Appalachia & Beyond: Newport's 25th Annual Harvest Street Festival and Carver's Apple Orchard and Restaurant

It was the last day of our annual unplugging, of course we had plugged back in to a certain extent when we got back from camping. With it being the last day of the holiday, and the kiddo was out of our hair, Wifey and I decided that we would head over to Newport, Tennessee for their 25th Annual Harvest Street Festival. The weather was beautiful and after the drive up to Erwin the day before we knew we would see some sites regardless. Besides, downtown Newport is a nice little town tucked away in the Smoky Mountains and right next to Cosby, where we rent a cabin for a weekend getaway every year.

So it was off to the festival to check out the crafts and goods, as well as look for good shots with the camera. I don't know if you know this or not however if you read the blog, or at least look at the pictures, then you can possibly ascertain that wifey is a bit of an amateur photog. I swear, if she wanted to, she could be pro in a heartbeat. I'm sure it's more the pictures than my writing that keeps everyone coming back.

Anyway, we spent a good hour or so at the festival walking around, taking in the sites. We even spent 2 dollars on some wonderful necklaces. That's right, we got 6 necklaces for two bucks. That's a bargain, a deal, maybe even possibly a steal. Of course the trip wouldn't be complete without checking out the main act that was performing this year. Mountain Edge, a bluegrass foursome, that apparently has quite the following. To be quite honest, they played exceptionally well. I can see why they have the following they do. By their last song, they had a few ladies up and out of their seat, clogging and dancing away. It was definitely worth the ride all the way out there just to see that.

With the festivities rapidly winding down, we decided to skip the festival food and look for something a little more appetizing, after all we were at a festival the day before and had funnel cake then. So we headed in the direction of Cosby, hoping to find something suitable to fill our bellies with, when we found ourselves in a familiar area. It was minutes later that we happened upon an apple orchard that we've passed several times in the past in our travels through Cosby, but were never able to stop before because it was either too late or off season. Today was different though. It was our lucky day. We happened to come across the Carver's Applehouse Restaurant and Orchard with a few hours of the business day left and a bit of money we felt we could part with, not to mention some hungry bellies.

Upon pulling in, we were amazed to see a little candy store, a produce market, and the restaurant. In addition, they had some really nice photo opportunities. Tons of interesting items around the orchard not to mention the orchard itself, right there with the Great Smoky Mountains as its backdrop. So we stopped in the candy store and there was a nice selection including Dolly Parton Choco pops. While we didn't indulge ourselves with those, we did grab a little bag of choco covered peanuts and a nice assortment of taffy. The nice lady at the counter even threw in a sample of cookies and cream fudge, which I might say was to die for.

Quite a few pictures later and we were headed to the produce market to check the different varieties of apples and gourds they grew at the orchard. If I remember correctly, the orchard has over 40,000 hand grafted apple trees and grow well over 40 types of apples almost year round. That's a lot of apples. After a bit of browsing, we decided on a 1/2 peck of Mount York apples and a 1/2 peck of Jonathan Apples, both of which are really good, and I'm still waiting for that apple pie wifey is planning on making.

Satisfied with our candy and apple purchases, it was time for some dinner. Into the restaurant we went, and the atmosphere couldn't have been more pleasant. The table we got was next to a window with a wonderful view of the orchard and a wonderful sunset playing out over and behind the mountains. The restaurant was very clean and the staff quite friendly. We placed our order and instead of bread or something like most restaurants bring out, they served us some hot apple fritters, apple butter, and a small cup of apple cider, all of which was absolutely scrumptious.

For supper, wifey ordered the veggie plate complete with mashed taters, pinto beans, green beans, and cinnamon apples. I ordered the BBQ sandwich with french fries. Of course we shared our meals with each other and between the two plates we had ourselves one fine meal and at a reasonable price.

With our bellies full, and our bounty in the trunk it was time to head back to the homestead and rest before rejoining society and the daily grind. I must say that it was truly a wonderful vacation/unplugging. It was definitely needed and we had an absolute blast spending time together as a family. I hope you enjoyed reading and seeing our adventure through words and pictures.

Don't worry there will plenty more out of doors adventures to come. You forget, Autumn is our most favorite time of year. However, I may throw you all for a loop with the next blog entry and start sharing some of our experiences in turning our homestead into a farm. At the moment we are in full swing of a small project to build a wood shed out of used wood pallets. I plan on posting our progress here. After all, it is an out of doors adventure/project. Oh and there will be other adventures coming soon as well. I can promise you that. Until then...

Happy Trails and God Bless,
Tim and Robin

A few more pics to delight the soul...