Back to the Smokeys

Grove Park Inn Grounds

Once again a group of us made the trek to Black Mountain, North Carolina for a week of laughs, hugs, creativity, and togetherness (See Mountains of Art for more information about this wonderful area). For the last 21 years a bunch of imaginative people have come together to fashion beaded jewelry. This year wasn’t any different, except that now we are tapping the teaching prowess of the members of our group to generate a variety of pieces.







Black Mountain and Asheville haven’t changed much. These two towns are an enclave for

Glass Blowing

artists who work in a myriad of media. We did discover the Historic Grove Arcade where one of our members, Carol Wilcox Wells, has many of her luscious pieces for sale. There are several other shops in this historic building and we had a grand time wandering through to see what was available for sale. We did make it back to the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway where they were having a craft show, along with some artists demonstrating their talents. Our favorite was a man making glass balls. It was amazing how only slight movements let do delicate shapes and variances in glass colors.




There are all sorts of places to eat, but since we had most of our meals catered, we only ate out a couple of times. For information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews.

Four Carrots

Linnea and Barb with Pizza

Of course we had to eat at My Father’s Pizza and Pasta (110 Cherry Street, Black Mountain, NC 28711, 828-669-4944) not once but twice. And both times we shared a Garlic White Pizza with extra garlic. It’s great food and good service in a nice setting. This year is was a bit too chilly and damp to sit on the patio, but the dining room works just as well for small or large groups.





The entire group also went to Asheville to the Corner Kitchen (3 Boston Way, Asheville,

Left: Corner Kitchen
Right T to B: Trout, Sorbet and Pie

NC 28803, 828-274-2439). This restaurant is in a cute Victorian house with interesting furnishings. The only downside of this setting is that it is very hard to hear a conversation because of the hardwood floors and walls. The menu changes frequently, using local produce to provide very tasty offerings. This year I had a huge piece of trout with fresh vegetables and very nicely prepared potatoes. Dessert was a key lime pie that was big enough to serve several folks and a nice raspberry sorbet. Service was good, especially since our waiter had 16 people to please.

Fall Colors in Black Mountain

The fall colors, along with the lovely temperatures made this a great time to be in the Smokey Mountains with wonderful friends.

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