Mystery buffs will be delighted with the special excursions held each year aboard the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Dillsboro, N.C.
A fabulous gourmet dinner, beautiful mountain scenery and a fun mystery to solve make for a fun night for couples or groups of friends. We saw a mix of both during our recent excursion.
The meal is served in a beautifully restored dining car. White linen, china and candles set the mood for an elegant evening in the North Carolina mountains. Our dining car, the Dixie Flyer, was built in 1949 by the Budd Company as a bar lounge for the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was used until it was sold to Amtrack in 1976 and used by that company until the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad purchased in 1994. After being refurbished, it was used as a dining car.
The meal starts off with a salad of apple blue cheese with raspberry vinaigrette. The choices for the main entrée are chicken or steak. We opted for the chicken coq au vin which is slow cooked meat in red wine with mushrooms and onions. For dessert, we had flourless hazelnut chocolate cake.
Too often meals served to large groups at events such as this are bland and tasteless. This was not the case on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Each dish was a delight for the tastebuds. We thoroughly enjoyed everything.
The mystery presentation changes each month. During our trip, “Murder in the Winds” was featured. The setting is a movie premiere and the cast and crew are aboard the train, as well as two helpful members of the security team. They mingle through the train throughout the ride and the plot unfolds. Before the evening ends, there has been a murder and everyone on aboard tries to figure out who is guilty.
Each table turns in a slip of paper with their guess as to who the murderer is and why they did it. To add to the fun, each group comes up with a movie name for their table. My friend and I decided we were “Thelma and Louise” for the night.
The performance is interactive and you never know who in the audience might join in on the fun. When one of the security guys asked if the director touched me when he went through earlier, I said, “Unfortunately, he did not.”
He quickly said, “All you have to do is ask and he will be all over you.” Sure enough, next time the director came through, the security guy pointed at me and said, “Boss, this woman wants you to touch her.” Before I knew it, the director was holding my hand. You better watch how you respond, you never know what might happen!
The performance is also a bit like improv because the cast never knows what questions the people on board might throw at them. At one point, we were invited to ask the cast any questions we might have to help us figure out who the murderer was. As the audience yelled out questions, the cast quickly answered.
Other performances are scheduled for: July 19, July 26, Aug. 2, Aug. 9, Aug. 16, Aug. 23, Aug. 30, Sept. 6, Sept. 13, Sept. 20, Sept. 27, oct. 4, Nov. 1 and Nov. 8. The dress code is formal and the excursion is for ages 21 and older. For more information, go to www.gsmr.com or call 1-800-872-4681.
WHERE TO STAY
Dillsboro is perfect for a weekend get-away, and the Olde Towne Inn is a great spot to make your headquarters during your visit. It is conveniently located just across the street from downtown Dillsboro. We were able to walk over for our train ride.
Located in a beautifully restored home, the inn is filled with period antiques. The home was built in 1878 by a prosperous farmer and had several owners over the years, including a doctor, a railroad station master, a professor and the town’s mayor. It was neglected in the 1980s when a couple purchased it and restored it to be used as a bed and breakfast. It opened in 1989 as a bed and breakfast inn.
The current owner and innkeeper Dawn Hummel is a treasure of information. She calls herself the “ambassador for Dillsboro” and she plenty of maps, brochures and tips to make your visit special.
An overnight stay includes a full gourmet breakfast and the table was overflowing with hot, Southern specials when we came down Saturday morning. Biscuits, sausage, fruit salad, four-cheese quiche, spinach quiche, muffins, grits with cheese and boiled eggs made up our hearty breakfast.
The inn is perfect for couples or families. Other guests during our stay included a couple from Charleston, S.C., who were visiting to ride the train, and a family of three from South Carolina who stayed for one week while visiting several area attractions in North Carolina and Tennessee.
The front porch has rocking chairs, as does the upstairs balcony. Both make great places to relax before heading out for the day or after a busy day of sight-seeing.
For more information, go to www.dillsboro-oldetowne.com or call 1-888-528-8840.
Angela Gary is associate editor of The Jackson Herald and editor of The Banks County News. She can be reached at AngieEditor@aol.com.
