2015 - Asheville/Atlanta Day 3 (Blowing Rock, North Carolina)

Breakfast at Best Western was better than the Super 8.  Individually boxed cereal, fruit cups, yogurt, cartoned milk, juice, doughnuts, sausage and gravy along with a waffle maker.

Our first stop is Foam Henge in Natural Bridge, Virginia.  One person made it as a April Fool's joke and it remains today.  If you head west of the Natural Bridge Zoo, you will see a dirt road with a steel gate on the north side (your right) and a small area to park your car, this is where you want to be.  Hop the fence and walk a few minutes up the trail and then take a left and there you are.  Definitely my highlight of the trip so far.

Welcome to Foam Henge!

Foam Henge!

Me pretending to be Merlin.

Afterwards, we stopped at Peaks of Otter along the Blue Ridge Parkway for information.  Based on what we were told, we did the hike to see the Falling Water Cascades.  It took us roughly an hour round-trip.  You have the option to do a loop, but we were told by locals that we saw that there wasn't anything to see on the other side.  It is a nice set of cascading waterfalls.  Worth a stop I'd say.

Us at Falling Water Cascades.

I tried to go to a Cuban sandwich restaurant for lunch but unfortunately it was closed and we ended up at the Pancake House on Williamson road.  I wouldn't bother stopping here for lunch unless you are in the area.  It is a grease spoon diner.

Steak and eggs at Pancake House.

We ended up going to Big Walker Lookout in Wytheville, Virginia since there was nothing else on the itinerary.  It is a privately owned 100 foot tall lookout tower that costs $6 to go up and gives you very nice views of the surrounding area.  Arrived between lunch and dinner and surprisingly, no one was around.

Big Walker Lookout and Country Store.

Atop Big Walker Lookout.

Dinner was at Bistro Roca in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.  We ordered the Lamb Bacon Pizza and the Porkocalypse Mac and Cheese which were both good.  Prices were good too at $10 for the pizza and $13 for the mac and cheese.  I find the service a bit odd since we both saw a few empty tables, but they wouldn't seat you for at least 10 minutes and told us to just hang around the bar area.  There is a nice roof-covered patio area in the back of the restaurant.  Actually, the area where the restaurant is is pretty nice in general with a nice park nearby.

Porkocalypse Mac and Cheese.

Lamb Bacon Pizza.

 Tomorrow is Linville Falls and Asheville.