A 4-year-old is happy pretty much anywhere Mom and Dad take him, but the treasures of the parkway make for a great weekend.
Kayden grins at Jumpinoff Rock Overlook in Glendale Springs, North Carolina, along the parkway.
Memorial Day weekend is generally spent at the beach for most families, but this year we decided to do something different. My husband and I are the worst trip planners. We wait until the last minute to plan anything for vacation, but it always ends up creating some of the most memorable trips, and this one wasn’t any different. I began calling around Friday afternoon—yes, Friday on Memorial Day weekend—to try and find a place to stay for the weekend. I lucked out and found the coolest cabin in a campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Fancy Gap Cabins & Campground. Neither Joe nor I had ever been to the Virginia part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and it was only about two hours from our house, so we loaded up after work and headed that way. The couple that owns the campground was so friendly and allowed us to check in late Friday evening. We made our way to the cozy cabin and settled in for the night. Kayden—who was 4 at the time—was so excited to have our own little cabin to “camp” in for the weekend.
Kayla Adams
Kayden and Joe check out the river along the Round Meadow Overlook, looking for fish in the water.
We started out Saturday morning by getting on the Blue Ridge Parkway and just driving, without knowing exactly where we were going; we stopped at all the overlooks and interesting sites as we traveled down the parkway. Kayden is big on being outdoors, especially when it comes to going on an adventure and hiking. At Mabry Mill in Meadows of Dan, Virginia, we spent a good bit of time here letting Kayden explore the waterwheel house, the old building and the beautiful flowers that were in bloom. When we left there, we started back on the parkway toward Fancy Gap again. At the Round Meadow Overlook we got out for a brief hike. The trail was a moderately easy one; only about half a mile round-trip. We came across a river, and Joe and Kayden went down to explore it while I hung back to take pictures. As we were finishing the hike, the rain set in so we made our way to Hillsville to finish off the day with dinner before retreating back to the cabin for the night. We managed to make it back to the cabin in time to watch the sunset over the Blue Ridge Parkway from the front porch of the cabin.
Kayla Adams
Kayden and Joe explore the historical buildings at Mabry Mill.
Sunday morning came quickly and we needed to plan our trip back home. With Kayden voting for more hiking and sightseeing, we decided to head back towards North Carolina on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some of our favorite stops were, of course, the Cascade Falls and Moses H. Cone Park. We did stop at one place called Jumpinoff Rock and hiked to the overlook. If you ever want to see a breathtaking view, this is where to go. The hike was a little longer than we anticipated, but Kayden toughed it out and the view made it all worthwhile. We continued our way down the Parkway until we reached Boone, and ended our trip at the Dan’l Boone Inn for an early dinner before heading two hours back home.