Tuesday Talk Time: Nature, Appalachian Mountains, and The Apple Barn & Cider Mill

Last Friday, DH and I took time off to spend the day in the mountains. It has been ages since we have done this or so it seems. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. The temperature was not bad, but the wind had a nasty nip at times.
Nothing can put me back on track then a little break from the norm. That’s what this little day trip did for me. Our first stop in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains was The Apple Barn and Cider Mill.

My photo didn’t turn out all that wonderful due to crazy me not having the settings correct, thus it washed out my picture way too much. Thankfully, my photo editor helped to salvage my not-so-Kodak moment by allowing me to adjust the exposure, offering several filter options to use in which I applied the “Maldives” effect.

Anywho, our sole purpose of going to The Apple Barn and Cider Mill was to buy some tasty apple treats to take into the mountains with us. This is something we use to do quite often when the children were small, but we haven’t done this in years. This made our trip extra exciting and fun. We walked away with a little of everything in their display counter: 2-fried apple pies, 2-slices of baked apple pie, 1-apple cinnamon scone, 1-slice of stack cake, 6-apple spiced donuts, and a cup of apple cider. Don’t judge now!

This is a marvelous spot to stroll around. When we moved to Knoxville in 1980, this place only consisted of the General store (as shown in the above picture). Over the years, they have grown quite a bit, expanding their store to include: two restaurants, a candy shop, a bakery & ice cream shop, a winery, & a Christmas shop.

We spent a better part of two hours walking browsing & tasting from shop-to-shop. It was time well spent in total fun and relaxation. Afterward ventured into the majestic Appalachian mountains where we stayed the rest of the day in the Smoky’s and on the Blue Ridge Parkway photographing the landscape. We are looking forward to our next day trip adventure!

Patrice’s Farmhouse Chat questions:

• Would you rather sit in front of a fireplace with a roaring fire, soak in a lovely bath, or spend free time on your computer? If I had a lovely fireplace to curl in front of or an old-fashion ball & claw tub to relax in, then I would prefer to do either of these. Be it as it is, then I would rather spend my time now in plastered to the computer…which I do!
• Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? For everyday chocolate eating, I prefer milk. But, dark chocolate definitely has its place in my life. You know what they say about dark chocolate. Who cares, if they are right or wrong. It gives me an excuse to indulge. 😀
• Have you ever tried a recipe from a blog or Pinterest? It seems I have tried a recipe or two from a blog, but not from Pinterest. I just haven’t gotten the knack of the whole Pinterest thingy yet.
• Do you have a guest room? If not, do you have a spare room that you use for something other than a bedroom (sewing room, office, craft area, etc)? Our spare bedroom is a makeshift junk room/office/craft storage. It’s way too small and cluttered. I really need my dream house bad!
• Is your hair curly, straight, or something in between? It’s something in between. Once upon a time, I had sorta wavy hair. Over the years, it has pretty much straightened itself out, which isn’t too my liking very much. I have such fine hair that I need the curliness to give it volume and that’s just not happening for me. *sigh*

Now, grab a cup of coffee and join me as I visit my lovelies at….

Have a terrific Tuesday!

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