Pinehurst

If you know golf then you know Pinehurst.  This historic golf resort is known world wide.  The first golf course was built there in the late 1800s and the first championship tournament was played in 1901. The resort now has 8 golf courses and in 2014 both the men's and women's U.S. Open will be played there.

On our visit here we went very casual.  After having our fancier, romantic dinner the night before in Southern Pines we went for pizza at Pinehurst Pizza www.pinehurstpizza.com  The large family friendly restaurant has pool tables, video games and personal TV's at the tables.  We split a large salad .... it was very large! And an 18" Margherita Pizza.  It took a while to get our pizza .... all pizzas are made to order.  It was a really tasty pizza that was worth the wait with fresh tomatoes and basil right from the garden.  The 2 of us could not finish it.  And best of all a nice pour of Pinot Grigio in a real wine glass for only $5!

Next we went to the Carolina Hotel.  www.pinehurst.com This is the grandest of the accommodations at the resort.  We found two rocking chairs on the porch and chilled with a glasses of wine.  A guitar player entertained us and the other guests.  However the price of my glass of Pinot Grigio was $13.75.  You definitely have to pay a bit more but it's worth it to be in this beautiful setting.

Nearby there is a village area of shops and restaurants.  Other Inns are located here as well.  We wandered around a bit then went into one of the many pubs for one more drink and more live music.  Golf is on the TVs wherever you go.  Tiger Woods was decisively ahead in this weekend's Bridgestone Invitational.

Pinehurst is 5 stars all the way.  Every detail is seen to in this luxurious historic resort.

Robbins Farmers Day

Saturday morning started a bit overcast but proved to be a beautiful day.  My husband and I got an early start driving from Southern Pines the 20 minutes to Robbins, North Carolina.  The town was celebrating it's 58th Annual Farmers Day.  The downtown streets were filled with carnival rides, games, food and craft vendors.  I fell in love with the jewelry made by a Kernersville woman named Rosa.  She called her line Rusty and Distressed Designs by Rosa.  Check out her website ... really beautiful copper jewelry all handcrafted.  www.rustydistresseddesigns.com Very reasonably priced too. She sells her pieces on Etsy as well.

There was also a parade but instead of the typical line up of beauty queens in convertibles and high school bands it was a parade of horses ... horse and buggies decorated, riders dressed in their finest western shirts and children looking adorable atop ponies.  

We decided to bypass the Bloomin' Onions, funnel cakes and fried candy bars and instead went for a healthy lunch at Eden's Garden.  This Vegan friendly, all organic restaurant frankly seems a bit out of place in downtown Robbins.  The menu selections change daily.  Everything was delicious and so fresh and flavorful.

On our way out of Robbins we travelled "Pottery Road" NC Highway 705.  Many potters live, work and show their wares along this route.  We stopped at several places and even though they said they were open on Saturdays no one was there.  I guess they were all at the Farmers Day celebration!  We did meet these friendly fellows though.

Robbins is a down-home, rustic, nothing fancy kind of town with a few interesting exceptions.  In Pinehurst it's golf shirts and loafers, in Robbins it's overalls and t-shirts and yet at one "thrift shop" they had some of the most beautiful antique furniture pieces I had ever seen in one place. Definitely an interesting town to check out. 

Southern Pines

From Aberdeen we drove next to the town of Southern Pines.  We checked in to our hotel, a nothing fancy chain hotel.  No sense in going into great detail about our accommodations ... a bed, a TV and a shower is all we needed for this trip.   There are several chain hotels in Southern Pines from which to choose.   If you are looking for something more special there are beautiful inns in Pinehurst as well as the Pinehurst resort itself.

The village of Southern Pines is filled with shops, bars and restaurants.  There is really something for everyone here.  I especially love the shopping.  Many of the stores carry original art and crafts from local artists.  On this night we lucked out ... Southern Pines was holding it's "First Friday" event.  www.firstfridaysouthernpines.com  The streets were blocked off, the shops remained open and artists and musicians were showing off their talents outside.  On the main stage the band Desert Noises from Provo, Utah played.  www.desertnoisesmusic.com You could buy beer and wine and walk around with it as well.  We set up our chairs in front of the stage and settled in for a great night of music.

The First Friday event ended at 8:30 pm so we wandered down the way to find a spot for a late dinner.  We settled on Wolcott's Restaurant www.wolcottsrestaurant.com  It's a very romantic, intimate place to dine. I had the most delicious salmon with sweet potatoes and golden raisins and I'm not sure what else.  The mix of flavors was divine and the fish was cooked to perfection.  My husband had the lobster bisque and a salad.  He was equally pleased.

Many of the bars had live music.  We sat a bit at one spot and had one final cocktail before calling it an evening.

Day or night you can find plenty to do on Broad Street, the main drag of Southern Pines.  

Starting our Weekend Getaway in Aberdeen

With our son away visiting his grandmother for a week it was time for my husband and I to do more than just a day trip.  We needed a romantic weekend just the two of us!  Not wanting to spend too much of our valuable time driving we chose the Pinehurst area, best known as a golfing resort and only a 90 mile drive from our home.  We started our adventure in the tiny town of Aberdeen.  Arriving there around lunch time we went first to the Railhouse Brewery www.railhousebrew.com.  It's the kind of place where your eyes have to adjust to the dark when you walk in on a sunny day.  Once I could see I was happy to focus on a  restaurant/bar with a casual and cool vibe.  We sat at the bar and had a great lunch ... my husband had the Rueben and I had a salad with grilled chicken and of course beer!  We chatted with the others at the bar.  It was a very friendly and welcoming place.

After lunch we walked around town.  There are several high end home decor shops here which took me by surprise.  My husband decided to go into the barber shop for a trim while I slipped into some of the stores.

From there we drove a couple of miles to historic Bethesda Church and Cemetery on Route 5.  Some of the graves date as far back as the late 1700s.  The exterior of the church has bullet holes from the Civil War.

If you are spending any time in Pinehurst it's worth the 10 minute drive to Aberdeen.  It's a small town with history and charm.

Midland, NC

Finally!  A perfect Carolina blue sky day.  My husband and I opted to spend our Sunday together in Midland, about a 40 minute drive from our house in Cabarrus County. There is not much to this this 2 stoplight town.  The only restaurant we found open was D'Anna's Kitchen Family Restaurant.  Nothing fancy but we were pleasantly greeted and the decor was homey.  The menu consisted of the usual fare ... but we went for the chalkboard offerings .... every Southerner's favorite meal ... meat with 2 sides and cornbread or biscuit and of course sweet tea!  We both got the country fried steak and mashed potatoes and gravy.  For my second side I know I should have gotten the greens or some sort of vegetable but instead I couldn't resist the macaroni and cheese.  I am so glad I did!  It was really delicious.  But whoa! I'll have to spend more time in the gym to work off this meal!

We then drove into "downtown" Midland which consisted of 4 or 5 abandoned buildings.  This apparently was once a town midway on the railway system between Charlotte and Oakboro which is how the town got it's name but apparently not much else happened in this sleepy town.  Cool little buildings though.

The town does boast 2 attractions though worthy visiting .... Reed Gold Mine http://www.reedmine.com/ the site of the first documented gold find in the US and Rocky River Vineyards http://www.rockyrivervineyards.com/  If our son had been with us we would have done the gold mine but since he had to work his summer job today we decided to be grown ups and go to the vineyard.  It's a beautiful setting there ... a small white house with tables in and out to enjoy the wines.  There is also a pavilion with rocking chairs overlooking the vines where private parties could be held.  We did the $6 tasting that included 9 wines: chardonnay, Cabernet sauvignon, chambourcin dry, scarlet merlot blend, white zinfandel, niagara, white gold, rockin' red and 2 slushy mixes. The muscadine wines were made with the grapes grown on site.  I won't pretend to know much about wines but I thought they were all tasty.  The peach wine slushy seemed like the perfect summer drink so we ordered a large one and took it out to the rocking chairs to sip and enjoy the view.  

Maybe Midland is the in the middle of nowhere but we found it to be a great somewhere to be on a sun-filled Sunday.  Definitely worth a visit.

My Morning in Matthews

I had the house to myself today and nothing pressing to do which is a rare thing on a Saturday morning but instead of reveling in the quiet I decided to go out for an adventure.  I hopped in the car and drove the 30 minutes or so down to Matthews, NC.  The cozy town center was a buzz.with pedestrians and traffic but there is ample public parking which makes life so much easier.  The most striking thing in town are all of the beautiful flowers in hanging baskets and large pots.  This added so much to the charm of the town.

My first stop was the Matthews Holiday Haus.  www.holiday-haus.com  This gift shop has so much more than just Christmas decor.  Pretty much every holiday is covered but also great gift items, jewelry, home decor and more.  I have started filling my house with little birds and found a pair of silver birds to rest somewhere in my home.  

There is not a lot of shopping.  There's a cool ol' timey hardware store, a bike shop and a Habitat ReStore to browse.  There was no antiquing to be found in this area that I could see.  However there was a wonderful farmer's market going on.  It was filled with farm fresh fruits and veggies, meats and eggs, plants and herbs, baked goods and handmade crafts.  I loaded up on peaches and squash as well as some tasty treats made by a Turkish couple.  

I decided for lunch I would try something totally new to me ... Korean food.  The restaurant/Korean market

combo is within walking distance but the road is very busy so I opted to drive.  PePeRo is very authentic

no doubt about that.  They don't have a web site.  It's in a non-descript building that I passed by the first time.  The young girl who waited on me was very helpful as I tried to navigate the menu. She suggested the Dol Sot Bi Bom Bob so I went with that.  It was very yummy but I wasn't quite sure what I was eating or how to eat it!  I struggled with the chopsticks and maybe because of that my server said to use my spoon ... that's how they eat it.  Don't know if that was true or if she just felt sorry for me but I gladly finished my meal with the spoon.  

Most of Matthews feels like a continuation of Charlotte but on the corner of W. John St. and S. Trade St. you can escape city life and get that small town feel.  It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday to myself.

 

Beautiful Belmont

It has rained here every day for almost two weeks but I was not going to let a few drizzles stop my husband and I from enjoying our day off together.  With our son settled for the day at a friend's house we made the quick twenty mile journey to the nearby town of Belmont, NC.  I had been before and knew it was charming but today I wanted to look at it through the eyes of a traveler ... a tourist.  I like the idea of "collecting" small towns.  Yes big cities are full of excitement and lots of things to see and do but the small town experience can be just as fulfilling if not more so.  This is what I want to blog about ... my experience in the small towns of NC as I every weekend continue "collecting" them.  Hope you join me!

Our first stop was Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. www.dsbg.org  The sky was gray but the gardens were a splendid display of color.  We strolled the brick paths reading the names of the exotic plants.  Fountains splashed, butterflies flitted about and even the sun came out a bit as we sat on a bench taking it all in.  The orchid conservatory is impressive as well.  I felt as if I could be in the tropics.

Next we went into downtown Belmont.  It is truly a picturesque little town filled with antique shops, boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants.  We had lunch at Sammy's Deli & Neighborhood Pub www.sammysbelmont.com  It has a casual sports bar atmosphere.  Even though the Sunday crowd was starting to line up we were immediately seated and waited on.  The menu is nothing fancy ... burgers, salads, sandwiches all reasonably priced.  I had the BBQ pulled pork sandwich and my husband had the Black and Blue burger which were served in short time after we ordered.  We both enjoyed our meals.

Because it was Sunday most of the businesses were closed but a few of the antique shops were open.  I especially enjoyed Piccolo Antique Mall.  www.piccoloantiquemall.com  It was filled with rustic treasures, frilly finds and man cave accessories.  We spent a good hour perusing the many rooms upstairs and down.

Even though we were still so full from lunch,  we couldn't resist stopping in at Tastebuds Popcorn.  www.tastebudspopcorn.com  They have every flavor of popcorn you can imagine!!  I tried the curry coconut and the blue cheese flavors and my husband tried Cajun pickle.  He went with the pickle and I ultimately went with sour cream and chives.  We each got a small bag to munch on on the way home.

It was a delightful day .. and I didn't even have to pack suitcases or board the dog to go on this vacation!