app-state – Bill Torgerson

Dear Readers and Listeners,

We started off our planning for this podcast with a two-part question: If you want to get out of the house to take advantage of a beautiful summer day where you live, where do you go and what songs do you listen to on the way there and back?

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LOS ANGELES: Anne: It’s a Beautiful Day in LA, where do you go to take advantage of it?

Hike at Griffith Park, I like to park on the eastern side in my old neighborhood and then go up the side and across the ridge back down to the observatory.
Go park at Santa Monica beach and walk on the beach or the walking path all the way to Venice. Go to Abbott-Kinney and get lunch and do a bit of shopping, then walk back. Get a donut on the way back home at Randy’s in Santa Monica.
Drive on PCH to Malibu and go to Point Dume. Lay on the beach and watch the ocean. Can also hike up the hill and do a nice short walk on the cliff above.
Go downtown which is struggling a bit, but still fun things to do. Go to The Last Bookstore and peruse the aisles. Eat at the food stalls at Grand Central Market. Take a shuttle from downtown to a night Dodgers game.
Shop along Melrose and La Brea. Fav store on La Brea, American Rag Cie.
Take the train to Universal and catch a movie at Universal City Walk
Drive along Mullholland, drive on Benedict Canyon in the hills.
Go to the Getty Center or the Getty Villa, not just for the art, but mainly for the beautiful grounds.
Walk along Sunset Blvd and get a slice of Pizza at Prince Street

Anne’s LA Spots to Take Advantage of a Beautiful Day

BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA: Bill, It’s a beautiful day in Boone; where do you go to take advantage of it?

Rough Ridge Trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway

Go to Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Walk Main Street and Sunset Drive. Go to Blowing Rock Brewery. Walk around Mayview Lake. Longer walk around Bass Lake. You’re by the Blue Ridge Parkway here and not far from Moses Cone Manor, Fire tower hike, and Price Lake.

Do the Flat Top Tower Hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway across from Moses Cone Manor.

Milepost 294 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Go stand on the back porch of the manor. Look down at Bass Lake in Blowing Rock.

Drive the parkway to Asheville.

My daughter Izzy and I made a video of our spontaneous drive to Asheville here: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_torg/video/7378490239981079850
From Milepost 293 to 382. Approx 3 hour drive. Grandfather Mountain Overlook. Linville Viaduct. Craggy Gardens Pinnacle Trail.
Asheville recommendations: First timers usually go to the Biltmore. Downtown walking Lexington and around the Grove Park Arcade. Wicked Weed, Green Man Brewing. Have a drink at the Grove Park Inn. New Belgium Brewery on the French Broad River. Sierra Nevada Taproom. We like to eat at Rocky’s Hot Chicken and White Duck Taco.
Hikes near Asheville: Craggy Gardens, Graveyard Fields, Dupont State Forest.
Rafting: Skip the French Broad in AVL. Do Blue Heron Rafting, section 9 for adventure, north of Hot Springs my favorite stretch.

Go to the Valle Crucis Park

Some days there is a $5 charge to park. There’s a mile trail that goes around the park. It’s on the Watauga River and there are several spots to go wade in the river. There is a large playground, a few disk golf “holes,” a baketball court, and a volleyball net. Trees that have been damaged have been carved into various works of art.
This is near Mast Farm, the Inn, two Mast General Stores, and there’s a new convenience store with food that I have not yet been to!
I go here almost every other day!

Go to the Boone Greenway Trail

Lots of people throw down a blanket and spend lots of time here. There is a long paved trail that winds around near a branch of the New River. There are many wide open athletic fields. There’s a trail that goes up into the woods. I think there is a new skate park there. If I want to treat myself, I will drive the seven miles into town and do my run on the Greenway. My daughter spends lots of time there with her friends and they play a fair amount of pickleball.

Go to Linville Falls.

This is the largest waterfall I know of around here. You can access off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. You might want to check if it’s open after the hurricane. You can also access just off of 183 turning briefly onto Old NC 105 where there is a parking area for the Lineville Falls Trail and Waterfall.
Watch out that there is a little town called Linville Falls too. The town is something like a mile from the falls.
Bonus: take your big truck or Jeep and drive Old North Carolina 105 / 1238 along the Linville Gorge. Wiseman’s View Scenic View Overlook is the highlight.

Drive Watauga River Road.

It’s freshly graded with new gravel after the hurricane. Check out Laurel Creek Falls, known as Trash Can Falls, and the Watauga Gorge. There’s a different Laurel Creek Falls in TN and that could be confusing. You can do a nice little circle with Valle Crucis Park, the two Mast Stores, Watauga River Road, and then park to head over to the falls. Also lots of pull outs on the river where you might just go wade in the river or hang out on a rock.

Grandfather Mountain:

This is a more expensive thing to do. You can drive to near the top. There’s a high swinging bridge you can stand on. Think there is even an elevator to that. There is a rescued animals habitat that I think has bears, cougars, and elk. For me the highlight is the hike the rest of the way to the top. It’s a pretty strenuous hike with vertical ladders to climb up. Your dog won’t be able to do those. You can go for free if you’re willing to do a really tough hike from the other side of the mountain.