Pineola, NC Rally – Trip Day 4 - Roan Mountain & Little Switzerland

The group plan for Day 4 was to start with a visit to Grandfather Mountain State Park but I could not interest my girls in going and it would have been more walking than I wanted to do so we made an alternate plan for ourselves.  After not being there for 10 years, we made the 20 mile drive to Roan Mountain, TN for breakfast at the Smokey Mountain Bakers and Wood Fired Pizza for breakfast.

It hadn’t changed much from the front but had doubled in size on the inside to provided more room for tables.  In the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives vernacular, this would have to be a dive or a dump aspiring to be a dive.  But the service was prompt, the food was good, and the prices were reasonable – my two eggs, home fries, local sausage, and toast (from their bread of course) was $9 and the girl’s biscuits and gravy was $5 – menu at thislink.  Since it was nearly the 11am pizza time, Bev ordered a Supreme to go for some breakfast meals later in the week and it was very good.

From there we made a loop through Elk Park, Banner Elk, which has grown a lot since our skiing days at Beech and Sugar mtns, Linville, and back to the campground.  Elk Park statue.

The highlight of the rally for me was our supper trip to Little Switzerland, NC which I had been wanting to visit for years.  It was about a 30 minute drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway from the campground and the Switzerland Inn is just off the road.  There are some other businesses at this exit, but the Inn is the main draw.  Originally constructed in 1911, it was rebuilt into it’s current state in 1961 and is family owned.  Here is a web shot of the back.

It's easy to see why folks want to stay there and it is all kept in first class condition, the employees are all super friendly and helpful and their service was excellent.  And did I mention the views.

They had pushed several tables for our group of 14 and our single server did an excellent job.

The menu  covered a wide variety of choices and the prime rib was the specialty according to our server.  I ordered the Ahi Tuna and it was perfectly prepared and delicious.

There were two glitches with the meal though.  Since we were eating outside in cool weather the food was not hot when it got to the table and it was quickly cold – didn’t affect my rare tuna meal though.  The other glitch was that half of us were done eating when the others got their food so I guess we overwhelmed the kitchen.

After eating, most of the group moved down to the next level to enjoy the views by the fires.

A final thought for the Inn – Bev and I definitely want to go back and spend a couple of days – I believe the rooms begin at $189/nite.

I would say that this was an outstanding day for me and it alone was worth the drive over here.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

05/10/22 event date