Last week, Charles and I took a trip to the western part of the state. I had a board meeting in Sylva, NC on Friday, so we decided to make a little getaway out of it. After spending the day in Sylva on Friday, we headed to Asheville to tour the Biltmore Estate on Saturday. It was the perfect little reprieve from our crazy busy lives, and just what we needed!
Sylva is located between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Smokey Mountains, about an hour west of Asheville. Downtown Sylva has so much more to offer than I ever would have guessed!
The Jackson County Courthouse, which can only be described as majestic, sits up on the hill and overlooks all of downtown Sylva. It was built in 1914, and converted into the public library just 5 years ago after an extensive renovation. You can also find the Jackson County Genealogical Society, the Jackson County Historical Association and the Jackson County Arts Council inside.
Get ready for photo overload…I couldn’t get enough of this gorgeous building!
We got a little workout by climbing all 102 steps to the top. We may or may not have sang Eye Of The Tiger and jumped up and down like Rocky.
Sylva has one of the cutest downtowns I’ve seen. We found several bookstores, coffee shops, vintage stores, and places to eat. It’s amazing how much they have stuffed into this tiny little main street.
Here are a few of the places we visited…
Signature Brew – Excellent coffee!
Evolution Wine Kitchen – Our group had lunch here. I had the nutty fruity salad and it was delicious!
Lulu’s on Main – Charles grabbed lunch here while I was in the meeting and he said it was great.
Guadalupe Cafe – We ate dinner here and it was lights out! I had nachos with slow roasted pork, and Charles had the adobo pork tostado (can you tell we’re barbecue lovers?) and we both ate way too much. So yummy!
Baxley’s Chocolates – We stopped in here for a sweet treat, and I’m so glad we did. Best chocolates ever! The story behind the shop was pretty special too.
Innovation Brewing – This place was awesome. The porch and beer garden are really nice. I had a wheat sour that hit the spot.
Papou’s Wine Shop – We just stopped in here for a minute to grab a bottle of rose…duh. Super cute shop, and you can stay and have a glass too.
Sassy Frass Consignment – I could have spent way too much money in here! It’s a good thing Sylva is 6 hours from home and we took the Jetta, otherwise I might have some new furniture.
This adorable house is now the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center.
Oh, and did I mention we took a little trip over to the casino in Cherokee? Neither of us are big on casinos, but we figured we probably wouldn’t be 5 minutes from Cherokee any time again soon. Let me just tell y’all…it was some good people watching!
Here we are playing our first slots.
So that’s our trip to Sylva. Short and sweet, and lots of fun! Stay tuned for our Biltmore Estate recap tomorrow.
Have you been to Sylva? Where have you been visiting lately?
What a lovely town…but who thought that 102 steps uphill to the courthouse was a good idea?? My word…I’m a lawyer…I’d try to settle all my cases if I had to deal with those steps everyday(!) What a fun trip. Love the photos. :)
Ha! My calves are still sore! But the view was worth it :)
I’ve heard great things about Sylva, but I haven’t ever visited. Loved seeing the photos! You definitely can’t miss the courthouse with it sitting up on that hill :D
You should go! It’s beautiful! :)
You can also drive up the hill right past my house and park by the courthouse/library, or walk up Keener Street which is a slope to the library. Locals and tourists go up
the hill and down the steps or vice versa for daily exercise.