HISTORIC, BUCOLIC ALTAPASS ORCHARD OPENS MAY 1ST

ORCHARD OPENS FOR THE SEASON! Open Mon, Wed-Sat: 10-6; Sun: 12-6; Closed Tuesdays. During apple harvest mid-Sept through October The Orchard will be open 7 days/week, 10-6.

The Altapass Orchard is located right off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 328.3, down in a valley, with the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains serving as backdrop. There are many wonderful, unique places to visit on the Parkway, and you can read our blog on it to get a description of many of them (linked below).

But my personal favorite is the 102-year-old Altapass Orchard. Admittedly, there is a circuitous connection - as with everything here – through people at the Orchard to people at The Cove at Celo Mountain, which endears it to us even more. One-half of the Orchard is owned by The Blue Ridge Parkway, and the other half is held in trust by The Altapass Foundation. Bill and Judy Carson and Kit Carson Trubey are the conservators of the Foundation. Bill, a former rocket scientist, is the bridge partner of Cove at Celo Mountain estate owner, Susan Crutchfield (see our blog on the Crutchfields linked below), and Susan and Kit teach bridge lessons in our surrounding towns of Burnsville, Spruce Pine and Little Switzerland.

Altapass Orchard encapsulates just about everything loved and written about this area – great beauty, natural goodness (of award-winning heritage apples), live traditional mountain music – free - 5 days a week, clogging and dancing (clogging lessons!), preservation of culture through oral storytelling, a monarch butterfly program, homemade fudge and ice cream, authentic crafts and specialties, hayrides, picnics on special holidays, a food wagon and more – all in a casual setting. Bill is the storyteller of the Altapass history for the hayrides - a history steeped in the nation’s saga of Indians, settlers, railroads, and war battles.

The Orchard has been featured in National Geographic, won the prestigious Charles J. Parker Award from the NC Tourism Industry Association, and has been written up in numerous publications - including Southern Living, Our State and Blue Ridge Country. The Today show is doing a 3-day shoot this Tuesday for the 75th anniversary of The Blue Ridge Parkway. Altapass Orchard is one of the sites that will be filmed for an eventual weekend Today segment. About 60,000 visitors come through Altapass Orchard each year. There are 3,000 apple trees in production now, and at its peak, 125,000 bushels of apples were packed and shipped out of the Orchard.

Check their calendar of events, http://www.altapassorchard.com/calendar.htm, to find which day to include them on your trip itinerary. Especially if you live in a large city, this will be one of your most enjoyable WNC country adventures. You won’t want to miss this!

For more information on Altapass Orchard: http://www.altapassorchard.com/
For our blog on The Blue Ridge Parkway: http://coveatcelo.blogspot.com/2010/02/beauty-on-blue-ridge-parkway-with.html
For our blog on the Crutchfields – The Cove at Celo Mountain Estate Owners: http://coveatcelo.blogspot.com/2010/02/meet-estate-owners-at-cove-at-celo.html

Confirmed: President Plans Spring Vacation in Asheville

OK, no, I don’t have a direct line to the White House, BUT the Asheville Travel Blog assures us that the President and the First Family are vacationing in Asheville next weekend. I have been telling you how incredibly beautiful this area is – so much so that it IS the destination place for many who can vacation or retire or relocate anywhere they wish. However, like most things, there are secret places that are even more incredible than the first one you came to enjoy.

So, the First Family really needs to be staying in Burnsville and touring The Cove at Celo Mountain. They might choose an estate lot with tranquil Ayles Creek running through it or one with a gorgeous waterfall for their post-presidency residence. Then, again, maybe one of the 6 Cabins at Celo (exquisitely appointed) in the wooded area would be more to their liking.

When the President was here during the campaign, he stayed at The Grove Park Inn. This is historic, legendary and lovely – famous as the getaway for F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, media moguls and high-profile actors and writers. I hope they enjoyed the world-famous grotto spa (ranked #13 among Best Hotel Spas in the World.) The President ate at 12 Bones, fabulous barbecue with a unique twist - blueberry chipotle ribs, jalapeno cheese grits and corn pudding are occasional flavor offerings. Now, these are famous, wonderful choices. But, he might want to try our gorgeous new hotel in Biltmore Village, The Grand Bohemian. Tupelo Honey, the Noodle Shop, and Corner Kitchen (Biltmore Village) are wonderful. Honestly, every restaurant I have ever tried in downtown Asheville has delicious food. The bodyguards can take the girls to The Orange Peel for great music; Michelle can shop at Bellagio’s (art to wear) and Ten Thousand Villages for gifts for those back home (a fair trade store for artisan crafts from around the world); and they will all want to visit the 30 + galleries (don’t miss Blue Spiral.)

But, if they really want to relax and get out in nature, they need to come to Burnsville and Spruce Pine. Let the Rivers’ Edge Outfitters plan the perfect fly-fishing, tubing, kayaking day. Hike our beautiful waterfalls along the Blue Ridge Parkway. (The Presidential trip planners will want to read our blog about that to touch the high points!). Mountain Farm, the Blacksmith Festival, the TRAC galleries, the Burnsville Metric (hey, this family is in great shape and can easily do this 19th Riding of bikes along our South Toe River and beautiful mountains and valleys!) I think the perfect photo op will be with all of the First Family helping to bottle-feed the sextuplet baby Nubian goats at Mountain Farm – all up on Celo, of course!

For a verity-check on the President’s travel agenda: http://blog.exploreasheville.com/2010/04/president-obama-enjoy-your-asheville.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+exploreasheville%2FlCvS+%28Asheville%29

Helpful Links for the President’s trip planners:
The Cove at Celo Mountain: http://www.celoliving.com/
The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa: http://www.groveparkinn.com/Leisure/
The Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville: http://www.bohemianhotelasheville.com/
12 Bones Barbecue: http://www.12bones.com/
Tupelo Honey: http://www.tupelohoneycafe.com/
Noodle Shop: http://www.mountainx.com/dining/2005/1026noodleshop.php
Corner Kitchen: http://www.thecornerkitchen.com/menus/
Bellagio’s: http://www.bellagioarttowear.com/
Ten Thousand Villages: http://asheville.tenthousandvillages.com/php/stores.festivals/store.about_our_store.php
Blue Spiral Gallery: http://bluespiral1.com/
Rivers Edge Outfitters: http://www.riversedgeoutfittersnc.com/
The Blue Ridge Parkway Highlights from The Cove at Celo Mountain blog: http://coveatcelo.blogspot.com/2010/02/beauty-on-blue-ridge-parkway-with.html

MOUNTAIN FARM – UP ON CELO

We have baby sextuplets up on Celo, and you can see them in the TV special on ABC News– just follow the link below! Bring your children or the child within you out to the farm to help with the feeding. Baby Goat Day is this Saturday, April 24th, 10a-5p.

Mountain Farm is a sustainable 24-acre lavender, blueberry and dairy goat farm in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. The owners, Jerry and Marilyn Cade, serve our community as medical doctor and nurse as well as running this incredibly beautiful farm. One of the most popular events in our area is the Lavender Festival, June 19-20, 2010, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. - $5.00/person. This is a storybook setting with rolling hills and valleys and long-range views of our mountains. The weather is gorgeous, the animals adorable, and the lavender fields like stepping into another era. There will be homemade gourmet goat cheeses and ice creams, lavender lemonade, handcrafted soaps, artisanal bath and spa products, lavender plants for sale, a licensed massage therapist, children’s activities, wonderful food served picnic-style at Blueberry Cottage as you listen to live music and shop with local artists selling handmade pottery and other mountain crafts. Workshops include: Making lavender wands, sachets, wreaths, Garden tours and cultivation tips,Essential oil extraction demonstrations.
SHUTTLE PARKING

To see the TV special about the baby sextuplets: http://www.wlos.com/shared/newsroom/features/absolute-le/videos/wlos_vid_243.shtml
For more information on the events:
http://www.mountainfarm.net/babygoatday.html
http://www.mountainfarm.net/lavenderfestival.html
For more information on Mountain Farm:
http://www.mountainfarm.net/