Riverbend RV Park – Lake Toxaway, NC Oct 2, 2012

We love being able to tow the Honda behind Winnie, but figured it would be best to unhitch and have me drive the car following Dave from Twin Lakes to Riverbend. We had our first taste of steep, curvy roads in the RV. Dave handled it well, I followed in the car and prayed. Seriously. It’s a little nerve wracking to follow behind and see him picking up speed going downhill with sharp turns up ahead! I’m ok now.

As we got into Cashiers and then Lake Toxaway, we exchanged a few ooh’s and ahh’s on our walkie-talkies as we passed beautiful mountains, lakes and streams, oh my!

Riverbend RV Park is exactly what we pictured from their website. Cozy and quaint, quiet and private. A ‘mom and pop’ place. We parked at what would be our new location for two nights, site 6 (7 and 8 are great too!). It backs up to a wonderful stream (which we later discovered) you can hear peacefully gurgling as you drift off to sleep.

At check-in we were told they ring a bell at 5:00 and everyone meets at the gazebo for ‘happy hour’. We set up camp, took some photos, then headed over to the gazebo as the bell chimed. We didn’t know what to expect, so we brought some wine and homemade beef stew I had made. We were hungry and figured we could share too! We were thrilled at how friendly everyone there was. We made some fast friends. Everyone there had stayed for at least 2 months, some 4 months! Some had been coming there for almost 30 years!

Wes drove us all around the property on a 4 passenger ATV. It truly was a little slice of heaven!

Tim and Dave do similar work so they chatted it up! We talked for quite a while with our ‘next door neighbors’ and Kathy told us which waterfalls to see and loaned us a hiking/waterfalls book. We told everyone we would definitely be back…and we will stay longer!

Even after all the socializing, we still had some daylight so we headed out to explore. We saw some beautiful lakes and just enough fall leaf color to excite us! We were still hungry so we stopped at a little place called the Cork and Barrel in Sapphire. Dave couldn’t stop talking about how good his dinner was… Cajun pork tenderloins with mango chutney. Next door was the Cork and Barrel Lounge which has fantastic cheesecake!

The next day we packed so much in! We visited two waterfalls: Looking Glass and Whitewater Falls, and somehow we managed to visit four little towns as well: Brevard, Waynesville, Sylva and Dillsboro. They were all charming, but Brevard and Waynesville were larger and had more shops and cafes. The weather was cool enough to enjoy a spiced pumpkin latte in Brevard, but not too cool to enjoy lunch outdoors in Waynesville. The Patio Bistro had fantastic wraps and to-die-for homemade soups.

We found another Mast General Store in Waynesville and had to stop in as it is one of Dave’s favorite stores. So many cool places, not enough time!

We started our day with Looking Glass Falls and capped it off with Whitewater Falls (below), then headed back to relax at our cozy campsite.

Since we packed so much site seeing in the previous day, we opted to get up a little late and have a leisurely morning, packing up while visiting with our new friends. Oh, I should mention, Riverbend's showers are fantastic! A long, hot shower hits the spot on a chilly morning, especially when our RV shower has warm water that does not last long!

Well, once again, we are off and running (cue the Willy Nelson music)! Next stop, Vogel State Park in North Georgia. Our neighbors who live across the street from us highly recommend it.

Until our next stop…

Blessings~

Misi and Dave