AlexisSpringtime is a wonderful season to take a trip up to the mountains. Mike and I love to take a weekend to the mountains around March and April. The temperatures are starting to warm up and new growth begins in nature. Unfortunate for us, this is also the prime time for spring allergies to kick in, so we have to be prepared!! A few weeks ago, we trekked up to the mountains to enjoy a weekend alone in an Airbnb cabin. I wanted to give a review for anyone who may be looking at a weekend trip to the mountains in southwest North Carolina.
Originally, we both had it in our heads that we were going to Asheville, NC. At least be close to it. We planned to spend the day in Asheville getting food, walk around, and just enjoying the freedom of the city. Asheville is more of an eclectic city with a lot of free spirited people. I could certainly see us living near there one day. Unfortunately, our cabin location is nowhere near Asheville. It’s over an hour away just outside of a small mountain town called Zirconia.
Mountain Town of Hendersonville
Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the town of Zirconia. It’s a very small unincorporated town with nothing to do. The one good thing is the population is fairly sparse, so you get to enjoy the view of the Appalachian Mountains. We enjoy sitting out on the decks and listen to the birds chirp, the wind blow, and embrace the joys of springtime in the mountains, naked.
Since Asheville is too far away, we drove into Hendersonville for the day on Saturday. Hendersonville, NC is a quaint little mountain town with an amazing Main Street downtown. While walking down Main Street we popped into a couple wine tasting boutiques, bought some overpriced wine, and made our way to a restaurant on the strip.
Shine
Looking around Main Street we popped our heads into a couple of small shops looking for a place to eat. Some of them were doing private dining or no seats were available. Our next stop is the restaurant Shine.
Shine restaurant in Hendersonville, NC, stands out as a very inviting dining experience, perfect for both casual drop-ins (we were in shorts) and special occasions. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant is very warm and inviting, we feel right at home from the moment we walked in. The menu is impressive, with a lot of offerings…the pretzels with beer cheese are amazing!! The one thing we really enjoy are their cocktails—they are unique concoctions that are as delightful to sip as they are to look at! My choice is the Mint Julep (Makers Mark, Mint Syrup), and I Mike’s choice is a Margarita!
The service at Shine is commendable; the wait staff are attentive, knowledgeable and very kind with a sense of humor. My entree of choice are the crab cakes. This has always been one of my go to plates if it is on the menu. The crab cakes at Shine are full of meat with just enough filler to hold them together. Mike’s choice is always an 8 oz Filet Mignon. Who can blame him, it’s an excellent choice for a cut of steak. If you’re ever in Hendersonville and looking for a dining experience that combines great food, delicious cocktails, and a welcoming atmosphere, Shine is certainly worth a visit. A word of warning though…some of the menu items are expensive, so don’t be alarmed when you check is $75-$100 per person.
Remember to sign up and use your Chase Sapphire card to earn 3x points toward nude vacations. We use ours every day and will redeem the points we earn for another trip to Jamaica. This time we’re going to Couples San Souci!
Mountain Wine Tasting
The one thing we love about Western North Carolina are the mountain wineries that flow along the rolling hills. There are so many to choose from and the beautiful scenery of the mountains surrounding them are a quite a sight. Along with those wineries come opportunities to taste the variety of deliciousness! While walking along the streets of Hendersonville, we made our way into a local wine bar called Bear Falls Wine.
Bear Falls bolsters their own line of wines but they also have plenty of stock from surrounding wineries in the area. You can try a flight of five (5) wines from different sweetness ratings across eight (8) different local wineries. These include some hard ciders as well. One of our favorites is the blackberry wine. One of our favorites is the blackberry wine from Twisted Vine Winery! It had the perfect blend of blackberry mixed with a sweet red wine. We ended up leaving with three bottles and a few more to spread the palette out some.
Mountain State Park During Springtime
We can’t go to the mountains without going on a hike! We strap up our hiking shoes/boots and make our way to the Dupont Recreational State Forest to do the Triple Falls Hike. Unlike most visitors, our path of choice is to take the short hike to the covered bridge (35.19225° N, 82.61352° W).
The bridge is right before the river cascades down the side of the mountain. The air was crisp and the wind put an even cooler bite to the air. Our main goal for making this trip is for a forest photo shoot in the nude. Unfortunately, the number of people hiking put an end to our forest nymph escapades. We are trying to make picture sets for you all, but the circumstance is never ideal.
Mountain Cabin
Thankfully, the cabin, while not fully secluded, still has a lot of privacy for us to get in the hot tub naked together with our new drinks. Sitting in the hot tub while sipping wine is truly a relaxing event. The hot jets keep you warm and massage your muscles from a long hike. The feeling of my naked body being hugged by the swirling is enough to put you to sleep. Unfortunately, the hot tub stopped heating and our second dip didn’t last very long since it was cooling down.
Thankfully, the cabin itself boasts a wonderful fireplace that heats up the entire cabin with no problems. We are able to be completely naked without getting cold, and the few times we get cold our robes are always nearby. Check out the short (0:33 second) video of the walk through.
There are two bedrooms and two baths with very comfortable beds and the master bath has a beautiful tile shower and a deep bowl sink. There’s plenty of room for a family of four or you can take a couple of friends with you. We have four kids in the house, so we like to get our peace and quiet and don’t want anyone with us when we take our weekends away!!
Cabin Drawbacks
An unfortunate drawback to the cabin is it’s not secluded. While there are privacy fences near the hot tub, there are a number of neighbors who are close by. Venturing out naked limits you to the hot tub and maybe the car if it’s parked a certain way. There are a number of driveways that split off the main driveway. During the week this means residents coming home after work are usually one after another. The nighttime isn’t bad since there are no street lights and it’s really dark.
Cooking items were a bit dated and very cheap. I don’t expect someone to put all new and expensive items in a rental home, but both the wine openers broke on us. It’s not fun digging a cork out of a wine bottle. Also, the cabin is built on an asphalt drive and the kitchen requires a step up for plumbing under it. This puts you really high compared to the bar and requires bending over a bit to reach the bar from the kitchen side. This isn’t a deal breaker but a minor inconvenience if you’re tall like Mike is.
Final Thoughts
The cabin is very nice and very well done. It looks like the owner converted a three-car garage into a large cabin. There are three large french doors roughly the size of garage doors. There’s nothing wrong with this, but the initial design is not one of a cabin. For someone who loves to go clothes free, I would not recommend this cabin. While it is wonderful if you’re clothed or plan to stay inside, but if you’re like me and you like to sit out or walk around naked outside, then you will be disappointed.
I wish the owners of the cabin we stayed in last year still had theirs open. I would recommend going there, but sadly it seems to be off the market on Airbnb. If it ever comes back on I will post the link for you.
Also, if you enjoy the content I create and I have helped you in someway, please consider a small donation to help cover the cost of hosting, new equipment, and new trips to create content for you! Much more to come, so be sure to add your email to my newsletter list!!
I love the NC mountains. I like finding a cabin secluded enough to be nude at all times. Last cabin was perfect and I only dressed when going to town. I enjoyed the hot tub and grounding nude.
Hi Brian! Thanks for reading and commenting! We normally look for the most secluded cabins when we visit the NC mountains. If you have suggestions, please drop me the link to the Airbnb! Our goal is to find a very secluded cabin with a lot of land to move/retire to. Once all the kids get out of the house and we can both find remote jobs, we will likely go move there before we retire!