Fall in the Mountains

The Professor and I set out this morning with plans to "do something fun", but we didn't know what it would be. We headed north because north is where the fall color is, and eventually we thought of Brasstown Bald in the mountains.

We wound up the steep mountains, enjoying the beautiful colors, sparkling against the sunny sky. At Brasstown Bald we had a choice of hiking the 1/2 mile to the visitor center at the top of the mountain, or taking the shuttle. Not feeling particularly lazy today, we opted for the very steep hike. We saw more color that way.
We heard rumors that someone famous was also hiking today.
If you go, you can skip the movie in the theater. Take our word for it.

Later, as the afternoon waned, we looked for someplace interesting to eat dinner. We stopped at an apple orchard, but they only had a deli. Next to the deli I spied a tourist brochure rack, where a riverside restaurant was advertised. Off we went, following the brochure's directions. On and on we drove, deeper into the forest. It was beginning to look a little hopeless, when suddenly we saw cars parked all over both sides of the narrow road. It must be trailhead parking, I thought, but no, there was a a funky old mountain building on the side of the road. It turned out to be a very good restaurant specializing in mountain trout. Sadly, it was beginning to get dark and cold, so we didn't sit on the deck overlooking the river. Next time maybe.