I went to Appalachian State University for college. I love the area and I wanted my kids to love it also. I was determined to have Watauga shine. We took the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway into the area. We stopped at one of my favorite college hangouts – Price Park. It was a nice day and there were lots of people but we finally found a place to park and walked around a bit. We decided against renting a boat at Price Lake and headed on to Moses Cone Manor. We enjoyed the views from the house and the beautiful crafts. If you have never been this is not your average crafts, the quality is excellent. Moses H Cone was a textile magnate who built this 20 room, 13,000 square foot home in 1901. It is a must stop when you are on the parkway.
I lived in the area almost five years but never made it to the tourist traps. I decided this was my chance. The first stop was The Blowing Rock. There is a town called Blowing Rock but there is also a tourist attraction. There is a Cherokee legend about the Blowing Rock that explains why there is a perpetual wind from the rock. It has fabulous views and I got a great but scary photo of Claire. (the photo at top of blog) But honestly, there are places like this throughout the area and you don’t have to pay but you may have to hike a little bit. Glad I went once but don’t know that I would pay to go back. The same goes for Mystery Hill. The kids liked it and had fun but it was a little hokey. You also get to visit the museum with your admission. It includes a huge arrowhead collection and the 1903 Dougherty House that once stood on the campus Appalachian. The house shows life in the 19th century.
After Mystery Hill, we headed for Kilwin’s in downtown Blowing Rock. Downtown is cool and quaint and fun to walk around. One of my favorite downtowns in the state. The kids liked the ice cream at Kilwin’s but they loved the orangeade. They claimed I had been depriving them. We walked around and stumbled upon the The New Public House. Fortunately. they had room for us at a table in the bar. This was one of our best meals during our challenge. The kids shared Jambalaya and I had Free Range Chicken. The service was great and the atmosphere is neat.
After dinner, we drove to Boone where I showed them the stadium and my old dorm. The second dorm I lived in has been torn down. Claire got a photo with “The Rock” and the footprints. We got a photo of what is the ugliest courthouse we have seen so far and then headed to the hotel.
The next morning we ended up going gem mining at Foggy Mountain Gem Mine. They both enjoyed it, worked together and ended up with a bag full of gems. The staff was friendly and helpful. I would go back for sure. Of the three paid attractions we did in the county, it was by far the best. They both decided that Watauga County was pretty good even if their mom liked it and it is still tops for me.
