Thursday, August 4, 2011

An Afternoon in the Highlands

No, we didn't go to Scotland.  We did hear some bagpipe music though :-)  We spent an afternoon in a town called Highlands in the mountains of southwest North Carolina.  I really do love mountain towns, and there are lots of them dotted throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.  I haven't come anywhere close to seeing them all, but of the ones I've visited, I think Highlands is the most picturesque.

I got so many comments about the pretty churches in the post I did on Blowing Rock ("Finding Mitford"), which you can read about HERE.  I love churches as well, and for some reason, it seems that mountain churches are some of the most charming.  Highlands has a fairly small main street that runs through the center of town, and almost all of the protestant denominations are represented on this one small street.  While we were there, we saw a Baptist church, a Methodist church, a Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Catholic church.

Hubby and I didn't have a lot of time to spend there that particular day, so we were only able to photograph three of the churches, mainly because they were in closer proximity to one another.  I hope to photograph the Baptist church and the Catholic church next time around.  We also took pictures of some of the shops and the gorgeous flowers, like these pink Phlox.




We were lucky to find a parking spot on the main drag, and it just happened to be right in front of the Methodist Church.  So we took pictures of it first.  Some of the pictures in this post were taken by me, and some were taken by Mr. Forest Manor.











This building was beside the Methodist Church. 



We wandered down the street and admired the store fronts and the flowers.


Roosters galore...





One of the art galleries...




This flower bed was in an outdoor eating area between some of the shops.





This is the most gorgeous Dahlia I've ever seen!


I love the little pink flowers in the bottom right section of this picture.


This was the cutest garden shop; sure wish I'd had time to look around inside.  Check out the pink flying pig :o)




I've never seen a hanging bottle tree before -- I love this.


Below is the Presbyterian church...


This is so picturesque.  Don't you love the black wrought iron hinges on the front door, the green trim, and the shingles on the roof?  The flowers are beautiful, too.



You may have noticed a rain cloud was forming in the sky above us.  It made for a dramatic effect in the pictures.  This last church is the Episcopal church.


Such interesting architectural features ... lots of gables, arched gothic windows, and rustic shingles on the roof


For those of us who love pretty and unusual fences, this is one of the best I've seen. 




A lot of Scots immigrated here to North America from Scotland in the 18th century, and many of them settled in North Carolina.  The "Scottie" sign below is actually for a real estate agency.


This is the "Old Edwards Inn"...


...and the Highlands Inn.  Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


Another view of the store fronts...



I mentioned earlier that we heard bagpipes that day.  On our way to Highlands, we stopped in the nearby town of Franklin (another cute mountain town) to eat lunch.  Franklin has a Scottish Tartan Museum in their historic downtown district.  When we drove by the museum and parked our car, I heard bagpipe music.  A lady from the museum was standing on the sidewalk playing the pipes.  I like to hear bagpipes, but I've always thought they have such a mournful sound ... what do you think?  Maybe that's part of the appeal.



The Episcopal church again...








And the flower beds






Thanks so much to all of you who take time to visit my blog and read my posts.  I really appreciate and enjoy your comments.  I'm linking this post to Pink Saturdays hosted by Beverly at How Sweet The Sound and to Seasonal Sundays, hosted by The Tablescaper.  Thank you both for hosting these events each week; you do a great job!


Denise 

17 comments:

  1. Denise I enjoyed my visit to this quaint town of Highland. The photos are beautiful and I love all the roosters and hens. xo,

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  2. What a lovely town! Thank you for the tour!! I am your newest follower. I hope that you will stop by for a visit when you have a chance.

    Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

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  3. It's all so beautiful, Denise. I love the Episcopal Church the best, I think. I love the shape of the doors and windows. The picture of that first church's door with the bough of cedar (I think) hanging down is my favorite photo for some reason.

    It's all so pretty that I would love to visit it. (And we love bagpipe music around here, too.)

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  4. Denise, it is alovely town. We so love traveling thru these small quaint villages to enjoy. You captured the beauty of this one.

    Happy PS weekend ~
    TTFN ~
    Marydon

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  5. Happy Pink Saturday Sweetie...
    What a gorgeous share today. I so enjoyed myself on this Highland Tour. Everything is SO pretty and green and lush. I love the doors and windows at the Episcopal Church, but all was beautiful and so inviting. Would definitely make one want to walk in. So welcoming.

    Have a gorgeous Pink Saturday sweetie. Many hugs from Phoenix, Sherry

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  6. Those churches are charming! The episcopal fence is a fav!

    HPS!

    love, kelee @ www.designgivesback.com

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  7. Lovely churches....
    This was so fun, Thank you for taking us with you through Highland. I now want to go see it beyond the pictures. Lovely photos....

    Wishing you a pinkishly beautiful weekend

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  8. What a pretty town, it looks like you had a lovely day:@)

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  9. I've been to the Highlands - on our way to Brevard to visit friends. It is a lovely part of NC.

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  10. Beautiful photos of a beautiful place. Highlands is 30 minutes from my home. A town worth visiting.
    Hugs, Jeanne

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  11. Denise, this is a wonderful post. I really enjoyed HIghlands. I love old churches and the shopping looks like such fun! Have a great week!

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  12. I loved the Mitford series and I enjoyed your post. Beautiful!

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  13. So many, many beautiful photos...love the architecture, details, stained glass... And the flowers are so gorgeous...especially that dahlia.

    Blessings & Aloha!
    (...I am running here and there...catching up on blog reading...I wanted to be sure that I stopped to say thank you so very much for your kind words about the art I do, that sweet LV so kindly shared on her Pink Saturday post.)

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  14. I feel as if I was there with you. Your photos are so beautiful. Everything is postcard perfect. Love the churches and the flower pics.. xo marlis

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  15. I always love the architecture of old churches. You captured these well. And I LOVE bagpipes (my son plays them). They aren't mournful if the piper plays a jig or a march or some other lively piece.

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  16. Denise, hope you don't get this twice...I think I hit the wrong button and my comment vanished. lol Just wanted to say how much enjoy Highlands...have been there a few times. I love the picket fence with the Quatrefoil design in front of the Episcopal church...so clever! Wonderful tour...thanks for taking us along!

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS. I ENJOY READING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.

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