Laurel Cottage - pet friendly home near Banner Elk, N.C.

There are several great outfitters for these fun summer activities. Book in advance on summer weekends, because they will sell out.

Food Lion in Banner Elk is near the Lowes Home Improvement store. Ask to use the store's "MVP" card to get discounts. Lowes Foods is a more upscale grocer with better fresh seafood; it's more expensive too. Tip-if you only need a few things like milk and cereal or chips and beer, try the Dollar General just down the hill from the house - you may be pleasantly surprised at their selection, and they're very close and convenient. DG is great for aspirin, toiletries, kid toys, cell phone chargers and batteries. It's like a scaled-down Walmart.

You don't need to drive to a hiking spot - just walk out the front door, down the hill, down the greenway, through the park, downtown, and up to the Lees-McRae campus. Plenty of challenging hills. Visit the waterfall at LM, walk over to the old Cheese House, and traverse the grassy creekside trail. You can spend all morning on foot without leaving Banner Elk.

Banner Elk holds a weekly farmers market on Thursday afternoons in the summer. The big farmers market is in Boone on Saturday mornings - see separate listing under "food scene" for more info.

Summer Thursdays offer free concerts at Banner Elk's Tate Evans park, you can walk there from our house. Bring a bag chair and a picnic basket (no glass). Stop at the Bayou General Store in downtown Banner Elk for provisions first!

Our house has just about everything you'll need while you're there...but when you venture out to see live music or catch the local scene, I recommend that you bring a "bag chair" that you can sling over your shoulder and enjoy these events in comfort.

I recommend that everyone bring a small cooler and a couple refreezable ice packs, since you'll probably be out and about, shopping, enjoying events, etc - and you'll need to keep stuff cold. Toss the ice pack in the freezer before you go to bed. If you forget to bring these, you can buy them at the Dollar General.

Banner Elk is a small town, and the roads (especially Tynecastle Hwy) can get jammed with all the visitors on busy weekends. Pack your patience and plan for some traffic time in your scheduling so you're not disappointed (or late!).

Many folks visit Banner Elk for the great theater and productions at Lees-McRae and the Banner Elk theater. Check the websites, L-M has a great summer music series called The FORUM, plus summer theater. Banner Elk has its own theater group performing plays at the historic school downtown.

You may have notice the plethora of Dollar General stores in the area. There's one less than a mile from our house! If you've never been to a DG, you really need to go. They have everything that you may have forgot - pet food, toiletries, phone chargers, flash lights, coolers, clothing, beer, milk, snacks, plastic wrap, paint brushes, chains and rope - well you get the picture. Oh craft stuff, toys, games, small appliances, makeup, pillows, comforters - wow they pack a lot of stuff into a small space. Ice, propane tank refills, school supplies and more. If you need it, they probably have it.

What's the worse thing about an outdoor hot tub? Freezing when you get out to go back inside. But not for you, you smarty-pants, because you packed your robe and footwear for the short walk from the tub to the house. Turn around and laugh at your friends who weren't as smart as you.