Chimney Rock State Park

For my last day in the Carolinas, the destination was Chimney Rock State Park, southeast of Asheville. Sadly, this area was devastated by Hurricane Helene. It will take years, if ever, for it to recover.

For breakfast, I stopped at City Bakery near downtown Asheville. I had something called a bear claw and the peak hipster dish avocado toast.

Bear claw

Avocado toast

The drive to Chimney Rock State Park is relatively straightforward until the exit for the park, upon there is an extremely windy road with several switchbacks. The advantage of this is it forces you to look around, and once in a while you may even see a bear.

There is also a waterfall on the windy road, Hickory Nut Falls.

Hickory Nut Falls

Finally, the destination arrives. And the view is simply stunning.

After admiring the view for a bit, it was back to Asheville, and back to Tupelo Honey Cafe. This time, dinner was shrimp and grits. By far the best shrimp and grits I have ever had in my life.

Shrimp and grits

And now, sadly, it was time to head back home. Fortunately, another few trips were yet to come in the near future, which will be posted shortly.