Celebrating Seven Years of Marriage in Bryson City, North Carolina

Drew and I just got back from a quick getaway to Bryson City, North Carolina to celebrate our 7th anniversary. It was an amazing location to enjoy nature, drink good beer and relax with each other. A 24 hour getaway from our boys, really allows us to reconnect, recharge and be better parents and partners to each other. I cannot recommend dating your spouse enough 🙂

We started our mini vacation off by mountain biking near Deep Creek. Y’all I have never mountain biked before and was pretty intimidated as my husband LOVES to mountain bike and is extremely fast on his bike. I am a more slow and steady fan, but thankfully, Drew kept it easy for me. The trail was pretty easy (according to Drew) with only a couple little climbs. We were able to go 10 miles along the creek which made for perfect temperatures. If biking isn’t your thing, there are tons of hiking trails (including the one we biked on) that looked amazing. There is also a camp site at the base of the trail that was packed with campers and tubers. Lots of fun water adventures to be had!

We checked into our hotel, The Everett Hotel, following our mountain biking venture. The hotel is stunning, seriously worth the trip to Bryson City for this hotel. The hotel has 10 rooms with a bed and breakfast vibe; complete with a rooftop area featuring a fire pit. We loved this hotel and will 100% be back in the future. The staff and amenities far exceeded my expectations. We stayed in a corner room (room 2) with a great view of Main Street. The room was spacious and private. The hotel staff treats you to cookies/brownies as a night snack and provided plush blankets by the fire pit. I was amazed at the little details of this quaint hotel.

Following check in, we refreshed and headed for a couple breweries. Truth be told, I am not a big beer drinker, but my husband loves an IPA so I am happy to oblige. We went to Mountain Layers which offered a great view of the river along with some tasty beer and a delicious rice bowl food truck near by. We grabbed a chicken sandwich and a couple beers before enjoying some window shopping down Main Street.

Bryson City is seriously “small town USA,” complete with adorable boutique shops, local hardware stores and their biggest attraction, the train. We went to the Polar Express in Bryson City this past year and had a blast! Following our “shopping,” we went to the new location of the brewery, Innovation. The brewery has a great view of the train and we got to wave to the passengers as they went by. There is also a huge lawn space for kids to run around and play. We grabbed a seat out back and enjoyed great conversation (and people watching).

Following our self-guided brewery tour (haha!), we went back to the hotel where Drew took a nap and I got ready for our evening. The hotel was super accommodating and allowed us to drink our bottle of wine my mother in law gave us on the rooftop before dinner. We enjoyed the beautiful mountain views while sipping great wine before dinner. This was probably the highlight of our trip!

We ate at the hotel’s restaurant, which was super impressive. Seriously, this hotel is amazing (even if you don’t stay at the Everett Hotel, you should try their restaurant!). We ordered the trout cakes as an appetizer and I had their special of Scallops over grits while Drew had a black and bleu burger. It was all exceptional!

The hotel treated us to a slice of strawberry cheese cake for our anniversary on the roof top following our dinner. They seriously went above and beyond. They also provide all guests with cookies and brownies as a night “snack.”

Following our dessert and time at the rooftop, we settled in for the night. In the morning, we woke up and went on a brisk 3 mile run around the town. Following our run, we went to the hotel’s restaurant for complementary breakfast (which again was amazing–I recommend the quiche!) before taking one last stroll downtown.

While our trip was super quick, only 24 hours, we had an amazing time and soaked up all the fun Bryson City had to offer. I cannot say enough good things about The Everett Hotel and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to explore a small town in North Carolina. There really is something charming about small towns!

Do you have a small town you love to visit?