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The Orchard Inn A Mountain Destination in Saluda, North Carolina THE ORCHARD INN IN SALUDA, NORTH CAROLINA, is a fine destination in spring, summer, or fall. Returning to the Orchard Inn is like a homecoming. It is always packed with friends, or friends of friends, from all over the South. Guests gather in the fall on comfortable sofas before the welcoming and roaring fire. The atmosphere is like a house party for adults. In spring friends gather on the porch to jog on the joggling board, and there is laughter and conviviality. The view of the mountains from the porch is framed by huge, old poplar trees. Lavender and white lilacs are abundant, and their aroma perfumes the air. The Orchard Inn complex includes the main inn and seven cabins or cottages, two of which are new. The inn was originally built in 1926 as a retreat for workers of the Southern Railway. The large, rambling house has a wonderful front porch, with bedrooms on the first and second levels. The rooms are comfortable with easy chairs, Goldilocks’s “just right” beds, and deep tubs in the bathrooms. The food at the Orchard Inn is a special treat. The setting on the enclosed back porch looks toward the South Carolina mountains. Six bird feeders are close by where cardinals, finches, titmice, and yellow orioles graze to their bellies’ delight on specialty seeds, and for the rest of us, breakfast is a two-course gourmet feast included in the room rate. There are many small adventures, such as a day of hiking down to Pearson’s Falls or biking down the Greenville watershed to Tryon. After a day of touring the Biltmore gardens or shopping at the Biltmore Village, returning to the Orchard Inn is a welcome retreat. Dinner is a masterpiece of crab cakes or filets. Jackets are encouraged for gentlemen. The four-course experience begins with a delicate soup, followed by a succulent salad. There are always two choices for the main course. My favorites are Pawley’s Island crab cakes and tenderloin cooked to perfection. Saluda is only a three-hour drive from Charleston. It has a host of lowcountry summer dwellers. Visitors know it for Coon Dog Day, when more than ten thousand folks gather to enjoy the scene. Most weekends it is a much quieter place, with diners going to the Purple Onion and shoppers enjoying the Brass Latch. On Sunday the old Episcopal church welcomes visitors. Garden lovers visit Walter Hoover’s magic garden next to the Episcopal church on Charles Street. Hoover has gone into the business of selling rare Japanese irises, but his collection includes more than seventy varieties and all colors from white to pink to lavender. The three-petal beauties bloom from the first week of May through the first week of July. 158 Discovering Garden Spots Closer to Home Back at the Orchard Inn, old friends are embracing, and new friends are sitting in comfortable sofas or swinging under the pergola, watching the sun and shadows over the blue-green mountains. When the sun sets and “Taps” sounds, one of my favorite mountain venues is Saluda’s Orchard Inn. If you go: www.orchardinn.com; innkeeper@orchardinn.com (Tel. 800-581-3800 or 828-749-5471). Several private cottages are also available, and you may book a wedding reception as well. ...

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