Hey Guys!
As some of you know, we were planning a trip to Yosemite for this past July….we had our airfare, hotels, rental car, etc booked and were ready to go…however, on the evening before we were to fly out, I got sick so sadly, we had to cancel. 🙁
Unfortunately, I have an autoimmune disorder called Hashimotos and at times, it flares up and can put me out of commission for a few days.
Thankfully, after a couple of days, I was feeling better so we decided to head to NC for a few days.
We chose an area that we are very familiar with and one that I have blogged about many times before, Murphy, NC.
We found a cute little cabin in the woods and the only dates they had available were the dates we could go so it was meant to be!
We rented a 2 bedroom/2 bath cabin for 4 nights from Mountain Country Cabin Rentals....we rented this cabin.
We left out on a Tues morning and once we arrived, we headed to ShoeBooties Cafe for lunch.
We had never eaten here before but after reading the reviews, we wanted to try it out.
Since they didn’t have any gluten free options besides salads, I ended up ordering the scallops over angel hair pasta. It was delicious!
After lunch, we headed to our cabin.
The cabin was located uphill at the very end of a gravel road….you would definitely need a 4×4 to make it to the top if there was snow on the ground or a lot of rain.
There were a few other cabins around but ours was completely blocked by trees.
We absolutely fell in love with this cabin…it was so cozy & comfortable. 
We loved the that it had a covered porch, a hot tub & a fire pit in the yard!
So, after we got settled in, we spent the evening in the hot tub.
We had a small view of the mountains from the front porch.
The next day, my hubby prepared us a delicious breakfast…we decided we would eat on the front porch…so peaceful.
After breakfast, we decided to head to a place that we had never visited before….in all the years that we have been going to NC, we couldn’t believe that we had never been to the small town of Blue Ridge, GA. It was only a 30 min drive from Murphy.
Blue Ridge was ranked by Southern Living Magazine as one of the 2020 South’s Best Mountain Towns, and 2019 Top Small Mountain Towns for Retirement.
You can take a ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, following the Toccoa River to the town of McCaysville. Hike to a local waterfall on the Appalachian Trail, tube or kayak the Toccoa or go whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River.
There is so much to do in this area.
Once we arrived, I immediately fell in love with this small, quaint town.
There were so many cute shops and restaurants. The train for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway could be booked right in the middle of town.
We spent the day walking through the shops looking for our usual t shirt & coffee cup souvenirs.
My hubby had to get his pic with the town bear 😉 
We passed the Sweet Shoppe of the South Bakery…this bakery was the Season 6 winner of Cupcake Wars on the food network so we just had to try one of their cupcakes!
Our cupcakes barely survived the ride home….they didn’t offer gluten free so I just had a small bite & honestly I wasn’t overly impressed…they were good but I’ve had better.
Next, we spotted a place that my hubby just had to go to…it was called the Rum Cake Lady. 
My hubby & I visited the Grand Cayman Islands a few years ago and had their rum cake and my hubby loved it. So, when he saw this store, he just had to go buy some rum cake!
This place not only sells authentic rum cakes but it’s also a restaurant that serves authentic Cuban Food….see the menu here.
I can’t tell you how excited I was when I saw that she also made gluten free rum cakes!!
After spending the day in Blue Ridge, we headed back to the cabin. My hubby had planned on grilling burgers for us for dinner so we had to get back so he could get dinner started.
My hubby cooking in his makeshift apron….lol!
The burgers were so good! Thankful I have a hubby that likes to cook. 😉
For dessert, we had one of our rum cakes and let me just say, the Rum Cake Lady has perfected her recipe for gluten free rum cakes…they were delicious!
The next day, we headed out early because we had a rented a boat so we could spend the day on the lake.
Just about every trip we make to NC during the summer, we spend at least one day on the lake.
We rented from Harbor Cove Marina this time but we usually rent from Mountain View Marina….but sadly, they were booked up when we called.
Harbor Cove was ok but their boats were much older than Mountain View.
There aren’t many options for marinas because Lake Hiwassee is a smaller lake. However, it’s the only lake we will rent on because it’s like having your own private lake and the views are gorgeous!
Lake Hiwassee is surrounded by the Nantahala National Forest, and offers spectacular scenery. The lake covers 6,090 acres with almost 180 miles of shoreline; it measures 22 miles long and more than 200 feet deep in places.
The water in this lake is so clear and clean!
We even spotted a bald eagle while we were on the lake!
After spending a few hours on the water, it was time for lunch.
We bring so much food when go out on the water because, for some reason, you just seem to be hungry all day!
After spending all day on the lake, we headed back to the cabin where we spent the evening in the hot tub!
The next morning we, once again, enjoyed breakfast on the front porch.
After breakfast, we decided we would just get out and drive around to some of the small towns that we had never been to.
We drove through McCaysville, Copperhill & Ducktown.
Unfortunately, we didn’t do any research on any of these cute little towns or we would have known that in McCaysville you could take a picture of yourself standing in two states at once, GA & TN.
McCaysville also has an old steel bridge that was built in 1911.
In Copperhill, the largest copper deposit was discovered in 1843 and by 1860, 1,000 miners, smelters, laborers and supervisors worked in the Ducktown, (Copper) Basin. Worker villages and historic mine structures can be found in Ducktown, Copperhill and Isabella.
Ducktown, TN is the gateway to the Cherokee National Forest. A wealth of hiking trails, wildlife and Ocoee River rafting draw visitors to the area each year.
I ordered the salmon and the hubby ordered the Seabass….so good!!
After lunch we walked around the cute town of Murphy….I loved all the flowers!!
A veterans memorial in the middle of town
It was called the Harshaw Chapel.
Built in 1858, Harshaw Chapel was built of locally made brick. It still stands on the original site on Church Street. And it is one of the oldest church buildings in Cherokee County, the oldest building in Murphy and the oldest brick structure in the county.
The town appeared to be remodeling the inside of the church
Some of the grave sites dated back to the 1800’s.
Abraham Enloe is buried in the cemetery at Harshaw Chapel. Enloe is rumored to be the biological father of Abraham Lincoln.
After our stop here, we headed home.
Thanks for reading!!