Visit Bryson City, North Carolina

Bryson City isn't too far from my previous destination, which is why it makes a great day trip if your staying in the Smoky Mountains near Cherokee NC.

We had gotten our fill of Cherokee, and decided it was time to take a little trip down the river...literally.

So 25 minutes later we arrived in the small town of Bryson City. We didn't really have a plan, just that we knew we wanted to go hike the waterfalls.

Luckily located right in the town entrance is the visitors office! So like all tourists we made our way inside to learn about our new destination.

We we were treated by an elderly man, enthusiastic to share with us the history of his city. He handled us several maps, yes physical maps, and drew our pathway to the waterfall hike.

We hoped in the car, put the top down, because it was a beautiful day and went on our way. After a few minutes of slight arguing, because well we had to use a normal map, we set off on the right path to the Waterfall Hike.

The hike was beautiful and we made friends along the way... of course. They were a nice middle aged couple from Illinois. They were well travelled and we all had a great conversation. They were so interested in our world wide travels, we walked with them for about 3 hours. The man loved motorcycles and all things motorized so Rodrigo had a ton fun getting in his fix of motorized vehicles for the day.

We finally parted ways, Rodrigo had had his fill of the outdoors, and I couldn't be happier because he went hiking and made it through a few hours. I was impressed. We made our way back to the car, and decided it was time for a car photoshoot. We had just gotten the brand new iPhone 7 Plus with the crazy camera, it was time to play. We each drove around a little getting different shots.

My fav was this one...

Luckily on our way back we had no problem finding our way.. looks like we learned something new, how to use a map. With our new found skill we made it back to Bryson City, starving. I'm a hungry human so we knew we needed to find something fast. We decided on Jimmy Macs, a locally owned restaurant! Jimmy Mac was even in the Kitchen! I had a delicious trout filet, because for my dietary restrictions thats all I could eat. So if you want the healthiest option here, get the grilled trout. It's the local delicacy so don't worry you aren't missing out on any local favs.

The boy had the lovely meal pictured below, also trout but with all the fixins', he was very pleased.

After our meal, the sun was setting so we ran off to go snag a pic and just take a peak around the cute town. At a comfortable stroll it takes you about 30 mins to do a full circle of the town. We were there on a Sunday around 6pm so the stores were all closing. But there were definitely stores that would have been worth going in.

We were almost back to the car when I stopped in my tracks, the organic restaurant I wanted to eat at, that was closed earlier, was no open. Rodrigo looked at me, smiled, and asked if I wasn't take out dinner. HELL YEAH! The restaurant was called Cork and Bean Bistro. It was actually part of the Everett Hotel. The interior felt like a rustic log cabin. It was absolutely adorable they even had a cozy fireplace.

What did I order? Well I got a side of Brussel sprouts with nitrate free bacon and aioli sauce with a local organic burger without the bun of course.. I'm gluten free ( along with a host of other things) in case you didn't know. I'll be honest I snack on my Brussel sprouts on the ride home, I had to know how they tasted and damnn were they good. I wanted to save them for later so I resisted the urge and closed the container.

As we were almost back to Cherokee, we spotted a small farm stand. We had to stop.. The owners were an elderly couple, actually Cherokee Indians, their family had been there for centuries. They gave us a taste of the local honey, so good, I bought a massive jar. They directed me to the local eggs, the owner actually gets them from a guy right down the road. And I normally don't eat fruit, but the apples looked so good, I had to treat myself. Its vacation, plus I deserved a treat after all my hiking!

I hope you enjoyed Bryson City as much as I did.

As Always, Travel Well, Be Well

Bri

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