Found: The Perfect Summer Weekend, Part 2

When a friend accepted a job as a television reporter in Asheville, North Carolina, I promised her I’d get down for a visit. Months later, a mutual friend and I booked plane tickets. The trip turned out to be the perfect summer weekend: a little bit of city, a little bit of country, and a whole lot of sunshine. Read the first post about eating in Asheville here.

Relaxation Courtesy Lake Lure

After a full day of shopping, eating, and drinking, the girls and I were happy to spend a day in the town of Lake Lure, a forty-minute drive from Asheville. The town perches itself along the 720-acre man-made Lake Lure, created in 1927.

We started the day with breakfast sandwiches at Medina’s on the Rocks, a recently opened restaurant in the neighboring town of Chimney Rock, home of the popular Chimney Rock State Park, a great option for hiking enthusiasts with its five separate trails.

Back in Lake Lure, we rented a single and double kayak for $26 from the Lake Lure Marina, and took off toward Firefly Cove where scenes from one of our favorite movies, Dirty Dancing, had been filmed.

After our hour-long tour of the cove and lake, we had a beer with the friendly barkeep at the open-air Beachcomber, and pulled up on the beach to swim in the surprisingly warm lake. The beach area costs $8 for adults and $6 for kids, and includes two water slides, a water balloon war zone (bring your own balloons), and a play area for the little tykes. The beach is well maintained, the water is clean, and there are lifeguards every 50 yards on watch. 

Later on, satisfied with our newly minted tans, the girls got cleaned up, and drove five minutes up the road for dinner at Larkin’s on the Lake, a lovely spot overlooking one of the fingers of Lake Lure. We enjoyed a meal of salmon, shrimp, and chicken, and finished it off with the light and chilled Strawberry Wave, Larkin’s version of strawberry shortcake.

Our final stop was the local Tiki Bar.

And when I say local, I mean local. The staff we had seen throughout the day at the beach were all there, and some stopped by to say hello.

Hanging out by the pool, listening to “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” we drank light beer and ended our fabulous summer weekend on one more high note.