Hi!! My husband and I have decided that we are going to use part of our tax refund on a small weekend getaway. Being transplantsfrom NJ we don't know of many places. We spent our honeymoon nine years ago in a small Pennsylvania town with lots of country and little surrounding small towns. We would love suggestions of a small town or clusters of that has lots of history and small bed and breakfasts or little hotels that would be quiet and relaxing. We don't want to go more than a few hours away...but are dying to just get some peace, sleep, and time alone somewhere relaxing. Any ideas would be very appreciated!! We are really looking forward to some serious R and R!! We have four boys so its a crazy place!! HELP!!!!
Chareston, SC is a must if you haven't been. It is my favorite city to visit. In fact, my husband and I make it a point to go at least once a year and find something new each time! It is historical and beautiful. They have wonderful restaurants with great food, a neat straw market for shopping, and houses you can tour. There are several museums and walking tours and carriage rides. If you decide you want to go there, I can give you lots of suggestions and reviews! Have fun where ever you go!
Spent a week last May at The Thurston House Inn B&B on Ocracoke Island. Very small, quaint and quiet island (accessible via ferry) with some history and a few shops featuring the crafts of the locals. There's even a horse drawn carriage (or two) for the romantics.
The Baird House in Valle Crucis is a great Bed and Breakfast! This is a little town just outside of Boone. Only takes a few hours to get there (< 3) and Tom and DeDee are awesome. They make you feel welcome, can arrange dinners, etc., have an amazing breakfast, and treat you like family. They have several rooms in the main house, but we like staying in the carriage house. There is a great park behind the Mast Store Annex with a paved walking trail, the Watauga river, a pond, play equipment, and picnic shelters, and the original Mast Store is awesome to ramble through nearby. The Blue Ridge parkway is close and there are lots of great places to hike. Banner Elk and Blowing Rock are close by too and there are plenty of places to eat. If I could find work there, I would move in a second! Have fun wherever you go!! http://www.bairdhouse.com/ If you decide to go, let me know and I will message my name so Tom and DeDee will know who sent you. :cheers:
Thank you for reminding me that I wanted to take my fiance to Hiddenite (sort of near Boone) for her birthday this year.
Savannah, GA (about 4.5 hrs away) The River Street Inn is a beautiful historic hotel right on the river.
There's a neat little gem mine in Hiddenite ... http://www.hiddenitegems.com/ Been there a couple times!
I'd vote for Charleston/SC, or the northern outer banks - I love Duck/NC! When are you planning on going? If you want to make it all the way across state to Tennessee, I'd recommend Gatlinburg. The smokies are beautiful and fun to explore.
That is exactly why (and where) we're going. Fiance is a gem nut. A couple of years ago we spent a vacation week in Franklin where we spent some time at the Sheffield Mine for her birthday. (I got a "Honker" of a ruby, about 35 carats) Unfortunately she didn't get anything, but she still had a great time.
We have been to Gem Mountain in Spruce Pine a few times and I have 4-5 gallon size ziplocs full of amethyst, emeralds, star ruby, garnet, topaz, and other assorted pretty rocks. Many are between ping pong and pool ball size. One amethyst is huge. We have cut a couple of the emeralds and a blue topaz. They came out beautiful! Of course, I doubt they are worth much, but maybe one of my boys will have a wife one day that will want them...who knows? The fun was in finding them together. I have never been to Hiddenite...always wanted to go. Looks like a fun time! If I could afford it, I would go out west to one of the diamond mines. That is my kind of rock! Have fun Clif!! Let me know what you find! :cheers:
My dad just built a house on the course at Pawleys, it is beautiful down there. Next time we go down I'd like to spend a day or two exploring Georgetown and that area.
rock and stone gathering Growing up in Arkansas we often took school field trips to the diamond mines near Hot Springs. I never found much, but did have a classmate that found a few small specimens. Twenty years later some of those were used in the creation of his now wife's wedding ring!! I never got much, but the digging is fun!! I have to remember and check out those stone dig places for my boys!! Especially one that thinks he can dig up dinosaur bones in our back yard if he digs enough...it would be a great day long adventure for them!!
Bryson City NC, it's in the smokey mountains, and close to Cherokee. 3 hr to get there, 45 min to Gatlinburg TN, and plenty to do....Go gem mining, hiking, tubing down the river (which is relaxing in itself) take a picnic lunch, go horseback riding....or just sit on top of the mountain staring at the trees. Honeymoon was amazing 2 years ago, and very affordable! Wherever you go, Have fun! and use protection this time!! LOL
Georgetown is great if you are over 65. Tassy you will be the only young person around. Believe me. I struggle in Pawleys Daily!! Most of the locals are retirees south of Murrels Inlet. The best place to eat is the Mexican joint coming into Pawleys on 17 past the sonic. Their salsa is the best I have had EVER. The other food is good to there. But BLUE HAIRS everywhere. Be careful though because they can NOT drive. I see an accident daily or even three. Turning into driveways that don't exist, rear ending people, and the occasional side swipe from running red lights.
I second this for Gatlinburg. It's absolutely beautiful. We always stay in Pigeon Forge and make our way to Gatlinburg at least a couple times during our stay. There are also some very affordable hotels in Pigeon Forge. Never "stayed" in Gatlinburg so I'm not sure about their hotel prices.
