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CASHIERS, N. C. – This is a busy outpost in the spring, summer, and fall—a place where there are spectacular views, unlimited recreational options, good food, and good times.

There are waterfalls, rhododendron, honeysuckle, deer, black bear and moonshine if you want your kicks home made.  You can sit by a fire year ‘round, cozying up to stone fireplaces that render blessings after blessings as you count them.

You can sit on porches with a variety of sounds that make you grateful that none of those sounds are cacophonous bleatings of rush hour traffic.  This is where you come to get away from all that. 

When a fireplace does not beckon, there are walks in the woods which soothe and mollify your emotions as you interact with nature and wildlife.

What I like is that with all the high-end construction that brings about homes which elevate the Jackson County tax base, the dominant feature remains outdoor living—for one and all.  It would be difficult to find an environment more inviting than here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Internet says that Cashiers is a growing place having advanced from 157 residents identified by the 2010 census to a whopping 657 the last time one was taken.  Cashiers is the seat of Jackson County which has a population of 40,271.

Thanks to hospitable friends, I have had the opportunity to spend time here over the years at places such as Sapphire Valley, Highlands, Mountain Top, High Hampton, Wade Hampton, and Chinquapin.  

Cashiers has many upscale shops, there are good restaurants about and all roads lead to a lively social and an occasional black bear sighting.  Every host seems to be expert on the grill, but if you choose to pick a secondary kitchen, be sure and find time for “The Cornucopia.”  

It has a high-ceilinged open-air atmosphere where the food is varied and good.  “The Corn,” as locals call it, has a history that suggests that the creator must have had wanted to share his handiwork with those who favor mountain living.  You might even connect with a waitress from Jamaica by the name of Afreika Cunningham.  She spends her summers here and her winters in Jamaica—the best of two worlds.  Jamaica, for sure, is a jewel of the Caribbean.  

The original owner of the property from which Cornucopia evolved bought the land where the restaurant sits for $27.00 in 1892.  That confirms that the allure of these mountains is not a latent circumstance.  Those who hang out here cannot wait to tout their good fortune to friends and family.  As soon as our hosts, Charlie and Carolyn Callihan settled in, they recommended the area to her sister Kathy and her husband Bob Gaston. They soon joined the Callihan’s.

We came here last weekend for a wedding, which brought about an interesting story.  Lang Storey of Augusta and Laura Charles of Marietta were married at the Village Green in the heart of Cashiers in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

It was a black-tie affair including two guests who broke the dress code.  One was Jeff Nation of Chattanooga.  He was wearing a dark suit and a blue tie.  When he spotted yours truly in black tuxedo pants and a blue sports coat that matched his Carolina blue tie, he immediately came over and thanked me for being under dressed.

When packing for the weekend trip, I failed to include my tuxedo coat but when I went into damage control, Carolyn Callihan suggested I call TJ Bailey’s in Cashiers, a popular clothing store.

A young man named Ricardo Oropeza misunderstood my telephone request.  I asked if tux rentals were available.  He thought I had a purchase in mind and when I arrived, he said, “for sale only.”

I was not prepared to spend a thousand bucks for a tux and not wanting to buy an $800 dollar sports coat either, my crestfallen demeanor apparently touched a nerve with him.  As I stood in silent depression, he took a royal blue sport coat off a rack and said, “This is my sport coat. You can wear it if you will bring it back after the wedding.”

As I slipped a hundred-dollar bill to him and thanked him profusely, I realized that if I had had an ancestor who had invested that much in real estate here back in the late 1800s, I might be well off enough to buy a tuxedo factory.