Brevard North Carolina Real Estate Blog

One of the newest places on the restaurant scene in Brevard, NC is
ED Boudreaux's Bayou Bar-B-Que.
If you like your BBQ freshly smoked and served up with fresh-made sides like creole baked beans, sweet potato fries, collards, or andouille cheddar grits, then you're going to love this place. It opened on July 5 at 20 McLean Rd. just a bit west of Ingles grocery store.

We stopped in for lunch recently and I'm looking forward to going back soon. I ordered the Applewood Smoked Pulled Pork and since all the BBQ platters come with two sides and Texas toast I went for the andouille cheddar grits and the collard greens. Being from the south, I covet good collard greens and these were, hands down, some of the best I've had in a long time. The pork was tender and juicy and if the  7 oz version isn't enough you can step up to the 10 oz portion. Husband Robert ordered the Cowboy Reuben, a great Boudreaux twist on a traditional reuben. The smoked beef brisket with creole mustard, mayo, cheddar, and sauerkraut was piled thick on Texas toast and required two hands and lots of napkins. We would order either of these again, but I can't wait to try some other favorites like ribs, the Fried Green Tomato Po'Boy, or the Sloppy Swine, a pulled pork sandwich smothered in creole sauce, cheddar cheese, and coleslaw on a French roll. Other BBQ platters include smoked beef brisket, smoked chicken, smoked jumbo chicken wings, short ribs, and spare ribs. Whatever you order, you can top it off with your choice of 14 different custom sauces at the "sauce bar". There are varieties of traditional BBQ sauce in varying degrees of heat, of course, but I couldn't resist also trying the jamaican jerk or the rajun cajun.

Even the appetizers get the Boudreaux touch including red bean hummus, BBQ nachos which are nachos smothered with, what else but, your choice of pulled pork, beef brisket or smoked chicken along with plenty of cheddar cheese and sour cream.

If you're a vegetarian, a BBQ joint probably isn't high on your list...but ED Boudreaux's menu has plenty of meat-free choices like the Avocado Melt, Grilled Veggie Po'Boy, a smoked Tempeh Reuben, a Black Bean burger, and more. Plus there is a good variety of salad choices if you're looking for something on the lighter side.

The restaurant at ED Bourdreaux's opens at 11:00 am Monday - Saturday and at noon on Sunday and serves until about 10 pm. The bar area is open till 2:00 am.The building is handicapped accessible and there is also outdoor seating so you can enjoy the great NC weather. There is a second location in Asheville, but we're real glad they're here in Brevard. You can visit them online at edbbq.com, or give them a call in Brevard at 828-883-5598. But if you really want to know what makes ED Boudreaux's so good, you just have to go there! Tell them the Clay Team sent you.

 

 

 

The third annual "Serve it up for SAFE" tennis tournament is set for September 19-21. This tennis event is a wonderful opportunity to play tennis at the Brevard Tennis and Athletic Club, Brevard, NC's premier tennis and fitness center, and help raise money to benefit victims of domestic violence and abuse.

According to SAFE, last year's event raised over $10,000. This year's event promises to be even bigger and the funds will go to support SAFE's new and larger shelter.

SAFE is a non-profit organization that provides free services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Transylvania County. They provide food, shelter, counseling, and court assistance for victims of abuse and sexual assault.

This year's event kicks off with a reception at the Brevard Tennis club on Friday, September 19. Play starts Saturday morning and will consist of doubles events for adult men and women. Players will compete by rating categories, but if you don't have a USTA rating, you can self-rate and still compete. It is a single elimination format with a consolation bracket. Prizes will be awarded to winners in each rating level. Plus, all players will be entered into a Grand Prize Drawing for a tennis racquet of the winner's choice, courtesy of the tennis club. A light breakfast and lunch are included in the registration fee of $35.00

You can learn more about SAFE and the upcoming tennis tournament by visiting SAFE online or by calling 828-885-7233.

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For more information about the Brevard, NC area, including Brevard, NC real estate, visit the Clay Team online at www.brevardncproperty.com

As you make your plans for September, be sure you include the annual Mountain Song Festival on Saturday, September 13 . The doors open at noon, and the event takes place from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the famed Brevard Music Center. The 1,800 seat, open-air auditorium is the main stage for the festival where music greats including Del McCoury have performed in the past.

According to the event website, "Mountain Song Festival was created to bring the best in acoustic music including bluegrass, old-time, folk and traditional mountain music to our community and to further encourage music in our everyday lives. Mountain Song strives to promote cultural tourism and environmental awareness for a positive impact on our community. Mountain Song Festival was inspired by our youth. It will help fund the Boys and Girls Club of Transylvania County and also facilitate educational opportunities for children and adults."

This year's line includes Steep Canyon Rangers, Cherryholmes, Tim O'Brien, and featured guest Sam Bush. It's a great event, for a great cause. Check it out at www.mountainsongfestival.com

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For more information about the Brevard, NC area, including Brevard, NC real estate, visit the Clay Team online at www.brevardncproperty.com

Western North Carolina is a haven for all kinds of artists. In the Brevard area alone there are dozens of galleries and studios that showcase our arts community. But if you want to find Eddy Hoots and his special brand of art, you'll need to head out 20 minutes west of Brevard towards the Lake Toxaway area. Look for him beside the bend in the road just before Toxaway Falls. That's where you'll find him hard at work under the shade of the trees and alongside the chiseled mountainside, creating his chain saw carved bears.

Eddy Hoots found his passion for chain saw carved bears nearly twenty years ago during a trip to Montana with his father. "They're on every corner out there and I just had to have one" he says. Hoots has been fine tuning his art form ever since and now makes a living carving bears in various locations around western North Carolina, including one of his favorites spots along Hwy.64 in Lake Toxaway.

Although he admits that sometimes there's more talking than carving going on, it can take a full day to carve even the smaller bears and many more to create the larger,  more complex varieties. It will be a while before the bears find a home, though. Experience has taught him that it can take as much as a year for the wood to season before it can move on to the finishing stage where the surface is burned to create the rich dark color. From there it's brushed, varnished, and lastly brought to life with marble eyes. It's a family affair and Eddie's wife and two children each play a part in the finishing process. Even the youngest member of the Hoots family, Eddy's 5 year-old son helps out with the varnishing.

Like any artist, Eddy is particular about the type of material he likes to work with and luckily for him, local white pine is his favorite. "Most times my wood finds me" thanks to the local builders who provide him with a constant supply of pine trees for him to work with. The soft wood is perfect for sculpting the smiling faces and all the life-like details that make Eddy's bears so irresistible.

According to Eddy, his best selling bears are the ones he's designed to hang on the side of a tree or along a porch railing. But it's the loveable, life-size bears that draw the traffic at the Lake Toxaway location. In the summer and fall months, when visitor traffic is at its peak, there's a steady flow of cars pulling into the gravel parking lot where Eddie and his bears have set up shop.

Which of the bears is Eddy's favorite? It's the one he keeps at home; the one he bought years ago on his last trip to Montana with his dad.

If you're ever up this way, traveling the mountain roads around Brevard, Boone, and Blowing Rock, keep you eyes open for North Carolina's own, Eddy Hoots and his Bear Den. Or, you can always visit Eddy and his bears online at the Bears Den.

It's been an abysmal year so far in real estate so when the opportunity for a little R&R came my way, I had to think about it. On one hand, I needed a break from the day to day stress. On the other hand, when you're budgeting your pennies, spending a couple of hundred dollars on anything other than the necessities requires a second look.

In the end, my sanity won out and on Friday I left for a 35 mile bicycle ride with 14 other women affectionately known as the Biker Broads. We range in age from 48 to 70-something and nearly all share a passion for tennis. But this annual trek to Creeper Trail in Abingdon, VA is as much about the ride as is it is about spending time with this amazing group of women. Last year, the Biker Broads numbered 21, but because of various scheduling conflicts, this year's entourage was slightly less in numbers, but not any less fun.

Creeper Trail was once part of the Virginia-Carolina Railroad Company and connected Abingdon and Damascus, Virginia. The concept of a railroad began as early as the 1880's but it wasn't until 1900 that it became a reality. Then, in 1977, the railroad track was dismantled and over time it was transformed into the popular recreational trail that it is today.

We split the 35-mile ride into two days and at the end of the first day, we make no bones about the fact that joints hurt, muscles are sore, and we all acknowledge that a bicycle seat, even when it's called a "comfort seat" is not our friend. In between the two rides there's plenty of shopping, napping by the pool, eating and partying.

Each day, as we guide our bikes along the trail, sometimes we ride side by side where we can talk and enjoy the incredible surroundings and comfortable companionship. But other times, the path narrows and we ride single file. The similarity between this bicycle ride and life is not lost on me. On this ride, as in life, there are times when we ride alone, doing our best to navigate a sometimes narrow and challenging path. But in front, are the women who have gone before us, showing us the way; pointing out the stones and divots that can trip us up. And behind us are the women who "have our back" in the event that we should falter.

At the end of this year's trip we all gathered at a park near the bike shop where we had a picnic before splitting off into our various car pools and driving the 3 hours back home to Brevard, North Carolina. The long picnic table was filled as we feasted on the snacks and goodies that we had all brought along to share. But more importantly, along with "pass the pimento and cheese", and "who has the chicken salad?", were the memories and friendships that had been formed over the past two days. 

Over the next year all our lives will change, just as they changed from the year before. And today, I'm back to work in the whacky world of real estate. But I will retain the memories and the sense of solidarity I have found with this special group of women and will look forward to next year when the Biker Broads hit the trail once more.

Mountain creeks, gentle ridge line, private wooded surroundings, and all within 10 minutes of Lake Lure, North Carolina. These 15 acres have so many possibilities! The land is 100% usable so with multiple building sites, it would be a great spot to build vacation rental cabins, or a family compound. The gentle lay of the land also makes it suitable for horses.

Of course, the location is terrific! Only 10 minutes from the Lake Lure.

For more information about this acreage or other western North Carolina information, give us a call at 828-551-6291 or visit the Clay Team online today!

You can live in the beautiful area around Brevard, NC for under $250,000! This is a great home located only minutes from Brevard in a quiet wooded community. Make it your year round home, or seasonal residence. It's absolutely move in ready. And don't miss the huge garage with a built-in workshop area. Plus, there's an additional, heated workshop below! There are three bedrooms and two baths so it's perfect for families, young couples starting out, or folks who just want size down and enjoy the quiet. Call today for your personal showing.

The other night my husband Robert and I went to a neighborhood restaurant for a bite to eat with some friends of ours. Jimmy Macs is on Hwy 64 in Cashiers, NC, just before the cross roads at Hwy 107. It's the kind of place that I  love to go to for dinner when I don't feel like cooking. The food is reasonably priced and consistently good.

When we were there this particular nite, we got a little extra something with our dessert. Our friend introduced us to one of the servers, and told us that he was a great magician. So we humored our friend and watched a couple of card tricks. They were pretty cute, but he won't be seen in Las Vegas anytime soon. Before we left though, he did one more trick that I'm still trying to figure out.

He began by tearing a sheet of paper in the three smaller pieces, then he said he was going to ask me three questions. The first question. Pick a number between 1 and 10,000 and hold that thought. The next question he asked was who I went to my senior prom with. (That was a long time ago and I had to stop and think about it.) Again...he said think of the answer and hold that thought. The third question he asked was whether I preferred red wine or white, and to again, hold that thought. Then, he went back to the first question and asked me again to pick a number between 1 and 10,000 and to hold that thought. He didn't say a word, but wrote what he thought my answer would be on the first piece of paper. Then he repeated the second question - who did I go to my senior prom with. By then, I had changed my mind and had a different name. Again, he wrote his answer on the second piece of paper. And on the third piece of paper, he wrote down if he thought I would choose red or white. Each time, he would take the piece of paper, crumble it up and hand it to me to hold, then he would ask me to say out loud what my answer was so everyone would know it.

Now here's the spooky part. He asked me to open my hand and uncrumble those three pieces of paper. The first one said "White". Wrong answer. I had said "Red". He said that he was convinced the right answer was red, but had talked himself out of it. (sure, buddy!) But, the second piece of paper said "22". Bingo! It was the right answer. Now, no matter much of a trickster  he was...no matter how good a guesser he was, picking the right number out of 10,000 possibilities was impressive. I opened the third piece of paper and it said "Mike". Right again! Once more...out of all the names in the world, how did he know the answer was Mike...plus I had changed my answer half way thru.

Needless to say, I was impressed. I had never met this guy before in my life and I would have been impressed if he had gotten any of the answers right.

If you can tell me how he did this, dinner is on me at Jimmy Macs!

 

Our otherwise lovely weekend here in the mountains was punctuated with sadness on Saturday morning. My husband Robert was in the backyard watering some plants when he discovered a motionless baby squirrel on the ground, curled up in the leaves. A gentle nudge elicited a slight movement as the furry little guy drew his body up tighter into a fetal like position. His fur was cold to the touch but I could see him drawing small breaths. A rescue mission kicked into gear. Robert found a small box and I found some rags. We picked the baby squirrel up gently and brought him inside where we had created a cozy bed for him in the box. We covered his little body with another layer of towels and placed it all under a lamp for additional warmth.

Years ago, Robert's father raised a baby squirrel just like this one. The squirrel grew up healthy and was very much a part of the family until meeting his demise by chewing through an electrical cord. As we watched our baby squirrel, and talked about his dad's experience, we were like young parents, going so far as to name our "baby" Rocky.

With Rocky resting comfortably, I went to the Internet in search of information about what to do with baby squirrels. Robert remembered his dad feeding his squirrel with an eye dropper, but what do baby squirrels eat? I learned how to tell if a baby squirrel was dehydrated and that you should never try to feed one until their body temperature is a normal 99-102 degrees, and is re-hydrated. I learned that you should never feed baby squirrels cow milk. Instead, the choice is either Pedialyte or another product designed for young puppies.

We checked on Rocky every few minutes and were surprised to see him moving about, his head popping up as if he was trying to orient himself to his surroundings. When we first found him, his eyes were closed and we assumed he was either sleeping, or had slipped into a bit of a coma from the trauma. But now, as his little head bobbled around, his eyes never opened. According to my scant research, I had also learned that baby squirrels don't open their eyes until they are around 36 days old. Rocky appeared to be breathing better now, though his body still felt cool. So we found a heating pad, turned it on low and put it under half of Rocky's bed in hopes that the warmth would reach him soon. I had learned that by putting the heating pad under only half of the bed, it would prevent overheating the young squirrel.

We watched Rocky for a minute or two, optimistic that his movement, his improved breathing, and now a cozy, warm bed would surely bring him back from the clutches of a certain death had we never found him.

But sadly, it wasn't meant to be. Not five minutes later, young Rocky laid still in his bed. We gently stroked his soft fur to see if he had simply drifted into a deep sleep. I held him in two hands, raising him up and down like you do with newborn puppies who have stopped breathing. Nothing worked. Rocky's life was cut short in less than 36 days.

We buried him in a nice soft spot under the rhododendrons in our back yard, near the tree where we had first found him. Had he simply fallen out of his nest accidentally, or had he been pushed out by the mother squirrel? We'll never know for sure. But at least he died in a warm bed, surrounded by people who cared. In the end, we should all be as lucky as Rocky.