The second part of our “cool down in the Mountains” August Trip went like this …
Hendersonville is another small town with a hopping Main Street area. On Friday night they close off a section of downtown for live music and a car show. In other times of the year they have arts festivals and even an apple festival. We have been fortunate enough to check out a few of those over the years. There’s no shortage of places to eat, shop and socialize along this stretch of town. During this trip we enjoyed a lovely dinner at SHINE, walked around downtown with our precious family baby, who loved looking at the bear statues on every street corner, looked at the historic cars and danced to the fun street band. https://www.visithendersonvillenc.org/
Cideries, Breweries and Wineries, OH MY!
We are not big drinkers in my household but I do love a good Cider and on occassion enjoy a refreshing wine. On this trip we checked out two very different Cideries but saw so many others in the area. A great idea would be to hire a driver, sit back and enjoy the view and taste test along the way.
Bold Rock Cider is a well-known high production cider. We popped by during their featured Sunday brunch and tried a tasty flight. It would be fun to go back for an actual tour. The grounds are spotless and features a music stage. I can only imagine how much fun this place would be on a Fall Saturday afternoon. https://boldrock.com/
Appalachian Ridge Artisan Cidery was by far my favorite. It’s a smaller production, locally owned Cidery that is also part of the Saint Paul’s Vineyard, just across the street. They converted an old worn barn into the most gorgeous site for their Cidery, even using the downstairs stable doors to make tasting tables out of. On the outside the barn just looks like a regular white siding building but when you step inside, the warmth and history envelopes you and you just don’t want to leave. The young-man that lead our tasting was phenomenal and fun. The tasting was $10 and included 6 ciders and 2-cordials. Yes, we walked away with a few treats to enjoy this fall. All were delicious and did I mention how beautiful this location was? They offer service on their patio on the weekends, often times featuring live music and a food truck. I highly recommend this stop along your travels. https://www.facebook.com/Appalachian-Ridge-Artisan-Hard-Cider-494317397428080/
Apples!
Along this same stretch of Hendersonville you will find orchards until your heart is content. We made a pit-stop at Grandad’s who were just opening for the season and not quite super busy yet. Not all of their varieties were ready but we were able to pick up a few pears which delighted my pear loving heart. The views were gorgeous with apples, corn and sunflowers growing in the foreground with the mountains in the background. They have a large fenced in play area for the kiddos, my husband loved that part as you can see. Fresh HOT apple doughnuts and cold apple slushies along with many preserves and other canned or bagged fun take-aways. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing how another orchard does it as My Mom and I have a favorite annual stop that I will tell you about closer to September. https://www.grandadsapples.com/
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