November Vacation - Towsend to Tellico Plains

First Stop-and-Stay: Townsend, Tennessee, the Peaceful Side of the Smokies.
Treat yourself to a refined Southern Appalachian vacation. Stay at what has been repeatedly awarded the title of best resort in the southeast and even #1 in the world for cuisine, service, and style. Blackberry Farm in the neighboring community of Walland offers the best of Southern Appalachian flavor and hospitality. Enjoy tennis, swimming, hiking & biking trails, fly fishing, a spa, fine foods, and a clubhouse amidst the secluded 4,200 acre estate in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, minutes from Cades Cove in the world-famous and #1 visited park in the country, Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Tour the working farm facility at your leisure and discover farm animals, honeybees, blackberries, an apple orchard, and more. Fine foods prepared on premises by three resident chefs or by special guest chefs, and all overseen by the proprietor who is also a chef! So the food must be good right? Experts agree. The dining is excellent and the service can't be beat. November's Blackberry Farms adventure series takes place November 14-16th. Gain valuable photography know-how "Behind the Lens" at Blackberry Farm. Located at 1471 West Millers Cove Rd., Walland, Tennessee. (865) 984-8166 Fax: 865-983-5708 info@blackberryfarm.com
www.blackberryfarm.com

Discover holiday photography at Townsend Visitor Center 7906 E Lamar Alexander Pkwy:
Nov. 5-7: Photography-Linda Waterhouse
Nov. 27: Thanksgiving Day-Open 9:00am--3:00pm - Holiday Photos-Mary Grace McCaffery
Nov. 28-30: Holiday Photos-Mary Grace McCaffery

If you need to do some shopping, stop by nearby Townsend to find quaint shops and fresh local foods at the farm market, which takes place every Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Townsend’s Trillium Cove Shopping Village along East Lamar Alexander Parkway.

Also in Townsend, be sure to stop and visit Mountain Sage Gallery to see the "Delectable Mountains" painted quilt square. These are truly local arts and crafts at Mountain Sage, all from East Tennessee and a few from nearby in North Carolina. 7277 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy (865) 448-0809.

Have lunch next door at Sister Cats Cafe in Nawger Nob, which is a plaza full of artisans, arts, and crafts. I ordered tea and a Black & Blue Salad (Roast beef, cranberries, feta cheese, blue cheese crumbles & candied almonds served on romaine greens with honey mustard vinaigrette) with a side of Mandarin Orange Salad (pecan, romaine, feta cheese, mandarin oranges, & pecans with orange poppy seed dressing). Both were scrumptious. What can I say, I love salad! I left happy and looking forward to my next visit. You will too. Careful though, great salad is habit-forming.

Quilters and quilt lovers, find the "Log Cabin" quilt square, local made quilts and plenty of quilting supplies at Pappy's Quilting Place 3426 Sevierville Road in Maryville,TN (865) 980-0950.

Serious music lovers will want to check out the WOOD-N-STRINGS Dulcimer Shop, makers of fine Clemmer Dulcimers and Ban-Jammers. 7645 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy (865) 448-6647. www.clemmerdulcimer.com

If this leaves you still wanting more, discover the music stylings of the local community at Rocky Branch Community Center, located about 1/8 mile on the left, down Rocky Branch Road, off of Hwy 321 (Lamar Alexander Pkwy).

Apologies for the hundreds of things I'm leaving out, this is one of those places where there's just too much to do to quickly tell all so...moving on to:

Next Stop: Tellico Plains, Coker Creek, and the Cherohala Skyway.

Near Blackberry Farm, take the Foothills Parkway down to Monroe County, get onto 129, then to 72. You'll have to go out of your way a bit due to Tellico Lake. 72 will hook up with 411 and continue south over the lake. Get off on the Hwy 68 exit and follow 68 all the way to Tellico Plains. When you get there, stop at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center, stock up on information for your stay in the area, and see the "Crossed Paws" quilt square. The visitor center has a gift shop and there's a museum next door that also contains a gift shop. As it's November, you may have even more shopping to do for the holidays so head on over to the Scott Street Arts district across the street. You can see the first attraction, "The Barn of Plenty" antiques from the visitor center. It's literally, a white barn full of antiques (and cats).

(to be continued)