MONDAY
Late flight, we were at the airport for quite a while. Got to our hotel around 1 or so. Hunter had a pepperoni calzone. We slept like babies.
TUESDAY
Busy day! Woke up pretty early considering how late we were up. Got ready and had breakfast at the hotel then checked out and headed to Highlands. Stopped at Ingalls for some snacks. Then we drove straight to our first hike: Whitehead Mountain. It was a pretty easy hike but was hot, and we didn’t know that the whole trail was a loop and we had started with the steep end. But the views were AMAZING, and after walking around we settled for a spot under a tree and snacked on beef jerky while we relaxed and admired the view. Hunter climbed the tree above us, which was perfect for climbing, and I wandered around a bit. A little boy ran up to the tree Hunter was in and shouted “It’s my tree!!” only to find Hunter already in it. Then we hiked back and had a great conversation on the way down. We drove to the place we were staying at and checked into our room. The hotel was amazing! Themed like an old mountain home and very cozy. We were starving so we headed out for lunch/dinner at this bar place. We had the best egg rolls, and I got some tacos that were amazing. We decided to rank all of the food we had on the trip. So far my tacos were first and Hunter’s calzone from the hotel was second. We stopped at the little store across the street for some lotion and shaving cream. Then we dropped our car off at our hotel and explored the shops along the little Main Street we were staying on. It was so much fun, I love shopping. And there were several cute stores. We went inside a little mercantile, and Hunter got some coffee. A man struck up a conversation with us and introduced us to his son’s friends? Lol it was a little strange. Then we walked to a park and just sat there for a while. We listened to the church bells strike six and decided Fort Myers really needs a bell tower. We returned to our hotel room and FINALLY rested for a while. I stayed in the room, and Hunter sat on the porch and joined his men’s group via video. After a while of resting, we played a game of Rummikub outside. Then we went inside our hotel lobby and I read a book while Hunter did a number of things like listening to an audio book, listening to music, reading a book about finance, etc. The lobby had such a nice, cozy atmosphere. It was the perfect place to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And the employee was kind enough to microwave our frozen burritos for us. We sat by the fire until 10:30 or so and then retired to bed. Such a good day.
WEDNESDAY
Another great day. We woke up feeling so much better and rested. Hunter got up before me and I think walked around a little bit. Once I was up and ready, we went to a brunch spot called The Blue Bicycle. Our breakfast was delicious, and the people sitting near us were very friendly. After eating, we walked to a nearby coffee shop so I could get a matcha. It was a very hippy dippy place. We walked back to the hotel and got ready for our hike to Secret Falls. The hike was easy, and the waterfall was stunning! Truly felt like a secret gem. I was a little terrified of slipping on the rocks at first, but Hunter helped me get down to the pools at the base of the waterfall, and slowly I realized that this place was actually great. The water was cold but refreshing. At one spot, at least ten butterflies were congregating, and when Hunter walked by they flew all around him. We stayed for a long time, soaking up the sun and the water and the beauty of it all. I think it was my favorite part of the whole trip. We got back to our hotel and showered. We were so hungry, so we walked to a Mexican restaurant and dove into their chips and salsa. Our burritos and enchiladas were great. We returned to Main Street and stopped by Kilwin’s for ice cream and chocolate. We returned to the hotel for some relaxation (😉) and watched White Chicks. Then we got ready to go to another restaurant. This was a fancy restaurant called Madison’s. It was the nicest restaurant Hunter and I had ever been to. We shared a meal because we were still so full from the Mexican food and ice cream and everything on the menu was very expensive. We had the trout meal, and when I tell you it was the most flavorful and exquisite thing I have ever tasted, I am not lying. I don’t even like fish that much, but this was superb. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to finish my plate because my stomach was so bloated and hurting from the queso-smothered burrito I had eaten. Such a regret! But it was a great experience to go to a restaurant like this with Hunter, and we enjoyed ourselves so much. They even gave me a rose when we finished our meal. We went back to the hotel, and Hunter got a drink at the bar there. We played checkers in the lobby while he worked on his drink. Then we went back to our room and finished White Chicks. This day was probably my favorite. Every day was wonderful, but if I had to pick a favorite I would pick this one.
THURSDAY
A cloudy day. But the rain really subsided for us. We woke up and didn’t know what to do with ourselves. So I started walking and texted Hunter to meet me at Calder’s Coffee Cafe. I ordered a blueberry matcha and a bagel and waited for Hunter to arrive. Once he did we discussed our options for the day. We decided to embrace the last chance we would have to shop around the little Main Street for souvenirs and gifts. But, we split up. I took my time looking through the little boutiques, and Hunter went on an adventure of his own. At one point we crossed paths and checked in. I had only been inside one store, and Hunter had already gone around the entire block! We split up again, and I continued my trek through every single boutique. Hunter ended up going to this charcuterie store and befriending the employee there and then getting into his car and driving to a market to buy a cigar for later. I bought two cute little necklaces. When we had finally finished shopping, we’d worked up quite an appetite. So we stopped by Bear Mountain Outfitters to get me a new shirt then walked to The Secret Garden for some lunch. We had some time to kill before our spa visit, so we decided to go on another hike to Glen Falls. It had been raining, so the trail was a little wet. We actually stopped and had a really good conversation and aired out some minor tensions we were having. We felt a lot better after that. Unfortunately, we didn’t want to risk being late for our spa appointment, so we had to turn around before we reached the waterfall. But we still enjoyed the walk and talk. We stopped by the hotel so I could run in and change my shoes. Then we went to the spa. The employees were so nice to us. Hunter got his massage first while I got to use the sauna. I wasn’t a big fan, but I did feel really good afterward. Then we switched. It was honestly such a fun experience, and I’m pretty sure we were the only two customers they had at the time we were there. We were so pampered in our little robes. Saunas and massages apparently make you hungry, so we went back to our hotel and looked online for a place to eat. We (Hunter) decided (insisted) on Highlands Smokehouse, and I had these amazing brisket tacos that were literally so good. We returned to our hotel. Hunter smoked his cigar while I wasted time on my computer and then showered. He had some sort of conversation with a drunk man in the lobby. Once he came back to the room, we packed up our things to be ready for our early exit the next day. Then we spent the rest of the evening playing cards and watching 27 Dresses. Another great day.
FRIDAY
Biltmore day! We awoke early, checked out of our hotel, grabbed breakfast at Calder’s, and left for Asheville. Once we got to the Biltmore, we had some time to kill before our appointment to enter the house, so we looked around the little shops and tried to avoid the rain. Then we got in line for our audio tour. The house was as magnificent as they say. The little phones talked to us the whole time. It was very interesting to learn about G.W. Vanderbilt and everything that had gone into making that place happen. Honestly, the style was not to my taste, but it was expensive which was what made it cool. We did get to see several paintings by Monet, Sargent, and Renoir. That was an exciting surprise. The house tour was LONG. Once it was over, we ate some sandwiches. Then we walked around the property for quite some time. We were looking for the gardens, and we did find some, but I’m still not sure if we saw all of them. It was just such a huge property. The part we did see was already huge. There are literally 22 miles of nature trails. But we came across the Walled Garden, and it was beautiful. But what stole the show was the Conservatory. A massive greenhouse filled to the brim with plants of all colors. We could have lived in there. We exited into a little gift shop and then drove to the village area, where the winery was. At the winery, we got to do a wine tasting. That was a fun experience. Then we walked around the village a little bit more and stopped by the creamery for some ice cream and hot chocolate. By that point, we had sort of run out of things to do at the Biltmore (we had been there for a long time!) so we just sat in our car for a while and read about the Vanderbilts. We decided to head to the airport even though our flight wouldn’t be until much later. But we really didn’t want to spend anymore money in Asheville lol. When we arrived at the airport, our flight was significantly delayed, so we spent a lot of time there. We played a lot of cards. Once we boarded, it was almost 1 am. We arrived home at 3:30 and went straight to sleep.
It’s good to be home, but I miss the ease and coziness of a vacation in Highlands. It was SUCH a good trip. 🏞️
MEG’S FINAL FOOD RANKINGS
This is hard.
- Trout, Madison’s ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Brisket Tacos, Highlands Smokehouse ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Al Pastor Tacos, 4118 Bar
- Pork Egg Rolls with Thai Sauce, 4118 Bar
- Whatever Sandwich I Had at the Biltmore Bake Shop
- Queso-smothered Burrito, El Agave
- Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich, The Secret Garden
- Avocado Toast, Blue Bike Cafe
- Baja Wrap, Tropical Smoothie Cafe at the Airport
- Hotel Breakfast, Hilton or Whatever
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