We found ourselves wanting and needing a few days away at the end of a long summer. However, we didn’t have the money to invest in a major vacation, especially anything that involved plane tickets, restaurants, rental cars, or high-priced attractions. After some searching, we figured out that as attractive as Shenandoah National Park was (four hours from us), it wouldn’t fit the bill this time around. Instead, we headed off to Grandfather Mountain, Boone, and Blowing Rock, NC, two hours further from our house. In the end, it was exactly what we were looking for–a simple, but highly satisfying family vacation.
Settling In
For our accommodations, we chose to rent a rustic cabin nearby. A cabin with a full kitchen would most easily meet our need to eat gluten and dairy free. And the promise of cool mountain air enticed us, coming from hot, sticky Virginia Beach in mid-August. A four-day break from the coastal humidity sounded pretty much heaven sent.
We’ve had more elaborate vacations. This one, economical and marked with simplicity, will go down as one of our favorites.
Our First Vacation Bonus–Meteor Shower
For one thing, not only did we arrive during the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower, our cabin was situated at a high enough elevation to be out of the light-polluted areas. We pulled chairs outside our cabin doors to watch the free show. That was nearly worth the ticket price of the vacation before we had even seen anything yet in the way of attractions.
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Mining for Gems
Our first stop near Blowing Rock’s downtown was a fun, family-owned business called Doc’s Rocks. There you can order a bucket of any size, up to a full wheelbarrow, of mined sediment and rocks coming from three states. Outside you sluice it in a trough to get all the big pieces out. Any rock you find is yours–and that can be anything short of diamonds: emeralds, rubies, sapphires, aquamarines, amethysts, etc. An employee us that one fortunate customer walked away with a huge ruby that was later cut and sold for $113,000! That anecdote convinced our kids that we would strike it rich that day (spoiler alert: we did not).
The best part about Doc’s Rocks was that after the sluicing, you take your gems inside to have your stash examined by a geologist. Your kids get a mini lesson on rocks (homeschool field trip?), and you don’t have to guess what your finds actually are.
One of My Best Vacation Souvenirs Ever
One of our rocks big enough to be cut started as a nondescript hunk of aquamarine. The staff can’t provide any guarantees on cutting a rock or any estimates on the size of the stone you might end up with. It’s possible you may not even end up with a usable stone at all. We decided to take a chance on it. The opportunity to walk away with a personal and unique souvenir was too inviting not to at least try. And this is what we picked up a few days later at the end of our trip:
A place like Doc’s Rocks (or one of the other similar gem mining companies in the area) might just be ideal for an out-of-the-box thinking couple who’d like a unique, non-diamond engagement ring. They could purchase a wheelbarrow load of mining material and probably end up with several hunks of rock large enough to cut into something. Neither would know ahead of time what type of rock she would end up with for her ring. What a story one day for the grandkids!
“The” Rock at Blowing Rock
Near Doc’s Rocks lies the famous rock that gave the town its name. Although glad we visited, we found the actual rock a bit disappointing compared to the price a family pays to see it. Nonetheless, it was fun to do once since we were in the area, and it did produce some memorable pictures.
Easy Access to the Blue Ridge Parkway
The downtown of Blowing Rock, bustling with coffee shops and boutiques, sits next to the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. After doing some souvenir shopping, we entered the parkway, one of our favorite drives. We soon came to the Moses Cone Memorial Park. The weather was ideal to take a stroll on the trails by the mansion.
Grandfather Mountain
Part Wildlife Refuge
For several hours the next day we visited Grandfather Mountain, a perfect attraction for a young family. Grandfather Mountain, among other things, is a wildlife refuge. We met their two black bears, one with surprisingly brown fur (although still genetically a black bear, not a grizzly).
Mile High Swinging Bridge
After admiring the animals, we moved on to hike up the trail to the Mile High Swinging Bridge at the top of the mountain. There is practically nothing boys like better than very large rocks to climb.
Boone, NC: Gorgeous Hiking
The final day of vacation beckoned us to great outdoors in beautiful weather. Tackling some further long hikes through the mountainous countryside, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend our day.
Our few days in Boone showed us that a simple but satisfying family vacation is often also the sweetest. What has been your most surprisingly wonderful getaway and why? Comment below and share/pin post!
Our family loves visiting Boone too! It’s such an incredible place to escape to, especially in the fall.
This looks way fun! And what an awesome souvenir!
So much fun. I still love looking at my souvenir ring.
What a great looking getaway. Love the mining for gold and that you took your stone and made a ring – how fun! We just did some rock finding with my grandkids – weren’t as lucky and yes, found plenty of fools gold. But beautiful scenery. I think my favorite is the fire in the early picture – anxious to have a fire going. Thanks for sharing.
Our cabin was so cozy and delightful. And yes, I’m ready for fireplace weather too!
Great post! I have been to Grandfather Mountain and enjoyed it. You’re right, that mile high bridge is fun to explore from but not as daunting as it seems. I’ve never heard of Doc’s Rocks – that sounds like an awesome idea for a budget engagement ring!
The whole area has so much to offer. We truly loved it.
That looks like a great trip! I love Doc’s Rocks, it is a perfect learning experience!
It was the perfect combination of learning and fun. Loved it.
Looks beautiful! How lucky that you got to see the meteor shower! And my kids would LOVE getting all those gems!
My kids love gems. And the thought of possibly striking it rich really made it for them. Too bad we didn’t…
What a fun adventure! I love your ring, the aquamarine is gorgeous! I would love to visit Doc’s Rock!
It was a wonderful place–perfect for grandchildren, too!
I love this! I was thinking of planning a trip up to North Carolina and this got me really excited because I love hiking!
Then you would love this area. Truly fantastic!
Great information. I put it on our bucket list. Thank you for sharing.
I hope you get to go one day!
Wow, there looks like there is a lot of things to do in this area. I love the hiking views and the bridge!
The views were magnificent!
This is just the sort of vacation I’d enjoy – beautiful outdoors, cozy cabin, lots of things for the kids to do.
Yes, we truly had an outstanding time.
It seems to me that you guys had the kind of trip that your kids will always remember! Sometimes they don’t need to big and grand to create those forever memories đŸ™‚ Looks like a great time was had by all.
I agree. Simple is often better, especially when it comes to kids!
A great family trip where you end up leaving with a beautiful ring sounds like my kind of trip. Thanks for sharing all the pictures. I live in SC so I am adding this to my list.
I hope you get to go! South Carolina isn’t too far anyway (and a fantastic state itself!).
What a fun family getaway! I love the engagement ring idea.
I think that would be so cool for any couple!
This looks like such a fun trip for the whole family!
It was a fantastic trip for all!
We have a place to mine for gems near us, and we love it! Looks like you guys had a great time!
I had no idea how much fun mining for gems could be. Took me by surprise!
Sounds like an area we would love to visit. Beautiful pics and beautiful ring!!
Thank you! I love wearing my ring still. Brings back great memories.
Wow, the views are amazing! My family would really like mining for gems
That was surprisingly one of the most fun things we had done in awhile. Hope your family gets to enjoy it too!
Wow!! This sounds like our type of vacation!! Loved that you got a very unique souvenir from the trip as well! Will be pinning for sure!
Thanks for repinning! It truly was a fantastic vacation; great for families.
This looks like fabulous, well spent family time! Good for you trying something new and different! The cabin looked cute!
We loved the cabin and would like to do more of that type of vacation in the future.
Holy cow the views are amazing! And my kids would love looking for gems! What fun!
I loved this adventure!!! I pinned for later! What an amazing piece of aquamarine! We live close to the Shenandoah National Forest. I am planning a trip to North Carolina now!!
Thank you for pinning! I do hope you get to go soon. We loved it there (and love Shenandoah, too!).
Boone is definitely on my list of stops when we eventually make the big loop roadtrip!
Love the fireplace in the cabin – looks very cozy, and like a fantastic trip away.
What a wonderful place to visit! I loved your photos.
What a fun trip! And I love that ring. It’s the perfect memento.
Boone brought back amazing memories! Mining for gems is a fun activity for the whole family. I love the right. What a perfect memento.
What a cool place to explore!
My husband and I moved to NC about a year and a half ago and we absolutely love hiking. So far, we’ve only down Crowders Mountain and South Mountain, which are relatively close ( 45 mins – 1 1/2 hours) from Charlotte. These views are so stunning, though. We have it on our list to venture out further, so this might be our next destination for hiking. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for reading! When I wrote that post, I lived in Virginia. Now we have just moved to South Carolina and can’t wait to get out and explore more places in both Carolinas. Such a great part of the country!
What a great trip! I have been wanting to check out this area for some time – I may have to add it on to an upcoming road trip!!!
We love to mine for gems! Thank you for the suggestion in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Looking forward to finding amazing stones.
Your photos are great! I LOVE that you got a pretty ring with a great story!!! What an awesome souvenir.
These look so fun!! Gonna pass it along to my husband and see what we can work into the summer schedule!!
Hello Kristin! Our family lives in Charlotte, NC and we absolutely love Blowing Rock, NC. It is, by far, my favorite place to get away to. I’m glad that you found Moses H. Cone and Bass Lake. We have made that hike many times and love walking around the lake as well as fishing there. One of our favorite things to do is buy either ice cream or fudge at Kilwins and sit on one of the benches at the stoplight in downtown Blowing Rock and people watch. Looks like you all had a great time. Also, I was born in Newport News, VA. a long time ago. Great post!
Wow! So we lived in Virginia Beach at the time I wrote that post but now (very recently) live in South Carolina. We plan to go back to the general area and will definitely look into your suggestions. Such a beautiful area!
It looks like a beautiful area. I love the cabin you stayed in. Plus, you will always have the ring as a special memory of your trip!
This looks like an amazing trip! We will definitely be adding this to our list of places to visit!
It looks like a fun activity mining for gems in the Grandfather Mountains. And, to end up with the aquamarine ring, it’s so stunningly unique.