Hey Guys!
As most of you know by now, we spend a lot of time in NC!
My parents own a cabin near Murphy, so we’ve been going to NC for years.
We really enjoy the small, quaint town of Murphy, as well as all the other surrounding areas.
The past two times that we have visited Murphy, we rented a cabin because we wanted a hot tub. My parent’s cabin doesn’t have one and we really enjoy having a hot tub when we go on trips.
Both times, we rented this cabin.….it’s about a 20 min drive from Murphy.
It’s a 2 bed, 2 bath cabin with a full kitchen and a living room. It has a huge deck that wraps around half of the house and part of it overlooks the mountains.
And our favorite thing, a hot tub!
We left early on a Fri morning…it takes approx 4.5 hrs to get there from our house.
After arriving, we headed to one of our favorite restaurants in Murphy called ShoeBooties Cafe.
I had the grilled Mahi-Mahi over linguine and the hubby ordered the prime rib philly…both were delicious!
After lunch, we headed to our cabin.
The view of the mountains from the deck
We ended up spending the rest of our evening at the cabin enjoying the hot tub.
The next morning, I enjoyed some time in the hot tub while my hubby prepared our breakfast.
He’s such a good cook!
After breakfast, we headed to Blue Ridge, GA...it’s a 35 min drive from Murphy and a 27 min drive from our cabin.
We visited Blue Ridge for the first time last year….we couldn’t believe that we had never heard of it after all the years we had been going to NC!
Blue Ridge is a really cool place! It’s full of shops and restaurants and you can take a ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway from here!
Blue Ridge was ranked by Southern Living Magazine as one of the 2021 South’s Best Mountain Towns, and 2019 Top Small Mountain Towns for Retirement.
After arriving to Blue Ridge, the first place we headed was, the Rum Cake Lady Cuban Cafe.
Mu hubby and I fell in love with rum cake after we tried some in the Cayman Islands a few years ago.
We discovered the Rum Cake Lady last year when we first visited Blue Ridge and purchased some of her rum cakes….they were delicious and she makes gluten free cakes too!
We arrived around 12:30 and there was already a line….the place also serves authentic Cuban food so it gets really busy.
We purchased a total of 7 cakes and it left us about $50-60 poorer but it was worth it!
After purchasing our rum cakes, we decided to look for somewhere to have lunch.
We ended up settling on a restaurant called Harvest on Main.
The inside of the restaurant was really cool!
I ordered the fish of the day over rice and a chickpea stew and my hubby ordered a fish sandwich.
My meal was average as it lacked flavor and my hubby said his was pretty good.
After lunch, we walked around town and went into some of the shops.
After waking around for a while, we decided we would get some ice cream.
We went into the Chocolate Express and ended up ordering chocolate and ice cream!
I ordered a scoop of cookies and cream and moose tracks….So good!
After our ice cream, we walked around for a little bit longer and then decided to leave and drive around for a while.
I spotted this mural in Blue Ridge as we were driving.
Later that evening, we had planned on eating at Comfort Grub in Murphy but when we arrived, they were closed…they had very limited hours so check all restaurant hours before you get there!
We ended up eating at a very small, family owned restaurant called Herb’s Pit BBQ..
We honestly didn’t expect much when we arrived …not only did the restaurant not look like much but they were also short staffed.
I ended up ordering prime rib and baked potato and my hubby ordered a bbq sandwich with fries.
We were pleasantly surprised as the food was really good!
After dinner, we headed back to our cabin and enjoyed watching the sunset from the hot tub!
The next morning, my hubby cooked us fruit pancakes and bacon for breakfast.
After breakfast, we headed to Helen, GA.
We’ve been to Helen several times…it’s a very neat place to visit.
Helen is a bustling alpine village set against a scenic backdrop of mountains, forests and river banks, you’ll feel as though you’ve been transported to the cobblestone streets of Germany’s famed Bamberg or Lindau as colorful shops dot the landscape and the heavenly aroma of authentic German fare takes to the breeze.
Click here for 4 nearby waterfall hikes
It was definitely bustling the day we visited!
When visiting Helen, if you keep driving through the town, you will come to the Nora Mill Granary, the Jumping Goat Coffee Roasters, the Nacoochee Village Antique Mall, the Habersham Winery, the Hardman Farm Historic Site, the Sautee Nacoochee Indian Mound at Hardman Farm, & more restaurants.
Here’s a shot of the Indian Mound
We have yet to take a tour of the Hardman House but we will one of these days.
Once we passed Helen, we stopped at the Nacoochee Village Tavern & Pizzeria for lunch.
This place is so good! We’ve eaten here before so we wanted to come back…they have gluten free pizzas too!
We got seated outside on the patio…
We both ordered our own 10′ pizza because I ordered the gluten free crust.
My hubby ordered the carnivore and I can’t remember what I ordered but both were delicious!
After lunch, we drove back through Helen.
As we made our way back to Murphy, we spotted a pullover near Blairsville, GA.
So, we pulled over to check it out…it was called Hogpen Gap.
Branching off from the Appalachian Trail, this lookout has a long distance view of the North Georgia mountains. It is one of six “Gaps” of North Georgia.
Click here for hikes to nearby waterfalls
After spending the day driving, we headed back to the cabin.
Once we arrived, we decided to enjoy one of our delicious rum cakes out on the deck.
The next morning, I enjoyed left over steak from the night before along with some scrambled eggs.
After breakfast, we headed to Harbor Cove Marina in Murphy, to pick up our pontoon boat that we had rented for the day.
We have rented boats several times while in NC and we always rent on Lake Hiawassee...it’s like having your own private lake!
We’ve rented from Mountain View Marina and they are great too but they don’t give you an anchor so you’re chasing your boat all day if you get in the water so that’s why we’ve been renting from Harbor Cove.
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 lake is surrounded by the Nantahala National Forest, and offers spectacular scenery.
Shortly after heading out from the marina, we spotted a bald eagle!
The owners of the marina told us they had a nest close by ….
After being on the lake for a couple of hours, we decided to have lunch.
We always bring a ton of food when we are on the lake because, for some reason, we stay hungry all day! ; ) 
After lunch, we rode around the lake admiring all the gorgeous lake homes!
We had perfect weather for a day on the lake!
While riding around, we spotted a snake in the water.
Glad I wasn’t in the water or I would have probably drowned!
After spending all day on the lake, we headed back to our cabin where my hubby prepared us hamburgers for dinner.
The next morning, we checked out of the cabin and had planned on eating at our favorite restaurant in Murphy...the Chophouse.…but, sadly they were closed.
So, we decided to head home and stop at a restaurant along the way.
We ended up stopping at the Ocoee Dam Deli & Diner.
The restaurant didn’t look like much and we didn’t really expect the food to be that great but, once again, we were really impressed!
The inside was really neat….the floors were painted to look like water since the restaurant is located so close to the Ocoee River.…a place that is known for their white water rafting.
They offered a wide variety of food….from burgers to catfish, they had a ton of options!
I ordered the grilled chicken tenders with mashed potatoes & fried okra and the hubby ordered a bbq wrap with fries.
The food was very good…after my hubby ate his lunch, he ordered a fried cherry pie. He said it was it delicious as well.
After lunch, we headed home.
Thanks for reading!