Along the Way in NC

Fuel up on healthy snacks at

 

 PIEDMONT TRIAD FARMERS MARKET

 

Exit 208, west of Greensboro. (www.ncagr.gov/markets/facilities/markets/triad/)

Kids driving you bonkers?
Get out of the car at CELEBRATION STATION!!!

Let out some of the energy in the huge game room and fuel up on pizza and other snack bar treats. Batting cages, bumper boats, go-carts, miniature golf and more!
Take exit 212, on the west side of Greensboro. (www.celebrationstation.com) #336-316-0606

After Winston-Salem, NC, the terrain along I-40 grows increasingly rocky as rolling hills herald the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Enjoy the first scenic views of smoky ridges at Morgantown.

The Appalachian vistas become even more breathtaking as you approach Marion, with the Pisgah National Forest directly to the north.

This book is laid out as if one were traveling from East to West, like the early explorers would have. As you take in the magnificent views before you, imagine their reactions as they embraced and articulated the beauty and wonder they saw for the first time. They must have struggled to find words to describe this yet “undiscovered” land; pioneers and settlers would follow, equally amazed at what they saw along the westward road. “Harsh and glorious ...;” “Raw, mesmerizing …” The views are just as marvelous today, enriched by the communities and culture created over the centuries.

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AS YOU TRAVEL ALONG I-40, YOU WILL OCCASSIONALLY SEE SIGNS COMMEMORATING THE "EISENHOWER INTERSTATE SYSTEM." THE PLAN TO BUILD THIS REMARKABLE NETWORK OF ROADS WON POPULARITY AFTER U.S. AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS AND PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER LOBBIED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NATIONWIDE HIGHWAY SYSTEM. THE FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY ACT OF 1956 AUTHORIZED THE 35-YEAR PROJECT, COSTING ABOUT $425 BILLION.

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Keep an eye out for "Old Fort", visible from I-40 (about 25 miles east of Asheville, at exit 72). Built by the colonial militia before 1776, the fort once served as the western outpost of the early U.S. It's a great place to stop for a picnic and explore the historic buildings. (www.romanticasheville.com/old_fort.htm)

As you approach Asheville from the east, be sure to stop at the:

Asheville Folk Art Center

(www.southernhighlandguild.org)

(Exit 55, to the Blue Ridge Parkway, then follow signs)

This amazing facility is home to the Southern Highland Craft Guild and showcases traditional and contemporary crafts of the Southern Appalachians. The Guild, with deep roots in the Southern Arts& Crafts movement, has helped craftspeople in the Appalachian region to display and sell their wares since the Great Depression.