I’m taking the occasional break from food on Sundays to talk about family, traveling, and other stuff that tickles my fancy. If that’s not your thing, feel free to scroll on by. We’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!
Welcome back to our Fall 2015 epic road trip adventure! Last time I told you about our visit to The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina and today we’re talking about climbing Glassy Mountain at The Carl Sandburg Home.
So, I lamented about our Biltmore (lack of) chicken debacle on social media and Meg suggested we try The Carl Sandburg Home if we enjoy animals and outdoors and free activities (which we do!). Carl Sandburg was a famous author who retired with his wife to a goat dairy farm a little ways outside of Nashville. The goats are known for being super friendly and the home is at the base of Glassy Mountain.
See the Instagram pictures from our trip HERE!
We didn’t tour the house because it was being renovated and the ranger said things weren’t very kid friendly – which was no issue for us as we were there for the goats and hiking! The property is beautiful, it’s about a quarter mile up to the house and farm area and then there are a few hiking trails to choose from. We picked the longest which went all the way to the Glassy Top lookout.
“Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, located at 1928 Little River Road near Hendersonville in the village of Flat Rock, North Carolina, preserves Connemara Farms, the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and writer Carl Sandburg.
Though a Midwesterner, Sandburg and his family moved to this home in 1945 for the peace and solitude required for his writing and the more than 30 acres of pastureland required for his wife, Lilian, to raise her champion dairy goats. Sandburg spent the last twenty-two years of his life on this farm and published more than a third of his works while he resided here.”
There actually were a handful of chickens which made Stephen (and Nicholas) so very very happy. They were in a pen, but still better than nothing. Goats on the other hand – oh my! The goats were roaming about in two large penned areas. I’m going to keep saying this, so I apologize in advance, but the area was just beautiful. Hilly and grassy with mountains in the background. Made me think of The Sound of Music. Love.
Meg wasn’t kidding when she said the goats were friendly. They cheerfully ate fistfuls of grass from the kids hands and would even plop down into your lap if you sat in the in the grass. Which, I didn’t because – goat poop. But several other visitors did and it was hilarious! These aren’t tiny goats, they’re big ‘ol mama goats.
After chicken and goat visiting, we (washed our hands thoroughly then) enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grounds. The weather wasn’t cold like I had hoped for, but it was lovely and at least not hot. The kids think picnicking is the BEST THING EVER, so it was a total parenting win.
Following lunch we set out to find the Glassy Mountain lookout point. The ranger advised us not to do the long hike (it was a little over a mile each way and someone steep for kids) – but we’re pretty regular hikers, so we went ahead and did it.
Woah. Talk about a workout. Hah! I had Nicholas on my back and Wesley carried Jo most of the way (in fact she slept in his arms the whole trip back down the mountain). The trail wasn’t scary steep, but it you could sure feel it in your calves!
The end game was worth it though, the lookout is beautiful and some hikers reached the top a little bit after us and offered to take a family picture. Might just be my favorite shot of the trip!
In the evening we explored downtown a bit and had intended on trying the White Duck Taco Shop (also recommended by Meg). Sadly a tour group beat us there, so we wandered a little further and settled on Farm Burger. The ambiance was fantastic and the waitstaff lovely, food was solidly good and I super appreciated that they cooked the burgers exactly to your liking!
Entry 1: Fort Pulaski in Savannah, GA
Entry 2: The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC
Entry 3: The Carl Sandburg Home in Flat Rock, NC
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