Maggie Valley, NC 7-29 to 7-31 2025, Maiden, NC 8-1 to 8-31 2025

 

Maggie Valley is nestled in the breathtaking Smokey Mountains of North Carolina.  We had to be Elk smart and keep a distance of at least 150 feet from the Elk who roamed the area in front of the RV.  An elk can run up to 45 mph and jump 8 feet!

There are so menu great restaurants in nearby Waynesville.  But we just knew from looking at the menu we had to experience Chef's Table.  We started with the appetizer of Chef's Table signature goat cheese risotto balls- risotto stuffed with local dark cove-goat cheese, then fried with panko.   Mark opted for the Bacon Brie Chicken - Local chicken breasts topped with brie cheese and apple smoked bacon, Yukon mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, bourbon glaze. I opted for the Fried Shrimp with Crab Lasagna "cupcakes" - fried shrimp, lobster cream sauce, seasonal vegetables, parmesan, fresh mozzarella with blue crab, local tomatoes, corm and ricotta cheese stuffed round lasagnas.  It was all amazing!!

Smokey Mountain Country Club is surrounded by 5,000-foot peaks descending into deep, shaded gorges where trout filled streams turn into rushing whitewater rivers.  You can clearly see the smokey look hovering around the mountains!

In Waynesville the Cole Porter Broadway Show "Anything Goes" was playing.  It has some familiar songs: I get a kick out of you, You're the top, Blow, Gabriel, Blow and Anything goes.  The local Chiropractor played on of the leads, and he did an excellent job!

Next Stop: Maiden, NC - Just a heads up - we found more fabulous restaurants in this area with all the nearby quaint cities!

We found the quaint city of Hickory, NC had loads of interesting restaurants.  Here is our stop at Boca.  We enjoyed appetizers of Marinated Olives and Naan with tzatzki, hummus and baba ganoush.  Yummy!!

We played golf at Kings Mountain in Gastonia and then headed to the beautiful Barristers at the Esquire Hotel for dinner.  We enjoyed Cajun Cream - top left- Parmesan cream sauce, roasted red peppers, blackened shrimp and crispy brussels sprouts. Panko crusted brie - top right and Blackened Chicken Dip - bottom left- Shredded blackened chicken cream cheese, parmesan, pita.  The chandeliers really set the ambiance at the beautiful hotel dining room.

We were fascinated by this Butterfly Bush at beautiful Players Ridge Golf Course.  The bush was just covered with these beauties!!

We went to the Vintage House Restaurant for an upscale dinner.  Sadly, it did not live up to our expectations.  We enjoyed a small house salad with Butternut and Pumpkin Ravioli - brown butter, fried sage, toasted pumpkin seeds.  Being in NC we decided to add the NC Rainbow Trout - crab stuffed, pan roasted, creamed corn, Burre Blanc and toasted pumpkin seeds.  Sadly, this was a disappointment.  We topped it off with the VH Profiterole - puff pastry, vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate ganache, chocolate "dirty "Chantilly cream.  

We loved finding so many quaint cities in the area.  After golf at Deer Brook Golf Club in Shelby we stopped at Bistro 214 for dinner.  We enjoyed cha cha shrimp - Lightly fried shrimp, tossed in creamy citrus Sriracha sauce on a bed of mixed greens in a thin crepe.  We added the Pot Stickers - lean ground chicken, ginger and green onion dumplings, steamed and pan seared with our in-house made pot sticker dipping sauce.

If you have never been to North Carolina or the Southern US,  you will be amazed at how Kudzu just takes over the trees in the area.  It is very sad.  It can grow up to a foot per day.  It has earned nicknames like "The vine that ate the South." It blocks the sunlight and smothers native vegetation.

We enjoy taking tours of the Cities, so we took a tour of Charlotte, NC.  The pickup for the tour was at The Market at 7th Street.  So, before the tour we took advantage of Orman's Cheese Shop for delicious grilled cheese sandwiches - so many different types of cheese available.

Charlotte has some beautiful art.  And it was nice to see the namesake for the City of Charlotte.  The City of Charlotte was named in 1768 to honor Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King Geoge III of Great Britain.  As it was named after a Queen the City carries the nickname "The Queen City."  Her statue is the second photo from the left.

Charlotte is the largest city in North Carolina.  It has become a major hub for banking and finance.  It is home to Bank of America's headquarters and has a backup for the New York Stock Exchange.  The top right photo is The NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Many of the homes in the Fourth Ward date from the 1870's to 1890's, built when Charlotte was booming after the Civil War.  The Uptown's Fourth Ward is the best-preserved area.  You can't miss the Queen Anne homes with turrets, wrap-around porches and ornate trim.

We were thrilled to find Riverbend Dairy just a few miles from our RV park.  We stopped a couple of times to treat ourselves to some delicious ice cream!!

After golfing at Cedar Rock Country Club we were treated to a rainbow that started with just a small streak and ended as a double rainbow.  That's always a good sign!

When you are in an RV park without an office there is no way to get mail.  But we found a nearby Amazon box and just used it to get our Amazon orders.  We played Rock Barn and enjoyed this beautiful hole!

We could not resist having lunch in the Old Hickory Station.  Mark enjoyed a beer flight.  We added Station Shrimp and Grit Cake - Grilled jumbo shrimp served with a yellow stone ground grit cake, tomato vinaigrette and white wine butter sauce.  We added a side of cauliflower Fritters - cauliflower hushpuppies tossed in parmesan cheese served with a side of Garlic Chive Butter.

We truly enjoy minor league baseball, so we went to see the Crawdads and enjoyed the evening fireworks.

We were close by so we went to the Catawba Science Center.  These photos are from the Aquarium section.

In the Planetarium they had the IMAX show "Flight of the Butterflies."  It told the story of the two generations of butterflies that travel to their breeding grounds and how they were tagged to follow their flight.  The building on the bottom right is the Arts and Science Center but most of the exhibits there were for young children.

After the Science Center we stopped in Notions restaurant in Hickory for a late lunch of some Tomato Basil Soup and Cheese Crostini with some Vegetable Spring Rolls.

We played River Oaks golf course in Statesville, NC.  It's the first time we've seen the GPS on the dash of the cart.  Afterwards we hit Twisted Oak Bar and Grill for dinner.  We enjoyed Millionaire meatloaf - Seasoned and ground cuts of filet, ribeye, Ny strip and chuck with wild mushroom demi-glace. a smokehouse rib eye sandwich - thin cut ribeye steak topped with mixed greens, jam, garlic aioli, smoked cheddar and fried onions on a Focaccia bun.  Mark could not resist Twisted Cajun Pasta -cavatappi pasta in spicy Cajun cream sauce with peppers, onions, and smoked bacon.

We played Cleveland Country Club in Shelby, NC.  Mark thought this house looked like it was in the Harry Potter Movies.  For dinner we went to the Court Street Grille.  Mark enjoyed this super large Calzone.  We took home most of it and even had to freeze some as it was so huge!

Jan James, an ex Palm Creeker lives nearby so we scheduled a golf outing.  Kelly Horton, Jan's partner in an upcoming golf tournament joined us so that Jan and Kelly could get in some extra practice time.  The bottom right photo is from their tournament where they placed 1st Net Scores!! 

We enjoyed yet one more restaurant, Rule.  We enjoyed Cast Iron House Meatballs - veal, wagyu, and pork mix in house made marinara with parmesan and mozzarella.    Additionally, the Cajun Chicken Pasta - blackened chicken, fettuccini, peppers, onions, spinach, house made gorgonzola cream sauce, and a shared side, not shown, sauteed broccoli.  We topped it off with Tiramisu Affogato - Coffee-Soaked Lady Fingers, Vanilla Ice Cream, Whipped Mascarpone, Espresso.

That's it for our stop in Maiden, NC.  Next stop: Conway, SC.