Critique my Carolinas itinerary (please!)

[torinsmom]

You can buy your Biltmore tickets online to save time and money. I've never been, but I've heard it is more an all day kind of place.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

So are you staying in Blowing Rock once you drive up after Biltmore? That's a good plan. I wouldn't rush Biltmore, but if you can get to Blowing Rock that night then you have all day the next day. Do you have a hotel there yet? Here is where we stay:

http://www.homestead-inn.com/

Not fancy, but very homey. Family owned and very nice people. Blowing Rock, for the most part, is a very small place with a busy main street. You could definitely do it all in one day, but make sure you take the time to enjoy the little things. If you are staying over and waking up to spend the day there, try Knights on Main for breakfast. Very yummy. There's a Kilwin's right across from the park as well. I agree with Jennasis, I wouldn't spend too too long at Grandfather mountain.

 

[marthachick]

And yes, plan for mosquitos.

And humidity!

There's a Kilwin's right across from the park as well.

Yummy ice cream & hand made candies!

 

[Luv2Scrap]

So are you staying in Blowing Rock once you drive up after Biltmore? That's a good plan. I wouldn't rush Biltmore, but if you can get to Blowing Rock that night then you have all day the next day. Do you have a hotel there yet? Here is where we stay:

http://www.homestead-inn.com/

Not fancy, but very homey. Family owned and very nice people. Blowing Rock, for the most part, is a very small place with a busy main street. You could definitely do it all in one day, but make sure you take the time to enjoy the little things. If you are staying over and waking up to spend the day there, try Knights on Main for breakfast. Very yummy. There's a Kilwin's right across from the park as well. I agree with Jennasis, I wouldn't spend too too long at Grandfather mountain.

We are staying in Blowing Rock that night and the next... have a room reserved, but I just called and checked availability on the one you linked because it looks so cute (and cheaper!)! There is avaiability but the prices were jacked up because of a couple events going on - the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and some Art in the Park thing on Saturday. So it wasn't going to save us any money and may have actually ended up being more expensive!

Does anyone know - Will the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games interfere with our being able to see that area on Thursday at all?

 

[tammymacb]

I live in Mt Pleasant and work in Charleston.

I like Isle of Palms beaches better than Folly. Oak is a good steakhouse and I like the seafood place next to the Rue de Jean- can't remember the name this second.

For a casual lunch with pretty scenery try Red's on Shem Creek. Be warned, locals bring their dogs as they are welcome on the deck.

Middleton Plantation is gorgeous, and I like Boone Hall but I've never done the tour. My DH is good friends with the owner as they went to HS together, so we just go in and walk around sometimes....( the Cotton Dock is gorgeous! )

 

[Luv2Scrap]

Just a heads up, they are horrible about parking at folly beach. They will find a reason to ticket your car if it has out of state tags. Read up about it before you go. If your tire is touching the curb at all, you will be ticketed. If they dee, you too far away from the curb, you'll be ticketed. There are parking spaces that appear open to public but are not, so you'll be ticketed. Just be careful

Ok this sounds terrible! But I am actually landing in Greenville SC and getting a rental car there, so hopefully that would have SC plates - would that help?

I read there is a parking area at the County Park for like $6/day - would this be a good option for us? Website says county park is closed due to significant erosion. Can I still park there and walk to a beach?

Thanks!

 

[Luv2Scrap]

I live in Mt Pleasant and work in Charleston.

I like Isle of Palms beaches better than Folly. Oak is a good steakhouse and I like the seafood place next to the Rue de Jean- can't remember the name this second.

For a casual lunch with pretty scenery try Red's on Shem Creek. Be warned, locals bring their dogs as they are welcome on the deck.

Middleton Plantation is gorgeous, and I like Boone Hall but I've never done the tour. My DH is good friends with the owner as they went to HS together, so we just go in and walk around sometimes....( the Cotton Dock is gorgeous! )

Could you (or anyone) possibly elaborate on the differences between Folly beach and Isle of Palms? Thanks!

 

[marthachick]

Does anyone know - Will the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games interfere with our being able to see that area on Thursday at all?

We were up there several years ago when the Highland Games were going on. There is some traffic around MacRae Meadows but I really don't remember it being that bad. Just cars parked on the sides of the road but you could still get by without any trouble.

BUT! They have a race "THE BEAR" at 7 p.m. on Thursday that you won't want to get tangled up in. So I would do GFM early in the day to avoid this. GFM opens at 8 a.m. And if you still want to do The Blowing Rock, go to that later. It's open til 7.

If you see a nice young guy named Jake at Grandfather Mountain tell him hello from Lisa! He's friends with my son.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

We were up there several years ago when the Highland Games were going on. There is some traffic around MacRae Meadows but I really don't remember it being that bad. Just cars parked on the sides of the road but you could still get by without any trouble.

BUT! They have a race "THE BEAR" at 7 p.m. on Thursday that you won't want to get tangled up in. So I would do GFM early in the day to avoid this. GFM opens at 8 a.m. And if you still want to do The Blowing Rock, go to that later. It's open til 7.

If you see a nice young guy named Jake at Grandfather Mountain tell him hello from Lisa! He's friends with my son.

Good to know, thanks! We were going to do it the other way around, but this sounds much better!

I'll keep an eye out for Jake (also my son's name so it will be easy to remember! )

 

[marthachick]

Good to know, thanks! We were going to do it the other way around, but this sounds much better!

I'll keep an eye out for Jake (also my son's name so it will be easy to remember! )

I was just going to say traffic wasn't bad then I looked & saw the race. My boss ran it a few years ago & it was pretty congested up there from what he said.

And be sure to look for "Forrest Gump Curve". It's about 3/4 of the way up the mountain I think. There's a sign that tells you which curve it is.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Boo on the jacked up prices in Blowing Rock! I know that it's pretty crowded up there for the 4th (I have no idea why!). Either way you're gonna love it. There's a restaurant there called Storie Street Grill, it's a bit pricey but sooooo good.

http://www.storiestreetgrille.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=494

And then for some good old fashioned breakfast, Knights on Main

http://www.knightsonmainrestaurant.com/breakfast.html

I hope you have a complete blast! That's one of my favorite areas of the world!

 

[Patience]

While you're in Blowing Rock, you might want to head over to the Daniel Boone Inn in Boone for some southern style cooking (it's a short drive). Everything is served family style and you can have a bit of everything. You can google it to see the menu and the operating hours. Try the ham biscuits!

 

[Angel16]

We visited the Biltmore Estate last December. It was a the highlight of our trip. Here is a web site which will help you plan your visit. We pre-purchased
our tickets on the web site and saved $15.00 per ticket. For $10.00 more you can get a two day ticket which is what we did and really enjoyed the gardens, Antler Hill, the winery and had a superb meal at The Deer Park Restaurant. The estate is beautiful and there is so much history.

http://www.biltmore.com/visit/plan.asp

I recommend you plan on visiting the estate for the day and not try to see it in just a few hours. It is not inexpensive to enter the estate for the day, there is a bit of a drive to get up to the parking area from the front entrance and then you will be shuttled from the parking to the estate. The Antler Hill, winery and such are in a different area of the estate which you can drive to.

Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful drive, however as someone already stated it is a long road with many curves, simi-trucks and you are in the mountains. We have driven it during the daylight hours and had heavy low clouds and limited visability with rain on more than one trip. I am not trying to discourage you, just letting you know what we experienced.

What ever you decide I am sure you will have a great trip. And North Carolina isn't going any where if you feel you missed something or need to return.

Angel16

 

[tar heel]

The parkway is a slow drive. There are lots of curves and places with big drop-offs and beautiful views that make you want to go slow. The maximum speed limit is 45 -- it's lower in some places. But semi-trucks? It would be rare to see one on the parkway as it's just not a fast way to travel and there are restrictions on commercial vehicles using it.

 

[marthachick]

Something else cool on the Blue Ridge Parkway is the Linn Cove Viaduct. It was built around the mountain to preserve the natural area around Grandfather Mountain. It's somewhere around Milepost 304.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linn_Cove_Viaduct

DH & I walked on the viaduct before it was open to traffic. It's really awesome! There is a visitor's center you can go to and hike under the viaduct if you want a short hike.

 

[tammymacb]

Isle of Palms usually isn't so busy. But, they're both going to be busy in the summer. The parking situation is also reasonable.

I remembered the name of the seafood restaurant, it's called Coast.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

OP here again - if we wanted a full day at Biltmore, we could maybe make that happen by giving up either Blowing Rock or Grandfather Mountain.

Would that be a good trade-off? Which of the two should be the one to give up, and why?

Thanks again!

 

[marthachick]

I've never been to The Blowing Rock but have heard others say it's not that big of a deal. I really do like Grandfather Mountain though. Any others from NC with an opinion?

LOL - I just did a poll here at work. The consensus is to go to Grandfather Mountain. Maybe on next trip, you can work in The Blowing Rock.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

I've never been to The Blowing Rock but have heard others say it's not that big of a deal. I really do like Grandfather Mountain though. Any others from NC with an opinion?

LOL - I just did a poll here at work. The consensus is to go to Grandfather Mountain. Maybe on next trip, you can work in The Blowing Rock.

Thanks, I think I will propose this to my friend tonight!

 

[bunkkinsmom]

WHOA!! If you're talking about THE Blowing Rock, then yeah, skip it.
But down skip The Town of Blowing Rock! I haven't been to THE Blowing Rock since a school field trip, but frankly, I didn't think Grandfather Mtn was that big of a deal either. Hmmmm, mile high swinging bridge or Kilwins and shopping........

Kilwins and shopping.

JMHO