Whittier, North Carolina is a small town situated in the west corner of the state. Whittier is located on the Tuckasegee River, between Bryson City to the west, and Dillsboro upstream to the southeast. It is a very small town; the 2020 census showed 25 people lived there!
We headed to Whittier after work on 30 Dec for a nice little weekend getaway for the New Year. A way to reboot and get ready to start the New Year with intention and positivity.
We found a cute little AirBnB Lark’s Cove Cottage located there.
We woke up Saturday and it was raining, so we headed to get breakfast and some groceries for the weekend.
We went to the Casino in Cherokee, but you have to be 21 to get in, so we had to regroup; Isabel is only 20.
We went back to the house and played board games.
On the way to Highlands for dinner, we had to stop at Dry Falls. It was more stunning than I have ever seen it. There was ice and snow around the falls. You couldn’t walk behind the falls, like you normally can; it was gated off due to the icing conditions.
We got to Highlands early, so we of course had to get our favorite ice cream at Kilwins, then we did a little shopping before our reservations at Wild Thyme at 5:30 pm for dinner.
After dinner we headed towards Sylva for our escape room reservations.
We booked the escape room, Whiskey Runner at 828 Escape LLC at 8:00 pm. 828 Escape LLC is located in Sylva, NC
Whiskey Runner is 9/10 on the level of difficulty.
In Whiskey Runner, Doc Williams, the famous bootlegger, has made his special brew in the mountains of Western North Carolina for years. To this point, no one knows where his lucrative operation is located!
Can you locate the base of his operation and claim the reward for its whereabouts?
We escaped, but barely, and with extra clues.
Sunday, our crew woke up and 3 of us went hiking. We chose an easy trail since the kids aren’t much of hikers (one of them stayed at the house even).
We headed towards Bryson City to hike Deep Creek Water Fall Loop in Smoky Mountain National Park. It is a 2.4 mile easy loop trail with 3 waterfalls.
After our hike, we did a little shopping in Bryson City and then headed back to the cabin for lunch.
After we got freshened up we headed to Maggie Valley.
On the way to Maggie Valley, we stopped at SoCo Falls. There is a viewing platform or you can hike a really steep path down to the bottom. We were dressed non-hiking gear, so we decided the platform was far enough.
There weren’t any decent places in Maggie Valley that were open to eat, so we went to Waynesville for lunch. After lunch we headed back to Maggie Valley for our reservation at the Puzzle Room
We booked the escape room The Treasures of Kamu III at Maggie Valley Puzzle Rooms at 4:30 pm. Maggie Valley Puzzle Rooms is located in Maggie Valley, NC.
The Treasures of Kamu III
Difficulty: 1,2,3,4 and 5 (This room has a progression of levels as explained in the description below.)
Political unrest is threatening this archaeology lab near the Great Pyramids in Egypt. Insurgents are destroying buildings as they ransack the city, and they have no regard for history. Your goal is to rescue the Pharaoh’s treasures before the insurgents destroy the building. Unlike any other escape room that Maggie Valley Puzzle Rooms has developed, this room has five levels. Participants will start at level one. As you solve clues, you will get to level 2. Then, you continue working to get to level 3. Keep solving the clues, and you will hopefully make it to levels 4 and 5.
We only made it through Level 3. The room was quite confusing and like no other escape room we’ve done. It was very challenging, obviously since we only made it to level 3.
By the time we finished, it was already past our reserved time for Tube World, so we headed straight there to get to snow tubing. It was a lot of fun!
The next morning it was time to head home.
Until our next adventures!
XOXO
-S