Asheville

The impending renovations to our house kept our summer travel plans relatively local.  The renovation plans also led to other changes in our travel plans, but that's a story for another post.  In any case, we headed down to Asheville, North Carolina in mid-June to see what all the hype has been about.  We are happy to report that you should believe the hype.  We got acquainted with the city the best way we know how, through a hop on, hop off tour company.

Downtown Asheville has a lot going for it.  In this particular case it was a coffee shop located inside of an old double decker bus.  It wasn't easy for John to stand up, but it was a really fun place to sit and hang out for a little while.  Callie's smile says it all.

When exploring any good city there is a lot of walking involved.  For the most part the girls walked without complaint, especially when we used the reliable carrots of ice cream and candy shops that were conveniently located throughout downtown.  Whenever we travel John has to keep his eyes out for people we might know.  It doesn't matter where we are or how big the population is.  As usual, his instincts were on target because within six hours of being in Asheville we ran into Mrs. Gilpin, the girls' art teacher, and her family on the street.  It is a small world!

One of our adventures took us to the neighborhood of West Asheville for dinner.  And as we waited for our table we conveniently found ourselves next to a party at a gas station.  There was a full band and something we have never seen before at a gas station, a brew pub!  Yes, taps serving local favorites in a gas station.

We often see bumper stickers saying, "Keep Asheville Weird".  Do you think this is what they meant?

Our trip happened to fall over the weekend of Father's Day, but the girls were ready to help John celebrate in style at our very nice Airbnb.  They had written a very sweet message on the white board and prepared to make a great day of it.

Not too far from Asheville is a state park called Chimney Rock.  It had some great trails, most of them leading to the vista at the top of the rock itself.  We had a beautiful day so our view stretched for miles, as Callie demonstrates here.  Our family certainly enjoys being silly even as we take in the wonders of nature around us.

Speaking of being silly, we saw Exclamation Point as an opportunity for an impromptu game of charades featuring the tallest and shortest members of our family.

And the silliness just would not end.  Maybe the thin air had something to do with it, but when we can catch Callie on a silly day, we take full advantage of it.  Her father is generally more than willing to be ridiculous on any day of the week, especially if it includes looking goofy in public places.

One of the hikes at Chimney Rock led to a very cool waterfall with a natural swimming hole at its base.  It was a great spot to cool off on a hot day and it also gave us an opportunity to get a full family picture.  You might be able to notice Reese's loose tooth in this picture.  It was a top one, and it had migrated to the center of her mouth and was dangling in a manner that was both creepy and gross.  But she refused to let her mother pull it out.

What's better than a coffee shop in a double decker bus?  How about a brew pub in a train car?  The Whistle Hop Brewing Company provided us with a good rest stop on the way home from Chimney Rock and we enjoyed a beer while the girls had a tasty cream soda.  Everyone won.

In researching things to do in Asheville, we saw a few posts about float trips on the French Broad River.  Although the weather wasn't perfect we decided to give it a go and it was a fun experience.  The river moved slow, so Captain Caution did not have to go until full safety mode.  All four tubes were connected and we had a great afternoon on the river.

We have many reasons to return to Asheville, but a big one is definitely the Grove Park Inn, which we had heard a little about prior to our trip.  It is an incredible piece of architecture with beautiful views and we have every intention of having an adults only weekend there in the not too distant future.