Guide to Getting Away from the Sunnyside Traveler

2019 Hiking Week 23 Brookwood Park Trail Section Hi all! Sorry I'm a bit behind on my posting. We haven't been doing many adventures since the weather is hot and buggy. This past weekend, to escape the heat, we traveled to the upstate and visited a small section of the Palmetto Trail that goes through Landrum. Downtown Landrum Landrum is a small town off of I-26 near the North Carolina state line. It's not far from Tryon, North Carolina, and the area is known for the horse farms. Two sections of the Palmetto Trail meet in Landrum. One is the Blue Wall Passage , which goes around Lake Lanier and other natural areas. The other is the Peach Country Passage , which follows back-roads from Inman to Landrum. From what I can tell, both of these passages have large sections that are on roads and highways. They mention that they are best for cycling along. But at the place where the two passages meet, Brookwood Park in Landrum, has a nice trail loop. From that park, i...

Asheville, North Carolina, is a great city for beer. It has recently gained popularity for its locally brewed beers and has attracted a few national breweries to the region. If you live in the South, this is a great city to tour and taste the many, varied offerings. Also, there are a few towns nearby that are worth checking out. About 30 minutes to the west is Brevard and maybe 15 minutes to the east is Black Mountain. Not to mention the many other towns worth visiting in the vicinity.  I prefer to start in Brevard and then head over to Asheville. The breweries in Brevard are open earlier so you can get the most out of a day trip. I suggest checking each place's website for hours for their tasting room as well as tour hours. I've attached my map with some places pinned on it. It helps so make a driving plan so you're not going all over town. Downtown Asheville traffic can get difficult, especially on a busy Saturday.  Be sure to have a designated driver for this!  Also...

A follow up to my post for April and May free events. It's been fun finding free things to do around the state. The weather has been great and summer is when it seems everyone is outside. And there's always great events during 4th of July! Some of my resources for finding events: Columbia's Free Times SCiway and local visitors bureau websites (great resources!) June June 1 - Williamston Parkfest -  http://www.williamstonsc.us/festivals.html#parkfest 11 am - 7:30 pm between Anderson and Greenville, off of I-85 family event with music, food, emergency personnel visits, farmers market June 1 - Sweetgrass Festival -  http://www.sweetgrassfestival.org 12 pm - 8 pm Mt Pleasant, under the Arthur Ravenel Bridge (free parking) celebrating Gullah Geechee culture; arts and crafts, music, food, demonstrations, water slide June 1-2 - Old Depot Arts & Crafts -  http://www.olddepot.org/index.php?page=arts-crafts-show 10 am - 5 pm Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm S...

Cashiers, NC Christmas tree farm “It’s the most wonderful time of the year...” Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. And for the past few years one of my favorite ways to bring in the Christmas season is to cut down a Christmas tree. I’ve grown up with Fraser firs and love the way they smell. And, luckily, I live in the south where I can drive up to Western North Carolina and have many places to choose from to cut a tree. There are tree farms all across the southern Appalachian Mountains that grow Fraser firs as well as other types of Christmas trees. To really jump into the Christmas spirit and join the masses, head out to get your tree on the day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”). This has been our tradition and I would rather fight the small crowds in getting a Christmas tree instead of fighting crowds at a mall. Also, you have a better chance at getting a good tree. We usually go to Cashiers or Highlands, North Carolina. There are a few places in this area ...

Things to do in Asheville: wander around downtown - they have lots of quirky shops (i like this tea/spice shop downtown) Biltmore - great gardens, if you want to pay the cost to get in, you could spend a whole day there if you wanted.   http://www.biltmore.com/ outside of Biltmore is the Biltmore Village which has high end shops and restaurants  Blue Ridge Parkway   http://www. blueridgeparkway.org/   - Time goes slower on the parkway. Mileage too. The normal time it takes to drive 10 miles anywhere else is doubled on the parkway. It's great but you have to remember not to try and bite off more than you can chew. Chimney Rock , I haven't been here yet but one day:  http://www. chimneyrockpark.com/ The Arboretum :  http://www. ncarboretum.org/   It's pretty neat and not too expensive. There are some easy trails around the property that are nice.  Asheville also has a lot of good music venues, if you wanted to check them out. Th...