Asheville, NC

You like arty, Asheville's got it. You like redneck, Asheville's got it. You like mountains, Asheville's got 'em. You like rivers, Asheville's got 'em. You like shopping, Asheville's got it. You like good food, Asheville's got that, too. IMHO, it's the perfect little city.

We spent time with the Jones' who own a little stone house on a hill in Asheville. We visited the yummy Chocolate Lounge, a dessert/drinks place that serves the most decadent chocolate confections imaginable. Steve bought a chili, chocolate drink that started sweet but ended up spicy as it slipped easily down his throat. We drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt. Pisgah Inn, where I dined on freshly caught rainbow trout filleted right at the table. We tromped around all the streets we could find in downtown Asheville, shopping in stores we didn't even know existed. We explored used book shops, a cigar store, a couple environmentally friendly clothing/furniture stores, knit shops, and a Celtic store owned by a particularly chatty, opinionated woman who almost forgot we were there to purchase from her rather than just talk. We sampled our way through the Biltmore winery with a childhood friend of Glenda's and just missed meeting Glenda's sister. We found the perfect grocery store, Earth Faire, bigger than Trader Joe's and cheaper than Whole Foods. Steve even got in a game of golf with Ron and Russell. The weather was lovely and the company unparalleled. The end of the week and the end of time in Asheville came too fast.