Visiting Walhalla

Recently, Jay and I visited Oconee State Park in Pickens County. With its Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)-era cabins, lakes, trails and waterfall, it is a great mountain getaway. One of our favorite things about visiting state parks is their location. We always find great quirky places to visit on the way.

On our way into the park, we stopped in Walhalla, known as the gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The mountain town was founded by German immigrants in 1850.  It has a quaint main street lined with antique shops, cafes, and local businesses. We had lunch at Joanne’s Sweet Shop & Café and a look around. If you are vegetarian-leaning like I am, don't bother with lunch, unless you are looking for a grilled cheese sandwich (The menu said it would be provolone and swiss, but it ended up being American). On the plus side, they do have a delicious assortment of sweets. Jay and I tried the macaroons. Yummy! 

At Oconee, we stayed in cabin #9. Unfortunately (or fortunately, we aren't sure yet), it was not a cabin on the lake.  Rather it was a secluded cabin to the north of the park. The cabin was one bedroom, with a small kitchen, dining area, and a fireplace. There was also a screened in front port with rocking chairs as well as a grill and fire ring outside. For more about this trip, see Jodi's post about visiting state parks.  

On an overcast, drizzly afternoon, we set out on the quest for maple syrup (which I forgot). We visited the Dollar General and a number of country stores in the search. There was no maple syrup to be found, but Jay did find a 12 pack of 1960s recipe Schlitz cans. We visited a number of antique stores, but didn't find anything we couldn't live with out this time around. 

We stopped in Bottom's Up, the liquor store on Main Street. The shelves were stocked with flavored vodka and schnapps. The also had a large selection of mini bottles. The store owner offered to sell us bottles that we could take outside for a nip. We didn't take him up on this offer, but we did buy a few bottles to warm us up during our rainy day hikes. Our favorite was the Jim Beam Black Cherry Red Stag.

On the way home, we stopped off at Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls.  Issaqueena Falls is a beautiful waterfall with easy access. According to legend, the falls are named for an Indian maiden, Issaqueena. She warned the white settlers of an Indian attack. While being chased by the Indians, she appeared to jump over the falls. Instead she hid behind the falls (or some legend-tellers say she hid behind a stump, hence Stumphouse Tunnel), tricking her pursuers and surviving.

Down a path a short way, there is the entrance to Stumphouse Tunnel. Construction of the tunnel started in 1852. It was designed to connect Charleston to Knoxville and eventually on to Cincinnati, yet the Civil War—and lack of funds—brought the construction to a halt. While there were various efforts by the Blue Ridge Railroad to revive the tunnel, none of them came to pass and it stands today as a monument to the efforts of pre-Civil War engineering.

After working up a bit of an appetite stomping around the National Forest, we stopped at Bantam Chef for a fish sandwich. You can't miss it with the rooster on the roof.  It has a small indoor seating area with about 4 booths. It was really crowded at lunch time while we were there making it a great place to see Walhalla's locals.

On our next trip to Walhalla, we plan to check out the Civic Center. Originally the Walhalla Graded School, it is a historic building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now being used as a music hall and they are scheduling a wide variety of performances. There are also a couple of festivals. While much of the original German influence is gone, the town hosts the annual Oktoberfest. They also celebrates Hillbilly Day on the 4th of July. One of these days we'll make it back to check out some of these events.