81 and continued on home in heavy rain. We were happy to be home.

Scenery along Blue Ridge Parkway

Foggy Blue Ridge Parkway